Bovie Movie

The feature-film debut of multi-talented Clive Barker, this grim and surreal project is based on the writer-director’s own novella The Hell-Bound Heart. The film opens with a chilling prologue in which globe-trotting pervert Frank (Sean Chapman) — a connoisseur of sexual depravity seeking the ultimate sensual experience — purchases a small, intricate puzzle box from an unseen dealer in an unspecified country. Upon solving the puzzle, Frank opens the door to a hellish alternate universe and is promptly torn to ribbons by a network of hooks and chains; his strewn body parts are subsequently collected by the Cenobites — grotesque, S&M-clad denizens of hell. The story continues several years later, when Frank’s brother, Larry (Andrew Robinson), moves into Frank’s abandoned house with his daughter, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), and his new wife, Julia (Clare Higgins). An accident causes some of Larry’s blood to spill on the attic floor, which somehow triggers Frank’s hideous resurrection. His body only half-composed, Frank seeks the tacit assistance of Julia — with whom he had once had a torrid sexual liaison — in restoring him to human form. Still secretly in love with Frank, Julia assists him by seducing men from the town and bringing them back to the house so her undead lover can drain their bodies of blood. Her increasingly furtive behavior arouses the suspicions of Kirsty, who had already moved to an apartment to get away from her despised stepmother. After following Julia and her next potential victim home, Kirsty comes face-to-face with the still incomplete Frank, narrowly escaping with her life…and with the puzzle box. After losing consciousness, Kirsty awakens in the hospital, where she manages to solve the box’s intricate mechanism and summon a trio of Cenobites — including their apparent leader (played by Doug Bradley and dubbed “Pinhead” on subsequent sequels) — who are prepared to claim her. In desperation, Kirsty offers them a bargain in which they agree to spare her soul if she leads them to Frank. Kirsty soon returns home to find Julia with her father… whose behavior has become disturbingly unnatural. Realizing that her father has become Frank’s next victim — and that her uncle is now walking around in his brother’s skin — Kirsty hands Frank over to the Cenobites, who have particularly evil plans for their old friend.

Horror fantasist Clive Barker, director of the original Hellraiser, maintained creative control over this worthy sequel as Executive Producer, but was unable to occupy the director’s chair due to his involvement on other projects. His creative touch is still quite evident here, as the original film’s story is expanded in scope and intensity. The story picks up immediately after the events of the original, with the mentally-unbalanced Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) confined to a mental hospital after her experiences in the hellish domain of the grotesque Cenobites, which included the gruesome death of her father. Her case attracts the attention of hospital director Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), whose marked interest in her story has more than a little to do with his research into the occult. The chief focus of this extracurricular activity seems centered on his impressive collection of puzzle boxes, many of which are versions of the Lament Configuration — the device which opens the gateway to the Cenobites’ dimension. To further realize his diabolical obsession, Channard conducts grisly human sacrifices to resurrect the body of Kirsty’s evil stepmother Julia (Clare Higgins) — who has literally been through hell and back. He also recruits mute autistic patient Tiffany (Imogen Boorman), an expert at solving puzzles, to decipher the correct version of the box. Haunted by visions of her mutilated father suffering in hell, Kirsty joins Tiffany in hopes of rescuing him from the Cenobites’ dimension. Tiffany gains them access to the portal, and they make the nightmarish journey down the corridors of hell. Narrowly escaping the diabolical Pinhead (Doug Bradley), they come face-to-face with Julia, who has already handed Dr. Channard over to the Cenobites to be transformed into a hideous new creation. First-time director Tony Randel acquits himself nicely, and seems to have a real flair for the surreal material; the script by longtime Barker collaborator Peter Atkins elaborates on elements only hinted at in its predecessor. It should follow that the slightly larger budget would allow ample room for this expansion, but the production values actually appear somewhat slimmer. What the film lacks in refined style it makes up for in utter dementia, particularly in its depiction of graphic bloodletting — numerous scenes were trimmed or deleted altogether in order to obtain an ‘R’ from the MPAA.