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The forbidden clive7/5/2023 ![]() ![]() For instance, a psychopathic delinquent kills himself and transfers his spirit into a pig’s body, which allows him to devour his admirers. Many of his stories reach Ovidian levels of metamorphosis, Kafka-esque nightmares of the flesh and mind. His stories evoke brutality and violence that move beyond our bodies and into our spirits. He also transcends those descriptors by miles and dimensions. ![]() All of those things he is, wonderfully and brilliantly. ![]() Perhaps because of the Hellraiser sequels, in some circles Barker’s name has become synonymous with pulpy, trashy, and gross. Discovering a copy of the Books of Blood was a monumental occasion for me. As a longtime fan of Hellraiser, it became a necessity for me to find Barker’s books, which are tragically hard to come by now. This came clear to me when I read Clive Barker’s fiction for the first time. You find some films that use it to fill an otherwise thin plot and others that find meaning, albeit a disturbing and brutal meaning, in violence. Yet there are different ways to use gore. Lately I have come to enjoy quieter, less messy offerings. When I was younger, I did love gore, but found little enjoyment in it beyond curiosity and testing my own stamina. I find myself split between these two, especially in recent years. On one side are the gorehounds who love viscera and splatter above all else and on the other, the purists, who want all of that splashing off-screen. “Gore” is a term that seems to split horror fans in half. ![]()
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