Masters Of Horror: Clive Barker

Clive Barker... A true master of horror who created such legendary horror movies as, 'Hellraiser'!

Clive Barker... What can I say about the man that hasn't already been said? I mean as weird as this may sound, this master of horror, who was born in Liverpool England in 1952, could be said to be the, 'William Shatner' of horror.

What I mean by this, is that for the better part of a few decades actor/writer/musician, William Shatner (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) has been branding himself as a major player in the world of Science Fiction, what with having either been in or directed or even written, Star Trek novels/TV Shows & Movies, he has also done his own spoken word version of David Bowie's, 'Major Tom' (A song that could be said to be sort of, 'Sci-fiish'... He also wrote a series of Science Fiction novels called, 'Tek Wars', that were so good that they were turned in to a TV Show in the 90s! And that is just to name a few!

And you could say that Clive Barker has done very similar for the horror genre as well! I mean this guy created such amazing horror movie villains as, 'Pinhead' & 'Candyman' (Both are characters that started in stories that had been written by the master,) but that is just to name a few of the awesome villains that he has brought to the big and small screens!

Pinhead (Played by: Doug Bradley) & Candyman (Played by: Tony Todd)... Two horror movie legends that were originally created by: Clive Barker!

Besides those mentioned above, this epic filmmaker has helped bring to the world, such classic horror movies as, Rawhead Rex (1987)... A classic story about a pagan gods bloody rampage through out the Irish countryside (a movie that was also based on one of his stories...)

Another classic horror movie that Clive Barker did that was based on his written work was the movie, Nightbreed (1990)... Now this amazing movie told the story of an unstable man who is led to believe that he is some sort of serial killer, and ends up finding refuge in a hidden refuge where the monsters and the like have come to hide from humanity!

And the last one that I thought that I would mention here (although there is a ton more great movies that he has done that I found that are just great,) but this one is, Lord Of Illusion (1995)... This classic, which brought together an amazingly talented cast that included the likes of, 'Scott Bakula' (Enterprise), and, 'Famke Janssen' (X-Men)... This movie which tells the story of a New York Private Detective, who while on a case in LA ends up getting involved with a cult, and prophecy that is supposed to have foretold of a cruel cult leader's resurrection...

Scott Bakula going up against the forces of darkness in Clive Barker's 'Lord Of Illusion' (1995)

Now that is just a small cross section of his film/written works, but this amazingly talented artist is an acomplished visual artist, having illustrated some of his own novels... His artwork has also been displayed in galleries in the U.S. In places like, 'Los Angeles', 'New York' & even 'Chicago'!

Now the truth is, is I could go on and on about this guy, and his truly prolific work... But you get the point... I would say that as an over all artist, that this guy maybe one of the most prolific masters of horror of all time!