Anyone else notice the resemblances between Jim Henson's Labyrinth (1986) and Hellbound (1988)? I love both movies but haven't seen any threads relating both movies before- and i don't think the connections are far-fetched either.
1) Both films of course feature a Labyrinth central to the role of the movie, and both are referred to as "Labyrinths" in the film rather than "mazes" or any other name.
2)Kirsty goes into the Labyrinth to save her father from eternal damnation at the whim of the Cenobites. Sarah goes in to save her brother from becoming a goblin at the whim of Jareth.
3) Both films feature female protaganists. (Kirsty and Tiffany in Hellbound, Sarah in Labyrinth). Although Kirsty is older than Sarah, Tiffany is about the same age as her.
4) Something bad (we don't know what) has happened to Tiffany's mother in Hellbound, resulting in her to never see her agian, causing her much distress. In Labyrinth, Sarah and her mother have departed ways too, and has caused her distress at some point.
5)Kirsty's stepmother is Julia, who refers to herself as not the "wicked stepmother" but the "evil queen" instead, and calls Kirsty "Snow White". In Labyrinth, Sarah's father is also re-married to another woman, and she thinks that Sarah treats her as a "wicked stepmother in a fairy tale".
6)Both Labyrinths in the movies are based upon the imagery of M.C Escher, which are especially most apparant in the long shots of them. Coincidently, Escher's artwork can be seen on walls in both films; "Relativity" can be seen on Sarah's bedroom wall whilst another peice by Escher (i forget the name) can be seen on the wall in Dr. Channard's room as well as the hospital/asylum in Hellbound.
7) Both Labyrinths in the films exist in another dimension, but encompass imagery based around the individual that experiences them. Sarah's is made up of her sub-consious mind in terms of creatures and scenarios (if one analyses the movie in that sense) as is Tiffany's. The Labyrinth in Hellbound: Hellraiser II however is formed around both the nightmares and dreams of the individual person- Tiffany's features clowns and carnivals which she is fond of fused with macabre and surpressed memories.
8) Regarding the above statement, Sarah experiences a vision of her bedroom inside the Labyrinth which proceeds to break apart afterwards as she realises it's a trick. In Hellbound, Kirsty also experiences the same, her house as it used to be reformed as a trick to lure her in, which then also breaks around her (although in a more gruesome way).
9) The Cenobites in the Hellraiser movies are only called to people if they solve the Lament Configuration puzzle box, and then proceed to take that certain individual away into Hell (The Labyrinth). In Labyrinth, when a certain individual wishes upon The Goblin King, he will come to do their bidding or come to take them away into his Labyrinth.
10)Just as they have to be called to appear, so must they be sent back to dissapear. A special line of dialogue had to be said to Jareth to make him go, and the puzzle must be solved again to send the Cenobites back where they came from.
11) In the Hellraiser films, the Keeper of the Lament Configuration puzzle box is the only bieng from the Labyrinth who is allowed travel to Earth at his own free will, and he takes the form of both a human and a huge winged creature of some sort. In Labyrinth, Jareth (as far as i know) can travel to Earth from his realm too, and he can also take the shape of either himself as a human or another winged creature, in this case a barn owl.
12) In Hellbound after Dr. Channard has transformed into a Cenobite, his palms rip open and long, tentacle-like things with eyeballs attached to the end appear. In Labyrinth, there is a plant of some sort which is protruding from a wall which is tentacle-like and has eyeballs on the ends of them (when Sarah first enters the Labyrinth and can't find an opening, just before she meets the worm).
13) Every time it cuts to a shot of the central Castle in Labyrinth, we hear a distinct 4-note horn melody sound. In Hellbound, everytime we see Leviathan (which is also at the centre of it's labyrinth) we hear a deep horn sound, except there are slightly more notes.
14) Just as the Cenobites and the puzzle box promise dreams of fulfilment to the individual, as does Jareth and his crystal balls. All of them of course give you these wishes- but at a price previously unknown to the individual.
15) Just as Labyrinth can be analysed in it's very multi-layered themes and intrepretations of Freudian psychology that range from many topics including erotiscm, so can the same be said for Hellbound, which demands to be read in that sense though it is a lot more visceral.
