After viewing the original "Hellraiser" and reviewing it, this film comes to mind as one of the more worthy follow ups to a classic. As all great films, with a subliminal message that doesn't need a sequel to follow it up, or explain more, "Hellraiser" was a film that encompassed the imagination with it's sheer and unsurpassed creativity and told a story with horrific, but beautiful tones. It was only inevitable that a sequel would come up sooner or later, to change the feel of the first film, and derail the novel ending. And as Hollywood driven as "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" is, it's a film that is full of surprises, and yet, keeps it traditional enough to match wits with the first film. Full of lavish production values, zenith class make-up and special effects, and gorgeous set design, and cinematography, this sequel did what only few sequels in film history have done: Take what the first film created and keep the original essence, while taking it to a new level. Thus, it's not a mere sequel, but a continuing. "Hellraiser II" gives you what the first film teased: Hell. We as the audience go to hell and back several times, while continuing a saga with the few surviving (in any way possible!) characters from the first film in the process. Kirsty, our heroin from the first film, has been put in a mental hospital, still convinced that the hellish crusade from the first film is not yet over, and direly believes her father to be in hell, awaiting her rescue, while Julia, our villainess from the first film, is back from the dead, and bringing a new depth of hell to earth, prominently fueled by a hellish God, Leviathan. The first of the films many surprises is the integrity from the first film is still intact. And that makes it a great sequel.