The Best of Clive Barker

Clive Barker is a very prolific storyteller both in literature and film.  For a lot of people, Mr. Barker has an incredible imagination, albeit a very dark one.  Yet, that dark imagination has led to some of the most unique and diverse stories ever told.  Clive Barker is responsible for many books including The Hellbound Heart novella as well as the Books of Blood series.  There is no mistaking that this man has a lot of creative energy.  In horror circles, Mr. Barker is an extremely respected and sought after author and film-maker.  Stephen King himself once said, “I have seen the future of horror, his name is Clive Barker.”  When you’ve got the master horror novelist himself respecting you like that, you’re doing something right.  For this list, I’m going to discuss the best movies that were directed, written and/or produced by Clive Barker.  Be aware that a lot of these films that I’m going to go over are based on his novellas or short stories.  So, with that in mind, let’s delve into the dark and twisted mind of Clive Barker.

Hellraiser

The directorial debut of Clive Barker is both one of his best and most shocking movies ever made.  Hellraiser is regarded by most as the movie that introduced us to the demonic character of Pinhead, played brilliantly by Doug Bradley.  However, at its core, Hellraiser is a love story, albeit a very twisted and bloody one.  It’s also a family drama that happens to involve the supernatural and demonic entities brought forth by a mysterious puzzle box.  Not only is Hellraiser one of my favorite horror movies of all time, it’s also one of the most visually distinctive films I’ve ever seen.  It’s gothic, gross and disturbing all at the same time.  The characters are very interesting, including Frank and Julia as well as Kirsty Cotton, played by Ashley Laurence.  Andrew Robinson plays Larry Cotton, the wife of Julia and father of Kirsty.  Hellraiser was released in 1987, a time in which the horror genre was kind of stagnating with all these slasher movies and their sequels.  Hellraiser injected new life into the genre and took it to another level.  If you’re a fan of horror movies, Hellraiser is a must-see.

Nightbreed

The second feature-length film directed by Clive Barker, Nightbreed was as much a fantasy film as it was a horror movie.  Unfortunately, the movie studios felt that the focus of the film was too much on the monsters being the good guys and the humans being the bad guys, which was the original intent.  So, they chopped it up and marketed it as a slasher film, which is what Clive Barker had not intended.  Thankfully, the recent release of the director’s cut of the film rectifies a lot of the problems that the original release had and is more in tune with Mr. Barker’s novella, Cabal.  This is an absolutely bizarre movie.  It’s visually very interesting with amazing costume, creature and set designs.  The underground lair of the Nightbreed is amazing to look at.  The creature designs are simply put, some of the most unique I’ve ever seen.  This, I think, is Mr. Barker at his most imaginative.  It is violent, but it is not gory like Hellraiser.  There are a lot of themes at play here, including prejudice.  This one comes recommended, as it is one of the most original movies I’ve ever seen.

Lord of Illusions

While I would consider Lord of Illusions to be Clive Barker’s weakest directorial effort, it is by no means a bad movie.  Far from it.  This is a film that takes the idea of magic in the real world and approaches it in a very different and visceral way.  While some of the CGI effects in the film are flimsy even by 1995’s standards, a lot of the practical effects and costume designs still stand up.  The story is very interesting about a detective, Harry D’Amour, as he investigates the mysterious death of a famous magician.  Peeling away the layers of the mystery, D’Amour begins to suspect that much darker forces are at play that could threaten the entire world.  You want to know something really funny?  In some of Mr. Barker’s books, the character of Harry D’Amour goes up against Pinhead, which would place Lord of Illusions in the same universe as Hellraiser.  It’s an interesting thought that I would love to see on the big screen.  Scott Bakula is fantastic as D’Amour, with Kevin J. O’Connor and Famke Janssen in supporting roles.  I definitely recommend it.

The Midnight Meat Train

Based on Clive Barker’s short story of the same name, The Midnight Meat Train follows an amateur photographer as he unwittingly witnesses an act of absolute brutality by a mysterious figure played by Vinnie Jones.  Attempting to solve the mystery, the photographer decides to follow the killer to the end of the line.  This is a particularly gruesome film that features some really stark and dreary imagery.  Vinnie Jones as the silent villain is an intimidating presence.  It’s a riveting film from beginning to end and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Clive Barker’s stories.

While Clive Barker may have only directed a handful of movies, he’s more than made his mark on the horror genre with his movies and his writing.  This is a guy that truly has a finger on the pulse of the genre.  While people may have tried to imitate Mr. Barker, nobody crafts a tale quite like he does.  These are some of the best films that he’s been a part of, in my opinion and I think fans of the genre should check them out.

 

 

Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.