The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
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Book Reviews of The Hellbound Heart
Book Review: Explore the depravity of the human heart
Summary: 5 Stars
This fast-paced, action-packed novella served as the basis for Clive Barker's extreme horror movie masterpiece Hellraiser, but it is well worth reading on its own merits. The human heart and its vulnerability to perverse pleasures of a sensuous nature is a compelling theme at the heart of Barker's writing. Those familiar with the movie will find that this original story matches up fairly closely with what they have seen, but there are some important differences. For one, a little more information about the infamous puzzle box is revealed. The characters are fleshed out a little better, yet Julia remains a cold person whose motives are not completely understandable. The Cenobites are actually featured much less here than in the movie, and the physical descriptions of them are far less developed--Pinhead himself reportedly speaks with a girlish voice in the novella. The blood and gore are certainly here, but their full magnitude is determined by the imagination of the reader. Interestingly, Kirsty's relationship with Rory (who was called Larry in the movie) is ambiguous at best. While one assumes Rory is her father, Kirsty always refers to him by name, and her relationship with him, if he is her father, is not a normal one for she seems to relate to him as some sort of potential lover. The depth of Barker's vision is much better developed in print than on the movie screen, and that is what makes this novella a must-read for fans of extreme horror. The dark side of the human soul is a source tapped deeply by Barker's imagination, and he is unafraid of revealing the depravity of any given individual. As such, his writing betrays a complexity and ingenious subtlety which critics of horror will never identify or understand. Surprisingly, there is really not a great deal of perverse sexuality in this particular work, so readers who tend to shy away from his Books of Blood may actually find The Hellhound Heart to be the optimal doorway by which to enter the haunted, terrifyingly alive world of this modern master of horror.
Book Review: When the bell tolls, the Cenobites come
Summary: 5 Stars
From Clive Barker's novella 'The Hellbound Heart' was born the movies series of 'Hellraiser'. Here is where it all began. The book can be purchased separately or sometimes as part of an anthology, but either way, if you love 'Hellraiser' you need to read the story that started it all.
Rory and Julia Cotton move into the house left to Rory and his brother Frank. Rory calls on his old friend Kirsty to help with the move, an old friend with nothing in common with the icy, elegant Julia. Julia senses something is wrong with the master bedroom, she calls it the "damp" room, and refuses to move into it, choosing a smaller bedroom instead.
Its not long before Julia discovers something is lurking inside the damp room. After Rory cuts his hand and bleeds onto the floor, she finds a disfigured shell of a man lurking in the shadows, all cut flesh and raw nerve endings. It's Frank, and Frank wants Julia to help him become whole again through sacrifices of blood.
Frank had been experimenting with a dangerous item called Lemarchand's Box, a cross between a music box and a rubic's cube, which supposedly was the gateway to ultimate pleasure. What Frank found were the Cenobites, of the Order Of The Gash, eager to take his flesh and twist it.
Frank's plan runs awry when Kirsty goes to visit Julia and finds a man in the house, torn apart, and being mutilated by Frank. Kirsty frees herself from Frank, taking the box with her, and winds out in an asylum. At the asylum, she solves the box and inadvertently summons the Cenobites. Not wanting to become a victim of the Cenobites, Kirsty offers up a deal ... Frank's life for hers.
Though this is a novella (only 164 pages in large font) it is worth the price of a full sized book. The novella can also be found in some older anthologies if you look through the used book sections, but you won't be disappointed by paying full price. This novella is one of Barker's masterpieces. Enjoy!
Book Review: Excellent Book on Man's Depravity and the Human Heart
Summary: 5 Stars
I first came across this book hesitant and unsure of what to expect. I had already seen the Hellraiser movie and I thought I might have been disappointed because I already knew the storyline. However, after reading this book I realized that Clive Barker tells things better on ink and paper than on a movie screen. Even with all the guts and gore in the book the reason why the book captures me so much is the fact that Barker tries to show us what is inside the hearts of people. The actual theme of the book is what makes this book fascinating not the blood and suspense. This is a true horror story if there ever was one. The Cenobites also add to the intrigue and horror to the book. The Cenobites are demons who offer limitless pleasure to all the senses only to realize afterwards that they are only interested in pain and suffering. The introduction of the book gets the mood going and afterwards it will want to make you want to read more. The interaction between Frank and Julia also adds to the fascination of the story. Frank's character you could say depicts the restless and ceaseless anguish of mankind looking for something "beyond" what this world offers. Frank shows us that human beings are beings that are driven for the need for lust, pleasure, and sensory satisfaction. That people will even go beyond moral imperatives to satisfy their carnal passions and live life as if it was one sensory experience. Though this view of man presented by Barker seems dismal and discouraging, he does teach us the unfortunate condition of man on earth. Barker does a good job showing us the horrors contained within man's heart and where it can lead us if our desires are not contained.Book Review: The Origins Of Hellraiser
Summary: 5 Stars
Many people don't have the stomach or the gall to read books, they just sit back and watch the movies. Irritating. For those of us who read and watch movies, it becomes a test of faith and endurance when faced with the non-literate folks who think that the movie, based-on-a-book is the shizzit in comparrison to the book. We, the reading fiends, usually point out the glaring inconsistancies. Let's take, for instance, the highly popular Hellraiser series from the demented mind of Clive Barker. Demented? You ain't seen nothing yet. Read the Books of Blood or The Inhuman Condition or In The Flesh. Try Rawhead Rex on for size. For those who think that Hellraiser and Candyman and The Lords Of Illusion were just too much have no idea what Clive Barker is capable of. You want gratuitous sex? Read Coldheart Canyon. Want violence? The Midnight Meat Train or How Spoilers Bleed. Pinhead? Bring it on. Am I rambling? Perhaps a little, but my point is this. There is the Book, then there is the Movie. The Book is usually better than (99 times out of 100) The Movie. The Hellbound Heart is the genesis of Hellraiser. It is the novella that explains the whole thing. Dark and creepy and very Clive Barker, The Hellbound Heart will make all those points in the movie where you get a little puzzled understandable. Read the book. It is completely f*cking cool. Then watch the movie and see what they couldn't put in.
Dig it!
Book Review: one of the best horror novels ever penned
Summary: 5 Stars
Barker plays with the english language as if it were his own personal toy in this short novel that cuts all the bs and pointless insipid dross and gets straight to the point with gruesomely poignant detail. story focusses around Frank who tires of earth's trivialities and decides to experiment w/a puzzle box which can unleash pleasures greater than any experiencable in our dimension. he is greeted by a quartet of demonic heirophants who bring unto him excruciating pain + pleasure: indivisible; then rip him apart. later revived by his brother's (Rory's) spilt blood (and transforming into a skinless monstrosity) he coaxes Rory's wife and his own ex-lover Julia into killing for him, so they can be together again. i have only read 2 of his books so far (this and The Theif of Always) and i am currently reading Cabal and i must confess to not reading that often (almost never!!) until being turned on to Barker through Hellraiser, i liked it so much that when i found it was based on his book i had to read it. and beleive me i was anything but disappointed. his style of writing is so entrancing i just couldn't put it down i couldn't wait to read more. the first chapter is a tour de force, the last is almost as good. bottom line: anyone who wants to read an explicit novel that's not afraid to cross the boundries of conservativeness and deliver horror in its __true__ form read this.