just watched again after 10 years and have some questions

Mate, I wouldn't even bother. This film is absolutely riddled with plot inconsistencies/holes. I just re watched it too.

1. Not explained, but this one is ok by me

2. Yup. Why indeed? The meta reason is that they saw Julia as a bigger character than she is (for some reason) and crowbarred her into this film. There was no real need at all to bring her back at all.

3. Yes again. Unless Kirsty's experiences from the first film made her think that the Cenobite's dimension is the final destination for all people? But no, I'd say it's a problem with the writing. Or just that our lead character is a total moron.

4. Another stupid plot hole. She also say's she was 'allowed to leave' by Leviathan to 'collect souls'. Why? Isn't that what the puzzle box is for? How did they factor a crazy doctor and his plans into this? Did Leviathan control Channard somehow to release Julia with the mattress? Was this all to have Channard become the new Pinhead? Why not just pop Julia in the Cenobite maker? Whaaaattttssss goinnnnng onnnnn?

5. Not even attractive naked women huh? All covered in creepy sheets and *beep* blood. No temptation here! I think the true hell would have just been sheer boredom.

6. Yes, another tedious plot point. They didn't explain because they don't know. They couldn't have orchestrated bringing Channard down without controlling him or something (point 4). They were just hoping he would take the mattress home?

Even if it WAS to get him into the new Pinhead role, what makes him so special? Because he's a surgeon? Maybe Pinhead was under performing in his bi annual S&M torturer review with Leviathan. Leviathan has realised that perhaps an ex army officer was a bad choice, he lacks the technical know-how.


Some of my own:

1. The photo. *beep* this stupid plot device. It's way too convenient that Kirsty would have found this, carried around it with her, take it out and make the connection at the right moment, then have the Cenobites actually 'remember'/give a *beep* and let them off the hook (hur hur) because of it. Plus, the whole device doesn't even matter because Channard arrives right there and then and seems to already be on a mission to replace the Cenobites. It seems as though Kirsty bought herself 5 seconds with the photo? Maybe if Channard had lost it would have mattered more because Pinhead maybe would have let her go. So it's all just for a look between her and Pinhead and for us to feel a little empathy at the 11th hour. meh.

2. Kirsty finally reacting to a situation with something other than just screaming and being a *beep* actor by going back into the labyrinth (with infinite turns) to get Julia's skin, in 1 minute, and put it on flawlessly to the point of being able to distract Channard. What? How could you even do that? What if Channard had just said "one tick, babes, let me just put this girl in the coenobite machine and I'll be right with you".


3. Not a plot point, but why make Tiffany a mute just to destroy the idea by making her first line "Oh *beep* at a really crap moment? Why bother? This was so poorly executed.

I have many more but the board has it covered.

I think Clive Barker thought up a really great horror premise with these films. People love the imagery, the Cenobite lore, the music. I think what he has in imagination he lacks in being able to write a coherent story. People forgive plot holes a lot in great films, but Hellraiser just has so, so many I spent the whole time just feeling totally puzzled.

The true puzzle box is the script.

1. I think it would be much simpler if the cenobites weren't from Hell, but lately, Clive Barker has essentially confirmed that the cenobites' realm IS Hell, and not just any Hell, but the Hell where bad people go when they die and even where Lucifer resides. But within the context of the earlier movies, I don't think Hell takes just anyone who dies a sinner. If it did, why go to the trouble of showing Julia with a solved box in her hands during the climax of the first movie? They felt like they had to explain why she would be in Hell in the sequel, which indicates to me that you have to solve the box to get into Barker's version of Hell.

2. As I said before, she was shown holding the box during the climax of Hellraiser. Kirsty even had to wrestle it from her dead hands to use it on Pinhead. Not only was the box solved, she also had chains digging into her body. If she merely died from the stabbing, why would she have the box and why would she have been chained?

3. She doesn't know the rules of the cenobites and Hell so she has no reason to believe they only take people who open the box, and if she took them to be demons from Hell, there's all sorts of reasons she might believe he's in Hell. Good people can go to Hell according to the Bible. Not believing in God is a sin, and it's possible Larry didn't believe. The way Larry reacted to the Christian decorations when they moved into the house.

Larry: Would you look at this? And don't worry, this stuff means nothing to me. It all goes.

Then it's all later shown sitting on the curb, probably to be picked up the garbage collector.

4. Before Channard resurrected her, Julia had already convinced Leviathan to let her return to Earth and bring him souls. She was most likely briefed on the inner-workings of Hell(or all knowledge of Hell was uploaded to her brain like Neo's kung fu training in the Matrix).

5. I'd say that was more or less Frank's prison cell for when he's not being physically tortured. And even without the physical torture, he'd still be forever trapped in a mostly empty dungeon with no hope of escape. Imagine the infinite monotony and boredom Frank must experience while there.

6. I don't think Channard was initially created to kill the other cenobites. It was only after they chose to rebel and protect the girls that he became hostile. I think maybe after the other cenobites let Kirsty escape in the first movie, Leviathan decided to take a more hands-on approach, and used that tentacle to exert more direct control over Channard. Another possibility is it was Hell's first attempt at invading Earth. Just before the Channard cenobite appears in the hospital, Leviathan briefly appears on Earth above the hospital, almost implying a merging of realms(like in Mortal Kombat 3).