This has to be one of the best horror soundrtracks of all time- certainly the most terrifying and brooding EVER!!!
The track LEVIATHAN is just so nerve wretching it's insane!!! It's some fog horn against a load of dark reverb ambient noises such as clanging dreamcatchers and obscure percussion.
The main theme is a million times better than the original movies, full of operatic choruses and near banshee-level wailing.
The single recorder solos against strings are as scary as all the big foghorn numbers too.
EASILY the scariest horror score of all time IMO. Christopher Young is the undefeated king!!
I LOVE the movie too- anyone wanna discuss it?? It's visually incredible and full of demonic pseudo sexual/sado-masochistic/biblical imagery. Amazing design, photography effects and make-up. Kenneth Cranham and Claire Higgins flirting with one another has to be some of the most cruelly acidic chemistry ever commited to film.
And without a doubt my fave horror score of all time, LEVIATHAN is, indeed, superlatively otherworldly, creepy, and a load of other descriptions.
Also some very good gentle themes that counterbalance the score.
As for the film? Nowhere near as great as the original though it does have it's moments, unless I'm wrong (and I am going from memory) Clive Barker had nothing to do with this sequal?!
i'll chime in on HELLBOUND..., I've loved this Chris Young score since seeing the film back in '88. i too am a complete nut for Clive Barker's HELLRAISER - and Chris Young's score to the film. This - to me - is one of those rare films where the auteur actually manages to create a nightmare on film - quite like David Lynch does in his own right. Christopher Young - brilliantly accents that nightmare with an equally brilliant soundscape for Barker's quite twisted - read that COOL - directing debut. It's been too long since I gave a listen to either score -- this dialogue has tweaked my interest in giving these scores a spin. Incidentally - the direcor of the second film is Tony Randel - not to be confused with Felix Unger and the dad in Hello Down There- Tony Randall!
As good as these Chris Young scores are, I'd have to say that Randy Miller's work on the third film is just about on par with them - it follows on similarly from Young's work but is still a powerful, brilliant horror score in its own right.
As for the film? Nowhere near as great as the original though it does have it's moments, unless I'm wrong (and I am going from memory) Clive Barker had nothing to do with this sequal?!
"and to think I hesitated?!"
Barker didn't write the film, but he and Christopher Figg were behind the production. Dunno how Tony Randel got to direct it- guess that was New World's idea, as they were the distributors. The studio also did a massive recut of the film too once the directors cut was finalised, because apparently it was X level gorey!!!
I prefer the sequel because it is bigger, has a better fed budget (it looks like a big Hollywood production compared to the chinz budget of the original- now filmed at Pinewood instead of Cricklewood) with consistent make up and visual effects (no off-cast pink latex or crummy optical work this time around)- the image of the girls entering the Leviathan for example, just looks (and SOUNDS- that foghorn according to imdb.com is MorseCode for "God") absolutely unbelievable and fully realised (the matte painting photography is mesmerising and on par with anything really expensive ILM were doing at the same time)- also the performances aren't just a collection of post production dubs either.
The scene in which Julia is lounging around the Doctor's white interior bungalow in bandages dripping blood predates and outdoes all of the forced-femme presence Michelle Pfeiffer supposedly had as Catwoman in Batman Returns. Tearing Frank's heart out amid a sea of flames is also a massive high point in horror movie history.
Hellbound also sees the origin of Pinhead, and my, that's a visual to behold in itself!!
I really enjoyed all the Hellraiser movies altho I havent seen Inferno yet. I have all the scores(the ones avalilble) and enjoy them all in different degrees. Chris Youngs music still rules the roost. and Pinhead can take them all Freddy Jason Michael all of them, Ide like to see those chains rip Freddy and Jason apart. he he he, no there all great, but Pinhead rules. sd
Hellbound was the first CD I ever owned, purchased at Tower in New York City in 1989 while on a high school trip. It made that much of an impression on me from seeing the film (through closed eyes!). When I met Chris Young in 1994, he was touched when I told him this and how I have always held this score in high regard among other horror film score classics.