16) Both Kirsty and Tiffany unwillingly and accidently solve the puzzle box which bring forth the Cenobites. In Labyrinth, Sarah also unwillingly calls Jareth.
17)Both the Cenobites and Jareth love to toy with their unwilling victims, and are quite well versed in almost poetic dialogue (most notably Pinhead in his lines and Jareth in his music).
18) Jareth is portrayed by David Bowie who is of course a glam rock star. In Hellbound, the Female Cenobite is played by Barbie Wilde, who herself is a trained dancer/mime artist who has toured with many bands including Depche Mode, Adam and the Ants, Ultravox and Classix Nouveaux, who's image in the 80s was also very similar to Bowie's glam rock/punk style, especially with heavy use of colouful eye make-up and even having the same hairstyle which Bowie sports in Labyrinth.
19)Jareth has a very pop/rock image (of course, being portrayed by David Bowie) which can also be atrributed to goth. Pinhead and the Cenobites have a neo-punk look who sport long garbs of leather- also common gothic fashion attire. Both sets of characters encompass popular 80s music fashion trends in their images.
20)Jareth and the Cenobites, once they are called, can all appear and dissapear wherever they want (teleport).
21)Both Labyrinths feature huge animatronic creatures- Ludo, goblins, Humongous etc in Labyrinth and The Engineer creature in the maze corridor in Hellraiser. All performed by actors in creature suits.
22)Labyrinth and the first 2 Hellraiser movies were shot in England.
23) In Labyrinth and both the first Hellraiser movies, the credits are shown at the start of the film before the first scene plays.
24) Both sets of films are coming of age stories for their protaganists; for Tiffany, Kirsty and Sarah.
25) Hellraiser is more closely regarded as a fantasy movie rather than a horror, and though Labyrinth is mainly a fantasy it also has minor horror elements (the goblins at the start of the film for example).
26) Symbolism in the form of babies in some sort of peril feature a lot in the Hellraiser movies. In Hellraiser and Hellbound we hear the sound of babies crying either in dream/nightmare sequences, scenes of re-birth/reformation as well as when Tiffany sees a vision in the Labyrinth of a baby with it's mouth sewn shut. In Labyrinth of course the central story is based around the rescue of baby Toby who is in danger.
I'm sure there are more i can't think of at the moment, but yah.
1) Both films of course feature a Labyrinth central to the role of the movie, and both are referred to as "Labyrinths" in the film rather than "mazes" or any other name.
2)Kirsty goes into the Labyrinth to save her father from eternal damnation at the whim of the Cenobites. Sarah goes in to save her brother from becoming a goblin at the whim of Jareth.
3) Both films feature female protaganists. (Kirsty and Tiffany in Hellbound, Sarah in Labyrinth). Although Kirsty is older than Sarah, Tiffany is about the same age as her.
4) Something bad (we don't know what) has happened to Tiffany's mother in Hellbound, resulting in her to never see her agian, causing her much distress. In Labyrinth, Sarah and her mother have departed ways too, and has caused her distress at some point.
5)Kirsty's stepmother is Julia, who refers to herself as not the "wicked stepmother" but the "evil queen" instead, and calls Kirsty "Snow White". In Labyrinth, Sarah's father is also re-married to another woman, and she thinks that Sarah treats her as a "wicked stepmother in a fairy tale".
6)Both Labyrinths in the movies are based upon the imagery of M.C Escher, which are especially most apparant in the long shots of them. Coincidently, Escher's artwork can be seen on walls in both films; "Relativity" can be seen on Sarah's bedroom wall whilst another peice by Escher (i forget the name) can be seen on the wall in Dr. Channard's room as well as the hospital/asylum in Hellbound.
7) Both Labyrinths in the films exist in another dimension, but encompass imagery based around the individual that experiences them. Sarah's is made up of her sub-consious mind in terms of creatures and scenarios (if one analyses the movie in that sense) as is Tiffany's. The Labyrinth in Hellbound: Hellraiser II however is formed around both the nightmares and dreams of the individual person- Tiffany's features clowns and carnivals which she is fond of fused with macabre and surpressed memories.
8) Regarding the above statement, Sarah experiences a vision of her bedroom inside the Labyrinth which proceeds to break apart afterwards as she realises it's a trick. In Hellbound, Kirsty also experiences the same, her house as it used to be reformed as a trick to lure her in, which then also breaks around her (although in a more gruesome way).
