Today marks the 64th birthday of English author/director/artist Clive Barker, a man who probably doesn’t need any introduction to the horror community. But just in case, he’s the man who created perhaps the most evil and dangerous puzzle box in Hellraiser, who mixed noir and horror in the criminally under-appreciated Lord of Illusions, who shaped my early nightmares with “The Thief of Always“, whose game Undying is still to this day one of the most eerie interactive experiences I’ve ever gone through.
You see, Barker is not a traditional horror creator. Rather, he has this wonderful fascination with magic, mysticism, the supernatural, and all things related, finding a way to blend them all into grand, almost epic tales. His stories don’t put only our world in a state of peril, they risk other worlds as well. No plane of existence is safe from Barker’s pen or brush, from “The Kingdom of The Cuckoo” in “Weaveworld” to Mr. Hood’s time warping realm in “The Thief of Always” to Pandemonium, the capital city of Hell, in “The Scarlet Gospels”. It is because of Barker’s seemingly limitless imagination that his works feel vast and limitless, the possibilities of where his stories might go endless and, therefore, always exciting and unpredictable.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, my first encounter with Clive Barker was with his children’s book “The Thief of Always”, which I saved up my lunch money to buy a copy of. A few years later, I got my hands on his game Undying, which only further sealed the deal of my interest in his works. As the years passed, I found myself watching his films, reading more of his novels and venturing into his short stories, and ogling his artwork. His oddities were as fascinating to me as many find the works of David Lynch, David Cronenberg, and Tim Burton. He found ways to marry beauty and horror in unique approaches, which is why he is one of the most recognized horror authors and ranks up there with King, Koontz, and similar contemporary names.
Although he hasn’t gotten behind the camera too many times, Barker’s three studio films that he did direct are each classics in their own right. Obviously we all know Hellraiser and the impact the ensuing franchise has had. Doug Bradley’s performance as Pinhead is so iconic that fans can’t imagine him played by anyone else. Nightbreed has become a cult sensation, one that perfectly exemplifies the imagination and scope that I spoke of earlier. It also turns horror conventions on its head, making the monsters the heroes and humans the villains. However, there is always that shade of gray in the middle, where nothing is falls under simple categorizations. And in Lord of Illusions, Barker took the world of illusionists and magicians and wove a haunting story behind their mystery. Scott Bakula’s portrayal of Harry D’Amour is one of my favorites in the horror genre and Daniel von Bargen brought charisma and foreboding, demonic strength to Nix.
With 16 novels, dozens of short stories, wonderful collections of art and a few video game titles under his belt, Barker is a horror auteur who paves the way with his works. We wish him a very happy birthday and are always excited to see what comes next from him!