I read a lot of negative reviews about this hard-to-find fan documentary, which looks at both Hellraiser and its sequel at great length. In total, you're looking at about 7 hours of interviews with the people who made and starred in the films. The first part focuses on Hellraiser and a good hour of this film focuses on Clive Barker's beginnings as a playwrite. Yes, its true, pretty much everyone describes him as a genius, a phrase that seems to lose all meaning due to its overuse, but once you get past the introductions, you begin to hear stories of how certain scenes were created, and those interested in the special effects side of the movie will not be disappointed by the contributions from those responsible.
The second part (Hellbound) is more to-the-point, without needing to set the scene. Pretty much every apsect of the film, its script, its effects, its casting and its controversial changes are explored in detail too.
The film doesn't shy away from questions that have bugged fans for years - such as where exactly is hellraiser set, why didn't actors from the first film reprise their roles, why didn't Barker direct the sequel etc.
I really can't understand what the fans are complaining about in their other reviews. There is a great deal of insight here if you're patient enough to watch the entire documentary. This is very much a fan film, made by fans for fans.
Someone described this film as being a collection of unedited interviews - I'm not sure what they watched, but that is not the case here. The interview subjects seem to follow the chronological order of the film, rather than the production order, which was a nice touch.
I was impressed by how many people involved with the film took part in this project and how young so many of them were at the time.
This is the only in-depth look at the two movies you'll get and it didn't disappoint.
