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On the middle ground stand two of Clive's more recent film
endeavors "Lord of Illusions" and "Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh".
The first one (LOI) could have been a lot better. I was a big fan of Scott Bakula because of "Quantum
Leap" (one of my all-time favorite TV shows) and I though
So why do I enjoy Clive Barker's work and pay special tribute to him on this page? First, I totally agree with SK. "Hellraiser" helped to change the face of horror in a way similar to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. With the release of "Hellraiser", fantasy horror emerged full force taking the genre to a whole new level. Second, IMAGERY. The silver screen is a canvas upon which Clive's paints images that seep out of the darkest corners of human existence. Pain, pleasure, fear and love can all be the same emotion in Clive's world because, as in real life, all feed off the human soul and leads to the ultimate conclusion....death. Searing light and darkness spewing forth from the same source, feeding the terror that drives our love of this genre. Clive himself has admitted to be greatly influenced by Argento, who also is a master of imagery. Wonder what he thinks of Fulci???
Again, as always, if you have anything you can add to help improve this page or if you have any comments, criticisms, or suggestions, please e-mail me.
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Stephen King once wrote, "I have seen the future of
horror and his name is Clive Barker." This was based mainly on Clive's literary works
at the time.However, I do think that he has done an outstanding job on certain occasions
in translating his literary vision onto the silver screen. Let me clarify this, not
everything Clive has had his name attached is great. This is quite evident in the last two
Hellraisers. But the emphasis of my previous statement is on "attach", because
that is all he did with these films. As for the rest of his films, I loved
"Hellraiser 1 and 2", "Nightbreed" and the original
"Candyman". All are excellent illustrations of what Stephen King was speaking
about.
this could have been his big break. The
movie was alright, but I think Clive wanted to do too much with it. Still I recommend it
to all. The second film, "Candyman 2", shouldn't have been made. Sure Candyman
was a cool character, but I don't think he should be categorized like other
"slashers". His killing isn't as revenge driven as 
Thirdly and finally, I admire Clive's vision. Some
may say, "isn't that the same as imagery" and in some ways, maybe. But vision
goes so much deeper. It can best be illustrated in the following scenario. Let's
say you had all the money in the world to build a roller coaster and you
had the world 's
best roller coaster builders working for you. You could never really be successful
if you couldn't visualize what thrilled your patrons. That one extra 360° turn
upside-down through a wall of fire will always make them remember the experience for the
rest of their lives. Well, horror movies are our roller coasters and Clive has provided us
with some excellent rides. Hopefully he can continue to do the same in the future.
Go to Clive Barker's
Biography
Go to Clive Barker's Filmography