9) The Cenobites in the Hellraiser movies are only called to people if they solve the Lament Configuration puzzle box, and then proceed to take that certain individual away into Hell (The Labyrinth). In Labyrinth, when a certain individual wishes upon The Goblin King, he will come to do their bidding or come to take them away into his Labyrinth.
10)Just as they have to be called to appear, so must they be sent back to dissapear. A special line of dialogue had to be said to Jareth to make him go, and the puzzle must be solved again to send the Cenobites back where they came from.
11) In the Hellraiser films, the Keeper of the Lament Configuration puzzle box is the only bieng from the Labyrinth who is allowed travel to Earth at his own free will, and he takes the form of both a human and a huge winged creature of some sort. In Labyrinth, Jareth (as far as i know) can travel to Earth from his realm too, and he can also take the shape of either himself as a human or another winged creature, in this case a barn owl.
12) In Hellbound after Dr. Channard has transformed into a Cenobite, his palms rip open and long, tentacle-like things with eyeballs attached to the end appear. In Labyrinth, there is a plant of some sort which is protruding from a wall which is tentacle-like and has eyeballs on the ends of them (when Sarah first enters the Labyrinth and can't find an opening, just before she meets the worm).
13) Every time it cuts to a shot of the central Castle in Labyrinth, we hear a distinct 4-note horn melody sound. In Hellbound, everytime we see Leviathan (which is also at the centre of it's labyrinth) we hear a deep horn sound, except there are slightly more notes.
14) Just as the Cenobites and the puzzle box promise dreams of fulfilment to the individual, as does Jareth and his crystal balls. All of them of course give you these wishes- but at a price previously unknown to the individual.
15) Just as Labyrinth can be analysed in it's very multi-layered themes and intrepretations of Freudian psychology that range from many topics including erotiscm, so can the same be said for Hellbound, which demands to be read in that sense though it is a lot more visceral.
16) Both Kirsty and Tiffany unwillingly and accidently solve the puzzle box which bring forth the Cenobites. In Labyrinth, Sarah also unwillingly calls Jareth.
17)Both the Cenobites and Jareth love to toy with their unwilling victims, and are quite well versed in almost poetic dialogue (most notably Pinhead in his lines and Jareth in his music).
18) Jareth is portrayed by David Bowie who is of course a glam rock star. In Hellbound, the Female Cenobite is played by Barbie Wilde, who herself is a trained dancer/mime artist who has toured with many bands including Depche Mode, Adam and the Ants, Ultravox and Classix Nouveaux, who's image in the 80s was also very similar to Bowie's glam rock/punk style, especially with heavy use of colouful eye make-up and even having the same hairstyle which Bowie sports in Labyrinth.
19)Jareth has a very pop/rock image (of course, being portrayed by David Bowie) which can also be atrributed to goth. Pinhead and the Cenobites have a neo-punk look who sport long garbs of leather- also common gothic fashion attire. Both sets of characters encompass popular 80s music fashion trends in their images.
20)Jareth and the Cenobites, once they are called, can all appear and dissapear wherever they want (teleport).
21)Both Labyrinths feature huge animatronic creatures- Ludo, goblins, Humongous etc in Labyrinth and The Engineer creature in the maze corridor in Hellraiser. All performed by actors in creature suits.
22)Labyrinth and the first 2 Hellraiser movies were shot in England.
23) In Labyrinth and both the first Hellraiser movies, the credits are shown at the start of the film before the first scene plays.
24) Both sets of films are coming of age stories for their protaganists; for Tiffany, Kirsty and Sarah.
25) Hellraiser is more closely regarded as a fantasy movie rather than a horror, and though Labyrinth is mainly a fantasy it also has minor horror elements (the goblins at the start of the film for example).
26) Symbolism in the form of babies in some sort of peril feature a lot in the Hellraiser movies. In Hellraiser and Hellbound we hear the sound of babies crying either in dream/nightmare sequences, scenes of re-birth/reformation as well as when Tiffany sees a vision in the Labyrinth of a baby with it's mouth sewn shut. In Labyrinth of course the central story is based around the rescue of baby Toby who is in danger.
I'm sure there are more i can't think of at the moment, but yah.
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