WasAnnon
Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
ShangLuda
Admirable film.
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
soldier-81367
Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser - this documentary, narrated by Oliver Smith, focuses on the production history of Hellraiser & hellbound, its cult status, and some of the key themes/sub-themes in the films. Included in it are interviews with special effects designer Bob Keen, image animator Geoff Portass, Ashley Laurence (archival footage), Doug Bradley (Pinhead), director of photography Robin Vidgeon, producer Christopher Figg, and director Clive Barker (archival footage) , amongst others. A great assortment of interview material. Highly recommended for fanatics.
Michael_Elliott
Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (2015)*** (out of 4)This documentary from Kevin McDonagh is apparently out there in a couple different versions. Apparently one runs nearly eight hours long and the other, which is the one I watched, comes with the Scarlet Box from Arrow Video and runs around 210-minutes. Now I obviously can't comment on the "uncut" version but I must say that I'm not sure a film like HELLRAISER really needs four hours devoted to just it. Having watched the Arrow Video version, I can say that HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II really didn't need a two hour documentary on it.I'm not going to list all of the people interviewed here because there are dozens and dozens on each movie. Actors, cinematographers, special effects artists, directors and others are all interviewed. Clive Barker is missing outside of some archival interviews but just about everyone else that you'd want to hear from are here and telling stories ranging from how they were hired to various production bits.Look, if you'e a die-hard fan of HELLRAISER and its sequels then I'm sure you're going to love this. I enjoyed the first two movies but I'm just not sure I needed this much of a documentary. Many of the stories just weren't interesting enough to where they were needed and after so many of them you've got an extra long documentary that just drags at spots. I thought this was certainly the case with the two hours devoted to HELLBOUND.Still, you have to respect the filmmakers for trying to deliver EVERYTHING to the fans of the film. Your level of being a "fan" will determine how much you enjoy this.
searching-13860
Documentary: 'Leviathan – The Story of Hellraiser'. This is an excellent, thorough documentary about Hellraiser that reflects on the pictures' production, its difference from the 'slasher' movies that proliferated during the 1980s, and its lasting legacy. Narrated by Oliver Smith, it features input in terms of both newly-recorded interviews and archival interviews from Doug Bradley, Clare Higgins, Simon Bamford (who played Butterball), Ashley Laurence, Geoff Portass, Oliver Parker (one of the removal men in the film), Bob Keen, Peter Atkins (the writer of the second film), Robin Vidgeon (the director of photography on Hellraiser), producer Christopher Figg, Kenneth Cranham, Andy Robinson, camera operator David Worley, Barbie Wilde (the female Cenobite from Hellbound) and Nicholas Vince (the Chatterer). 'Comprehensive' is the first word that springs to mind. There are some great anecdotes, such as Bob Keen recounting his visit to an autopsy with Clive Barker in preparation for the creation of 'skinless' Frank; Keen was repulsed to the point of vomiting, whilst Barker found the experience disappointing and considered the corpse to look simply like someone on whom strips of bacon had been placed.
veyes90
Living in the world of Clive Barker this past year has been nothing but pure bliss. Imajica was everything all the fans said it would be. A book so in love with the imagination that it inspired me to start working on my own novel. Then I dove right into his highly intense and grotesque new novel, The Scarlet Gospels, which sent Pinhead out with a bang. I didn't think there could be anything else that could top such wonderful experiences. That's until I sat down and watched the very extensive and exhaustive documentary, Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II.There's so much material covered I don't know where to start. For a documentary that runs over 7 hours, plus bonus features that run almost about 4, everything that you've ever wanted to know about the first two films it's all here. Luckily, I was given the assignment of reviewing Hellbound: Hellraiser II! I quickly jumped at the chance since it's my favorite of the series.First off, from a production standpoint everything is first class. The interviews with the various actors and effects people are edited together very nicely. They don't feel slapped together that's for sure. And for such a long documentary, I never once got bored.I also liked how the interviews were mixed with behind the scenes video of the effects guys working their magic on set and the custom artwork from the makers of the film. There's a wonderful drawing of the bloody Julia that someone did that I felt captured the nasty beauty of that character. Smoking hot!But my favorite part of the production was the highly inspired score by Lito Velasco. His music sets the tone perfectly and captures the essence of Christopher Young's score for the first two films. I'm sure Mr. Young would be proud. And let's hope for a official release down the line.Some of my favorite interviews were with director Tony Randel and writer Peter Atkins. They share a great deal of behind the scenes stories that I've never heard before. They talk about developing the script and the changes that went along the way as Peter was writing. Also, Peter said one of the best things I've ever heard for any inspiring screenwriters to remember and that is when writing scripts "you must learn to understand to write in pictures." That's some great free advice there.They also talk to the very outgoing Andrew Robinson about why he didn't return for the sequel. He said quite frankly (no pun intended) there wasn't really that much for him to do. And he wasn't that fond of the script either. Writer Peter Atkins was actually relieved that the character of Larry didn't return because "why would Larry go to hell?" He was never in favor of that idea.But like I said everything you want to know about the film is here. You want to know more about the Chatterer face lift scene? It's here. Or what about the in depth creation of the Channard character? They've got you covered. And most importantly was the infamous Surgeon scene ever shot? You'll have to buy it to find the answer to that one.There's also a lot of funny stories along the way. My favorite being the story of Doug going "stir crazy" while getting tired of being put into makeup and not getting enough sleep! Also, when actor Ken Cranham got lost on the set at Pinewood in full Channard costume. And Imogen realizing that the device controlling Channard was actually "A PENIS!"Another wonderful thing about the making of both movies is that everyone enjoyed working with one another. There's a lot of great behind the scenes video clips showing everyone having a wonderful time. Drama was kept to a minimum and everyone wanted to make the best films they could possibly make. I believe they succeeded even though Hellbound is a flawed film compared to Hellraiser.Director Kevin McDonagh and Producer and Co-writer Gary Smart and their team have created the ultimate Hellraiser documentary. I would trust them with any property they're given to work on. Hopefully, they'll revisit the world of Hellraiser with another combo documentary of Hell on Earth and Bloodline. There's so much to be told between those films to make another huge documentary.For any Clive Barker or Hellraiser fan this is a dream come true. You get everything here and more! So when there's a much bigger release do yourself a favor and buy a copy. They have such sights to show you!SummaryPositiveEverything! NegativeNothing!
