source: Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II

It's an exhausting but execellent documentary of extreme pleasures. Its a well made, in depth discussion of the first film, Hellbound , and also the series as a whole. This documentary has moments of surprising creativity and insight to all aspects of the film making process behind the films, It covers all details so intricately like the design of the Lament Configuration and the cenobites. Overall the package from Dead Mouse Productions is sumptuous and will take any horror fans days to get through. It satisfies the fan in me to such a degree that i can't think of anything more to say other just track.down this documemtary on DVD or blu ray.

"Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II" is a feature length documentary uncovering the history and the making of Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" and "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" films. First of all, the opening credits are a bit drawn out and I wish that wasn't the case. But the rest of the film makes up for that. In fact, the Arrow Video release is very extensive, and (as I understand it) was expanded to the point that it had to be turned into two documentaries. (The first half is 90 minutes and I assume the second half is similar.) Where this documentary excels is where it goes into great detail about the makeup and special effects, because this is what really makes "Hellraiser" stand out. Also, the coverage of the Coil music is awesome, because I don't know how many people know their work or knew they had anything to do with the film. (The Arrow set goes into much more detail on the Coil-Barker connection.)

Oliver Smith narrates this documentary about the 'Hellraiser' franchise.This is a thorough documentary giving you pretty much everything you'd ever want to know about the Hellraiser-series.I had a feeling the "Leviathan Hellraiser" documentary was going to be something special, but I had no idea just HOW special until i brought it. There's something here for even the hardest of hardcore Hellraiser fans (of which I am one), with lots of interesting stories and previously undisclosed revelations, never- before-seen photos and behind-the-scenes footage, A must own for any Cenobite and Clive Barker fan.Leviathan Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound Hellraiser II has raised the bar even higher for documentary retrospectives. BUY IT NOW! http://www.leviathan- hellraiser.co.uk/leviathan-DVD/

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.

Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II And although the film undoubtedly does demand breaks along the way - four hours is just too long of a sit for any movie. Its Perfect for a lazy Sunday in front of the TV, Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser is a fascinatingly detailed insight into arguably one of the most iconic horror series. A chronological study of its subject, leviathan charts not only the success of the movies but also the origins and rise of production company New World. The quality of films varies wildly throughout the series. You already know that, but it is fascinating to hear the stories behind the production of the first two classics. The motivation to continue to visit and revisit, alongside the pitfalls of chasing the early success. My first foray into the Hellraiser series was 1988's Hellbound: Hellraiser II. A fairly strong offering within the bigger scheme of the series, the first sequel hits the heights of its predecessor and is as good , if not better than the first. With a slightly daunting running time, Leviathan succeeds in remaining entirely engaging throughout which is in no small part due to the quality of contributor. Ranging from self-depreciating honesty to steely resolve, it is clear that it was not always plain sailing for those involved in the production of the Hellraiser series. Narrated by Oliver Smith, Leviathan is absolutely bursting with behind the scene pleasures; photos, footage, storyboards, and stories. Clearly a labour of love, the pacing is excellent, the time dedicated to each film perfect and the sheer volume of information means it is impossible not to learn something about the production. Don't let the duration scare you. The chronological structure allows you to watch in chunks if you so decide. Just make sure you take pleasure in it Solve The pattern Turn the Key Open The Box… In the end Leviathan is an interesting, sporadically fascinating documentary that should leave Hellraiser enthusiasts more than satisfied.

What can I say I 🖤 this, anyone that is a Hellraiser fan you are going to love this, I love how it shows you how they made Hellraiser 1,2 and 3 and what everyone's roll in making it, I'm not going to give any of it away but trust me this is a must buy for your collection it's well worth having.

It's the best companion piece to the Hellraiser series you could possibly ask for. Buy it at whatever price they're asking for! There's just so much involvement here that it can be almost exhaustive.I recommend chunking this up- not because it's boring, but because it can be so much information that it's best swallowed in smaller pieces. I know that if you're anything like me, that's a fool's request and you'll binge-watch the whole thing and that's fine.. but know that everything about Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II is examined in such great detail. Remember when practical effects were king, before this CGI stuff? Oh yeah, it's here,it covers it all, everything. There's really nothing more I can say about this documentary. It's just exhaustive, pulls no punches, and offers tons of new material and insight. This review can be summed up fairly quickly- do you like the Hellraiser films? Buy this now.

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.

The sheer amount of time, effort, work and detail that went into this documentary is astounding. I first went in expecting to watch a extensive but still only a 'good' documentary. But I was very, very wrong! This documentary goes into such detail about every aspect of the first two Hellraiser movies that the mind boggles. Everyone in every department involved gets their time to shine from the directors on down. This is something that I now compare every other documentary to, the passion that the documentary team had for the movies and for their work putting this together has to be commended most of all. I don't think I will see another documentary for a movie franchise I love (or for any other movie for that matter) that can change my mind on this being the best one out there. I believe it would only be topped by another documentary by the same team that made the masterpiece that is Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II.