It's technically not really worse than the first one but it's so over the top that it flirts with total cheese in several scenes. The vision of hell is nothing short of bizarre. The effects don't hold up with time but just the surreal atmosphere of this makes it something memorable over the tons of 80's horror cheese out there.

should never have been

Interestingly, half this movie is a recollection of what happened in the first instalment. Opting for a more operatic feel, this film explores more of the Hellraiser mythos. Sadly not to any really enjoyable extent. It ends in matte paintings and a giant rhombus that is apparently the demon Leviathan. Uhm. Yes.

Even more nasty and disgusting than the original.

Classic.

trades in the strong narrative and interesting characters of the original for more surreal gore and effects sequences. if you like that sort of thing, it's pretty creative and unnerving with it, but the story is distinctly awful and the tension uneven. and ashley laurence is nowhere near the actress clare higgins is, focusing on her was probably a mistake.

This represents one of those rare cases wherein a scare sequel equals, and in some instances surpasses, the original. It offers an ever escalating procession of nightmare set pieces that succeed in being both darkly comic and genuinely chilling. (As Pinhead at one point proclaims, "Your suffering will be legendary -- even in hell!") Highlights include imaginatively grotesque sets, horrific FX that outnightmare Elm Street, and one of the sickest heavy petting scenes I've ever seen

Even better than the origional.

Mostly a retread of the original.

There's a few cool ideas scattered throughout a mediocre story, but it always feels as if the makers didn't have the money and skill to pull off some of the more ambitious elements. I did love the reveal of the multiple puzzle boxes and the glimpses into the larger backstory. The surreal gore and increased gross-factor were also welcome.

Ups the visceral gore considerably, but shoddy directing and two(!) video packages of the first film make it a chore to watch.

We get to see Pinhead's origin, find out more about the cenobites, meet a mad brain surgeon, implied sex with skinless Julia, visit an insane asylum and make a descent into a labyrinthine hell. The pre-credit sequence is completely unnecessary, especially since it is followed by the Pinhead origin, which would have been a fine sequence to start with.

The guy that sees bugs on his skin is given a razor blade to get rid of them. This is not a comedy.

Very cool F/X work. Surreal and interesting visuals are definitely the highlight.

More of a horror spectacle than the first movie, but also a lot more ridiculous and less sane

Tasty girls. That is all.

More Pinhead.

More gore....more snores!

"It's probably a stretch to surmise that, just as the first film's subtext dealt with health fears, the sequel mines its dread from the horror of malpractice." - Eric Henderson

A film that delights in not explaining a thing that's going on. If it didn't rely quite so heavily on special effect, and had instead concerned itself with explaining why many of the inexplicable things happen, this might have withstood the test of time a little better. As it is, it comes across as a disjointed, barely coherent attempt to create a franchise (which was obviously achieved, given the 6 Hellraiser outings). Poor by anyones standards.

An excellent sequel, one that follows very closely to the original, story and style wise. And, according to the rules of the seuqels, the violence is turned up in this one. If you enjoyed the first, your gonna love this!

A good follow-up! Loved the scenes in hell and the references to Escher! Very well done.

In some ways, I actually preferred this one over the first. It had a better story, and even though it's grand design gets foiled by low budget effects it has a sort of perverted "80s Jim Henson" feel to it, that I liked.

Not as good as the original but still better than most of the sequels. Getting a backstory on Pinhead was creative and kept me interested. Recommended if you love Pinhead and all the Cenobites!