There are eleven Hellraiser movies. Solely 4 of them made this checklist.
October is outlined in Webster’s Dictionary as “31 days of horror.” Don’t trouble trying it up; it’s true. Most individuals take that to imply highlighting one horror film a day, however right here at FSR, we’ve taken that up a spooky notch or 9 by celebrating every day with a prime ten checklist. This text rating the ten greatest Clive Barker motion pictures is a part of our ongoing collection, 31 Days of Horror Lists.
Clive Barker was dubbed “the way forward for horror” by Stephen King again within the 80s, and whereas that moniker could or not have performed out as anticipated over time, there’s no denying the impression Barker has had on the horror movie style. Twenty-three characteristic movies have been produced from his work since 1985, together with direct diversifications, unfastened interpretations, and sequels starting from the attention-grabbing to the apparent cash-grabs.
It helps that Barker’s writing is inherently visible or, extra precisely, extremely sense-oriented. He crafts wildly imaginative worlds and characters, and along with “seeing” them, readers will undoubtedly discover themselves lathered of their tastes, smells, pains, and pleasures too. For all of that, although, filmmakers haven’t all the time had a simple time translating Barker’s creativeness to the display screen. We’ve narrowed it down fairly simply from the twenty-three movies to the ten that really matter probably the most.
So put down that Clive Barker ebook — until it’s certainly one of his six volumes of Books of Blood as a result of these are masterworks and take priority over all else — and take a look at the ten greatest Clive Barker motion pictures as ranked by Chris “Button Face” Coffel, Brad “Baphomet” Gullickson, Meg “Peloquin” Shields, Jacob “Narcisse” Trussell, and me,
10. Hellraiser (2022)
twentieth Century Studios
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser franchise is among the longest-running — and nonetheless lively — horror movie collection going. The unique characteristic premiered in 1987, and the eleventh debuted on Hulu final 12 months. Barker serves as Govt Producer for David Bruckner‘s Hellraiser, and his world is in good arms as Bruckner crafts a sensuous, grim, and gleefully violent tackle the Cenobites, the need for ache as pleasure, and the darkness that compels folks to fuck with devilish puzzle bins. The movie’s themes discover an prolonged life within the real-world pains (and pleasures) of habit, one thing the unique’s Uncle Frank knew a factor or two about, and whereas there’s arguably a bit an excessive amount of chatter and never sufficient Chatterer right here, the movie remains to be leagues higher than any of the Hellraiser sequels we’ve gotten over the previous 20 years. (Rob Hunter)
9. Candyman (2021)
Common Photos
For my part, Nia DaCosta’s Candyman is the template for efficiently reinvigorating a long-dormant horror franchise. It expands on what got here earlier than moderately than attempting to cater to some nostalgic reminiscence that may by no means be recreated. Whereas the script (co-written by Jordan Peele) does tread acquainted beats because it refreshes the viewers on who Clive Barker’s delusion monster is, it by no means settles for merely retelling Bernard Rose’s 1992 movie. As an alternative, it digs deeper, discovering new avenues to broaden the mythos whereas nonetheless paying tribute to the previous, just like the revelation that this Candyman is only a singular bee in a hive of Candymen, beginning with the unique we all know and love, Tony Todd’s Daniel Robitaille. Fingers crossed, we finally get to revisit DaCosta and Peele’s growth of Barker’s unique mythos in future installments of the franchise. (Jacob Trussell)
8. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
Hellraiser as a franchise is a combined bag, however Anthony Hickox‘s entry could make a reputable declare as one of the best of the bunch. The plot is type of goofy, with Pinhead screaming lots whereas being trapped in a concrete pillar and WWI flashbacks that present some backstory for the Lead Cenobite, however the kills are top-notch. Pinhead goes ham in a nightclub, terrorizing clubgoers cleverly and sarcastically, leaving a scattering of limbs, decapitated heads, and useless our bodies everywhere in the dance flooring. Trying to see folks skinned? This film has you lined! At one level, the membership DJ is killed when his CDs are embedded into his cranium. Ever the jokester, Pinhead turns a few of his victims into humorous Cenobites. The DJ can now shoot CDs out of his mouth, and a murdered cameraman has an enormous lens that extends out of his eye to penetrate of us. Will Pinhead lastly unleash hell on Earth, or will the younger intrepid reporter (Terry Farrell) who finds the mysterious puzzle field ship the Priest again to Hell? (Chris Coffel)
7. Hellraiser II: Hellbound (1988)
One thing is lacking from Hellraiser II: Hellbound. Or somebody. It’s Clive Barker. His absence detracts, however his writing buddy Peter Atkins jumps on the screenplay with abandon and delivers one thing acquainted, if not equivalent to the unique movie. The sequel picks up virtually instantly after the final movie, neatly centering Julia’s villainy over Frank’s and remodeling Kristy’s caring Physician Channard right into a beast worthy of Pinhead’s consideration. Hellraiser II: Hellbound maintains Barker’s intelligent perversion and a spotlight to character, refusing to make do with nifty Cenobite design. Though, there’s loads of that as properly. (Brad Gullickson)
6. Nightbreed (1990)
