In 1984–85, Randel (credited as Anthony Randel) co-wrote with Lisa Tomei and produced the New World Pictures rework of the Japanese The Return of Godzilla into the English film Godzilla 1985. Randel's breakthrough into directing came when Clive Barker entrusted Randel with Hellbound: Hellraiser II, the 1988 sequel to the 1987 horror film Hellraiser. it received mixed reviews, but was a financial success. Randel also directed the live-action film adaptation of the manga Fist of the North Star, unlike his previous film, he shied away from the norm of extreme violence, to the chagrin of critics. the film was originally planned to be released theatrically, but due to poor reviews it went direct-to-video. He also directed one of Fangoria's low-budget films, Children of the Night (1991), which one critic described as obviously low budget, but with striking scenes.