Week 26: “The Dreamscape & Nightmares of Clive Barker”
I’m a huge fan of novelist Clive Barker. I’ve read most of his books and comic books
based on his characters and stories (and even the ones he’s written) and I’ve
seen all of his films as a director including those also associated with
characters and worlds that he has created.
Barker’s unique talents for creating dream-like worlds and nightmares
have inspired writers and artists for generations. Despite having only directed three feature
length films and a couple of shorts he’s produced lots more and most all of his
characters and worlds have been translated in various other mediums.
For right now, I’m just going to focus on his three films as
director – Hellraiser (1987), Nightbreed (1990), and Lord of Illusions (1995). Trying to tackle every Barker film or associated
with him would include the entire Hellraiser
franchise, the films based on the Books
of Blood, the Candyman franchise,
and the various side projects that he’s produced, executive produced, or just
provided a screenplay, not to mention the video games and the thousands of
pieces of artwork that he’s produced.
I came to Barker via my older brother and his Books of Blood. He had them all because of a paper he was
writing for school. He knew I was big
into horror (even in middle school) and handed me one of the volumes of the Books of Blood. I devoured that first book. At the time I was a huge fan of Stephen King
so being introduced to Barker was naturally the next step. I quickly read the other two volumes. I was introduced to Hellraiser the same year the second film Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) was released. I saw the first film and then immediately wanted
to see the second film (but unfortunately I was too young to go see it in the
theater so I had to make do with the first film). I was aware that Barker had written and
directed the first film but I had not yet read The Hellbound Heart on which the film is based (I’d read that novel
around the time that Hellraiser III: Hell
on Earth, 1992 was released).
Hellraiser was
unlike anything I had ever seen before.
I had a healthy diet of films based on stories by Stephen King (i.e. Carrie, 1976; Salem’s Lot, 1979; Christine,
1983; Cujo, 1983; Children of the Corn, 1984; Firestarter, 1984; Silver Bullet, 1985; Cat’s
Eye, 1984; Creepshow, 1982) and
Barker was the next novelist I was aware also was associated with films. It was a dark and violent film yet the gore
was presented in a very beautiful way.
It was never a film that was suspenseful, in my opinion. The only scene that really put me on the edge
was Frank’s rebirth scene in the attic which seemed like the most painful scene
in the entire film. Even now, knowing
how that sequence was actually achieved it gets to me. For me the Cernobites were cool! They were dressed all in black and when
Pinhead spoke it was poetic. I never had
any fear of him. Instead. I had fear for
Kirsty (Ashley Laurence). She seemed
like an “everywoman” just like Nancy Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Laurie Strode in Halloween (1978). Kirsty loved her father but disliked her
step-mother and was thrown into this otherworld when she’s first assaulted by
her uncle Frank. Even after all these
sudden revelation she finds the courage to do the right thing in order to save
her father (a journey that would continue into the second film). Hellraiser
was a film with something to say in its complex and broken family atmosphere
shrouded in the fantasies of hell. It
was a great debut feature from a talented writer.
Hellraiser was a
tremendous success and the sequel Hellbound:
Hellraiser II would be released only a year later. Barker would only executive produce Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth and Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) before
having nothing else to do with the franchise.
It wouldn’t be until 1990 when Barker’s next film as a
director would be released. Nightbreed (1990) had a lot more trouble
reaching the screen than his previous film.
By this time I had read The
Damnation Game, Weaveworld, The Hellbound Heart, and now Cabal, which was the basis for Nightbreed. I was highly anticipating this film! My brother was still a Barker fan and saw
this film on opening night. I had to
wait to go see it with a bunch of my friends.
We bought tickets for some PG-13 film but snuck into the theater to see
the violent and monster filled Nightbreed. Now anyone who knows about the history of
this film will know that Barker and the studio went head-to-head in regards to
his film. The budget was smaller than
Barker’s vision so he had to make a lot of compromises. His director’s cut was longer than what the
studio wanted to release into theaters and the studio marketed the film as a
run-of-the-mill slasher film. All of
this contributed to a film that unfortunately tanked at the Box Office. Critics were mixed about the film and
general audiences didn’t know what to do with a film where the monsters were
the good guys and the cops were the bad guys.
The film quickly disappeared from theaters but that would not be the end
of this film audiences would discover it on video.
Hearing about all the controversy surrounding the film and
rumors of a longer director’s version of the film, Nightbreed’s cult status began to grow. Audiences gave the film new life and
eventually a Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut
surfaced at film festivals with footage never before seen and scenes restored
in order originally intended by Barker.
I was one of the fortunate people to see this version as I helped bring
it to Georgia at the 2013 Gwinnett Center International Film Festival, where it
would have its Georgia Premiere (it would also screen at DragonCon later the
same year).
Nightbreed like
all of Barker’s stories is a world filled with amazing creatures and a vast
mythology that screams to be told and seen and it is an acquired taste. This is one of my favorite fantasy films as
for me it is more fantasy than horror (as are most all of Barker’s novels) as
well as my favorite Barker film.
We return to the world of “cool” with Barker’s next feature Lord of Illusions (1995). Since Nightbreed’s
release several other films associated with his name would be released such as Candyman (1992) and its sequel Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995),
and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, so
the world was getting plenty of Barker. Lord of Illusions would be a different
type of film as it would take place in the world of magic and illusions as well
as that cults, monsters, and horror.
Starring Scott Bakula (from TVs Quantum
Leap) and former Bond Girl Famke Jennsen (whom I’ve always had a thing for)
I was dying to see this new film. I saw
it on opening night and was not disappointed.
Despite being a mystery film filled with magic and illusions it was
still a Barker film that also had a Jamestown-like cult at the center and many
people who would meet grisly ends. It is
also the first time that Barker’s broken private investigator Harry D’Amour
would be brought to the screen. As much
as I loved this film, it doesn’t seem that mainstream audiences liked the film
as it only made $13.4 million at the Box Office which ruined the chance of any
further big screen adventures for D’Amour.
Lord of Illusions
also had its problems reaching mainstream audiences as it was also a hard film
to market. Its mixture of horror,
mystery, cults, monsters, and other strange paranormal things confounded
audiences and critics once again. It
wasn’t until the film reached video that it found its true audience.
Hellraiser is
Barker’s only film that has a huge mainstream following and with nine films in
the franchise it has a life of its own. Candyman is the only other film with its
own franchise while most of the other properties associated with Barker has had
mixed results to best. My favorite has been the films associated with the Books of Blood series which is Dread (2009), The Midnight Meat Train (2008) and Book of Blood (2009). These
have all been some excellent films that stay true to the spirit of Barker’s
stories.
For those of you who didn’t know, Barker also directed two
“official” short films prior to Hellraiser. I say “official” only because Barker wrote
and directed lots of stage plays and probably directed more short films than
the two I’m about to mention. Salome (1973) and The Forbidden (1978) are the two short films you can easily find. There’s such a huge gap in between these two
shorts and his first feature that it’s hard to believe that he didn’t do anything
else. These are both disturbing visions
from a director trying to find his voice and style in the film medium. More a curiosity for Barker fans than
anything else as he adapts two of his own stories.
Barker may not have directed a lot of films in his long
career but there is no denying his lasting influence can be seen and felt in
the vast worlds that he has crafted and which others continue to inhabit and
play in.
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