"Clive Barker's 'Book of Blood'"

Warning: This post and any embedded video may not be suitable for wimps or those easily scared by Hollywood trickery.

I have been a long-time fan of Clive Barker's, the openly gay horror writer with a mind like no other's. My favorite Barker work is Weaveworld, a truly unfilmable novel about a race of magical beings who, to save themselves from destruction at the hands of man (not to mention an unspeakably evil witch who killed her triplet sisters in the womb), have literally woven themselves into a carpet to escape detection. It's one of the most original works of fantasy fiction of the 20th Century, and if you haven't read it, I urge you to do so.

Clive was quite young (and gorgeous) in this picture with one of his most memorable creations, Pinhead, from the Hellraiser films. The first Hellraiser was groundbreaking horror with then state-of-the-art FX. I distinctly remember when it came out on VHS, taking it to my friend Terry's house and telling him, "You wanna see a horror movie? This is a horror movie!" The scene where Frank reconstitutes himself using the blood his brother accidentally spilled on the spot where Frank died is just thrilling. And Christopher Young's soaring, evil carousel waltz of a score is so chilling. Sadly, the inevitable remake is in development. I just hope that they don't go CGI crazy and ruin it (of course they will).

Barker's last film adaptation, Midnight Meat Train was an under seen and underrated horror movie starring The Hangover's very hot Bradley Cooper as a photographer on the trail of a particularly nasty subway serial killer, played by soccer hooligan Vinnie Jones. Barker fans took distributor Lion's Gate to task for not properly promoting the film. Brooke Shields, Roger Bart and Ted Raimi had delicious cameos in this deliriously bloody and horrifying little gem.

Now comes the latest Barker adaptation, Book of Blood. Named for Barker's "Books of Blood" anthology, the plot apparently combines two of the stories in the book, in a tale about a man who is so haunted by the dead, that they literally write their stories on his skin (via).

Sadly, it is being released Direct-to-Video, which rarely bodes well (with a few exceptions - Boondock Saints, anyone?).

And of course, I have my own ideas as to whether Weaveworld is unfilmable, or not. Now if only someone would give me the money.. hahaha!

By the way - thanks to everyone who offered their good thoughts and encouragement over the last few weeks. I am feeling much better. Not 100% (do any of us, ever?), but better. If summer would ever actually arrive here in the Northeast, I am sure I'd feel even better, still.

More, anon.

Prospero