This was also one of my first scores and it set the bar awfully high (so far, none have surpassed it, in fact). This is the quintessential horror score, and that doesn't take away from Miller's work on III, which was pretty awesome as well (Randy Miller is, sadly, underutilized and unsung...just listen to the beauty that is his score to Amargosa). I always thought the original Hellraiser score was more, ummm, sedate and softer than Hellbound. Hellbound was balls-out scoring from Chris and some incredible visuals as well.
If ever a score deserved to be hailed as a "masterpiece" it's Christopher Young's original "Hellraiser".
In true Goldsmithian style, Young saw beyond the blood, guts and chains(!) of the movie and scored the real heart of the story: the romance. His operatic approach made the events on screen seem even more grotesque than they already were. Perfect. I'm shocked and appalled that Young wasn't hurled into the major leagues right after his work on Hellraiser. I'd have snapped him up immediately. Shame on you, Hollywood.
I've seen Hellraiser over 25 times and it still freaks me out. In the way that the original Alien freaks me out after 50+ viewings. I thought Andrew (Scorpio, Garek) Robinson was far creepier in that original film than Pinhead could ever be!
Hellbound is a whole different beastie. The music is every bit as great (how could he top the original?) and those Poltergeist rising/falling strings ("Second Sight Seance") are sublime. For years after hearing "Hall Of Mirrors" and "Leviathan" I thought Chris Young was actually clinically deranged. It was only years later I discovered he simply had a deeply twisted sense of humour! ;-)
Incidentally, Clive Barker is a God. He grew up about 1 hour from where I'm sitting now. I met him a few years ago, at a signing in Liverpool, and it became instantly clear that the man doesn't exist on the same planet as the rest of us. Lucky him, I say! :-)
I was ecstatic to finally meet Clive Barker last year at a signing for 'Abarat'. I got to chat with him, sign Hellraiser comics, talked about Chris Young and answer ques on his films. Great guy, really appreciates his fanbase.
I was ecstatic to finally meet Clive Barker last year at a signing for 'Abarat'. I got to chat with him, sign Hellraiser comics, talked about Chris Young and answer ques on his films. Great guy, really appreciates his fanbase.
Yes he really floored everybody when he gave copies of his The Core to everyone who ordered The Tower and when I spoke to Intrada on the phone about it they said Chris Young really loves his fans. Great Guy sd
This is the quintessential horror score, and that doesn't take away from Miller's work on III, which was pretty awesome as well (Randy Miller is, sadly, underutilized and unsung...just listen to the beauty that is his score to Amargosa). I always thought the original Hellraiser score was more, ummm, sedate and softer than Hellbound. Hellbound was balls-out scoring from Chris and some incredible visuals as well.
SheriffJoe
Totally agree and love HELLBOUND (score and film) but I'd also like to chime in praise for Randy Miller's HELLRAISER 3 (also, AMARGOSA is one of my favourite CDs...a real unappreciated gem!) The only unfortunate thing about HELLRAISER 3 is the recording on the cd is pretty awful. The sound is harsh and badly mixed which is a great shame considering the excellent music.
Does anyone know if the 'Highpoint' score on the old GNP CD was complete?
I tend to believe it is not, as it contains less than 15 min. of Highpoint.
If I remember correctly when the last BSX edition was released and someone asked if he should keep the GNP edition for Highpoint, Ford mentioned that a new release of Highpoint was also in the works.
Here is the quote from the BSX Hellraiser I and II release thread (from November 01, 2012):
I do really love these two Chris Young scores and have the original CD releases from way back in the late 80's. However, maybe I should invest due to the remastered sound? I would need to keep the GNP Crescendo version of HELLBOUND, I guess, since it has those extra tracks from Young's HIGHPOINT score.
), Chris Young would be the man. 