Everybody has a movie (or movies) that they noticed a number of occasions within the theater. For many that film is a few blockbuster or one other, however for me, it was 1990’s Nightbreed that had me coming again time and again to get pleasure from what Clive Barker needed to present me. An adaptation of his personal brief novel, Cabal, the movie introduces viewers to a secret group of literal monsters dwelling underground in rural Canada. As must be anticipated from a Barker movie, these monsters aren’t truly the villains right here — that honor is saved for redneck dipshits, sadistic regulation enforcement, and a serial killer performed with cool, creepy aplomb by David Freaking Cronenberg. Budgetary points and studio meddling saved the movie from fulfilling Barker’s unique imaginative and prescient, however there’s greater than sufficient right here to entertain and thrill from the creatively designed monsters to the really unsettling sequences with Cronenberg’s masked killer. A greater world would have seen quite a few sequels and prolonged world-building right here, however we’ll must accept this one wild, imaginative, and tacky slice of monstrous pleasure. (Rob Hunter)
5. Rawhead Rex (1986)
Empire Photos
As a recovering Catholic, Rawhead Rex had me in its grip with one easy scene — a priest, riddled with worry and fast to vary allegiances, guarantees his loyalty to the mighty Rawhead Rex and seals the deal by letting the beast urinate throughout his face. Oh, and the massive man killing a child makes me smile and nod approvingly too. George Pavlou‘s movie, his second Barker tour after the largely forgotten Underworld (1985), is a enjoyable creature characteristic with a monster design sitting someplace between extraordinarily cool and clunky as hell. However the rattling factor works as a extremely entertaining B-movie regardless of the hiccups (and never simply due to that cowardly priest’s baptism). (Rob Hunter)
4. Hellraiser (1987)
There have been Clive Barker motion pictures earlier than 1987’s Hellraiser, and there have been Clive Barker motion pictures after 1987’s Hellraiser, however no Clive Barker film has made as massive of a mark on popular culture as 1987’s Hellraiser. (Okay, 1992’s Candyman most likely did, however that’s it!) A easy, low-budget story of demons (to some, angels to others) coming to gather the soul of whoever opened their rattling field, the movie appears on its floor like every variety of creature options, however a lot to the dismay of studio executives on the time, Barker’s movie pairs its horrors with an embrace of sweaty sexuality, kinks designed to make center America shudder, and themes that go properly past good and evil. It’s straightforward to overlook that Pinhead — a reputation by no means spoken right here — is just glimpsed for mere moments on this first film, with the human villains being the true monsters. (Rob Hunter)
3. The Midnight Meat Practice (2008)
Earlier than the rest, let’s first admire the attractive uncertainty and impending menace of this title. The Midnight Meat Practice. It may possibly imply so many issues to so many individuals, virtually none of them excellent news for these stepping aboard. Right here, although, the title is revealed at its easiest whereas layering in backstory and revealing up the ante and the mythology in fascinating methods. Late-night commuters are disappearing from the town’s subway trains, and Bradley Cooper discovers the perpetrator is a hammer-wielding Vinnie Jones. That alone affords up some implausible imagery, and director Ryûhei Kitamura — he of 2000’s Versus fame — captures all of it with sharp, blood-splattered visuals, but it surely’s the explanation behind the slaughter that opens the nightmare up in wildly intriguing methods. (Rob Hunter)
2. Lord of Illusions (1995)
For as a lot of a stamp as Clive Barker has placed on the horror style, it’s straightforward to overlook that he solely directed three options. The opposite two, Hellraiser and Nightbreed, are above, and I’m thrilled to see his last movie behind the digital camera land so excessive on our checklist. Lord of Illusions has lots happening, much more so for those who watch the director’s lower, and the result’s a splendidly wild mash-up of genres dwelling and respiration below the cloak of Barker’s creativeness and needs. Half noir-ish detective story, half story of cult obsession, half story about demonic rumblings and the darkest of stage magic, the movie doesn’t work for lots of people as a result of it’s focusing on so many areas. The fortunate ones, although, get to get pleasure from a fantastical expertise that lets Scott Bakula unfastened as a horny main man, finds authentic terror with murderous cult members, and admits a reality we’ve identified all alongside… that folks like David Copperfield and David Blaine are in league with the satan. (Rob Hunter)
1. Candyman (1992)
TriStar Photos
For those who’re anaphylactic, seize your EpiPen as a result of it’s time to speak about the bees. Unleashed on-screen in 1992, Candyman adapts Clive Barker’s “The Forbidden,” the crown jewel of the fifth quantity of the Books of Blood. Like one of the best page-to-screen diversifications, Bernard Rose’s romantic slasher honors its supply materials whereas discovering the house to be its personal factor: from extra minor tweaks like our villain’s iconic fur coat to the extra seismic shifts like relocating the story from a rotting housing property in Liverpool to the racialized Chicago tasks. Candyman follows grad scholar Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen), who delves too deeply right into a grisly native legend with horrifying outcomes. Believing is seeing, it seems, as Helen’s curiosity summons the eponymous, tragic, hook-handed tulpa (a beguiling, pathos-commanding Tony Todd), who worms his method into Helen’s thoughts, actuality, and coronary heart. Spawning three sequels and an all-time nice horror rating by the good Philip Glass, Candyman is a peerless instance of what the style can obtain if you let a brilliantly freakish thoughts like Barker’s take the wheel. (Meg Shields)
Stephen King known as Clive Barker the way forward for horror, however we see extra 31 Days of Horror Lists in your horror future.
Associated Matters: 31 Days of Horror Lists, Clive Barker, Horror
