Anyone who knows horror knows the name Clive Barker. The renowned English author of such masterful fiction like Books of Blood, Weaveworld, The Great and Secret Show, and Imajica. Many of his short stories have become movies. Hellraiser (probably his most famous), Lord of Illusions, Nightbreed, Candyman and recently the Midnight Meat Train.I just saw the Midnight Meat Train last night. I've been watching horror movies lately, getting into the Halloween spirit. (And heck, I was sick all weekend, so I had nothing better to do than lay about listlessly and stare at a blurry television.) I have to say, Midnight Meat Train was both a thrill and a disappointment. The movie had the requisite gore. I mean, at its basest the movie is about a guy on a train who butchers people. Most of the movie was decent. Good pacing, solid characters. Nice tension. But there were a few parts t
hat didn't make sense. The dreams the photographer has of the train. Were they dreams or precognitive visions? The blood he bathes in, his? Real or not real? And that mark on his chest. What made it? The flash of what we were shown when the butcher caught him? Or something else?It's never quite clear what those small details mean, and those details are what tie the story together. Still, it was a fun movie. If you have Comcast cable, you can see it for free on FearNET. But whatever the case, I'm going to reread Books of Blood. That volume contains some classic horror literature, and Clive Barker is truly one of the best.
Thanks, Clive, for the entertainment.
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2 comments:
Another Clive Barker fan!! Well, I'm a wavering, moody fan but a fan of his written works nonetheless. My favorite piece by him was Cabal (aka Nightbreed) and I was soo hoping that he would expand it, do a movie sequel for it or something. He could have done that, he could have done a movie version of the Imajica, another of my favorite pieces, but instead...we get the Midnight Meat Train...a slasher flick...from one of the BEST monster creatures in the biz. Yeah, I am disappointed, but his old stuff is still good.
Hey Mya.
I fell in love with Barker's work years ago after Books of Blood. What a spooky, thrilling collection of stories. He blew my mind with The Great and Secret Show. Really deep stuff. I haven't read much of him recently. Last thing I read of his was The Thief of Always, which I liked. But his most recent adult horror, Mister B Gone looks pretty good. I'll have to check that one out. Another horror author I really like...Robert McCammon. He's incredible.
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