Clive Barker vs. Clive Barker
It's the age old debate: Which is better, the book or the movie? Welp, in most cases, the book will generally win. Afterall, movies have the unenviable task of condensing hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pages of text into a two to three hour format. Important parts of the book get lost in the translation at best, and at worst the book gets mangled and lost in the presentation. My all time favorite writer, Stephen King, has suffered from this problem more than any other writer, just because such a humongous portion of his work has been translated into film form. On the other hand, Clive Barker, my second favorite writer, has managed to translate his books into film form with a surprising amount of success. So without further ado, here's Barker vs. Barker.
"The Hellbound Heart" vs. "Hellraiser": Hellraiser is a fairly straight up translation of the original Hellbound Heart. There's only one omitted character (the awesome Engineer, who nevers appears in any of the movies), and a couple of the relationships in the book are a little different. Both are excellent works of fiction, but I give the overall edge to Hellraiser for one reason: Douglas Bradley as Pinhead. The British actor gave the character an air of menace so powerful that it propeled the movie into a franchise. Winner: Hellraiser.
"In the Flesh" (I think that's the title) vs. "Candyman": Woo, there's no comparison here. Candyman is darker, more threatening, and better developed than its prose original. In fact, I'm actually having a lot of trouble remembering the original story, so that should give an indication of how well that one stuck with me. Winner: Candyman.
"Cabal" vs. "Nightbreed": Now this one is tough. Cabal features amazing monster descriptions, a faster paced narrative, and a sexier relationship between the lead characters. Nightbreed's got a bunch of folks in kick ass makeup and director David Cronenberg as a knife wielding psycho therapist. Can't decide, can't decide, brain anuerism (spell?). Winner: Tie.
"The Last Illusion" vs. "Lord of Illusions": Lord of Illusions is nothing like the Last Illusion. Lord is your standard Hollywood action/horror film with just enough Barknerian innovations to stand out from the pack. The Last Illusion is a mind bending, spiralling plunge into a wild, creative, nightmarish world that even the protaganist doesn't fully understand, even after the smoke has cleared. Indisputable Winner (and a highly recommended read): The Last Illusion.
Joseph Morris, Cultural Guru, presents today's Comic the You Cannot Live Without: "Heavy Liquid" by Paul Pope, published by DC/Vertigo. Pope's style seemlessly blends the best of American, European, and Japanese influence into a manic, energetic whole. I thoroughly recommend anything by Pope (THB, 100%, The One Trick Rip Off, ect), but Heavy Liquid, a sci-fi gangster drama, is the easiest to find in Trade Paperback form. Go forth and read my minions.
"The Hellbound Heart" vs. "Hellraiser": Hellraiser is a fairly straight up translation of the original Hellbound Heart. There's only one omitted character (the awesome Engineer, who nevers appears in any of the movies), and a couple of the relationships in the book are a little different. Both are excellent works of fiction, but I give the overall edge to Hellraiser for one reason: Douglas Bradley as Pinhead. The British actor gave the character an air of menace so powerful that it propeled the movie into a franchise. Winner: Hellraiser.
"In the Flesh" (I think that's the title) vs. "Candyman": Woo, there's no comparison here. Candyman is darker, more threatening, and better developed than its prose original. In fact, I'm actually having a lot of trouble remembering the original story, so that should give an indication of how well that one stuck with me. Winner: Candyman.
"Cabal" vs. "Nightbreed": Now this one is tough. Cabal features amazing monster descriptions, a faster paced narrative, and a sexier relationship between the lead characters. Nightbreed's got a bunch of folks in kick ass makeup and director David Cronenberg as a knife wielding psycho therapist. Can't decide, can't decide, brain anuerism (spell?). Winner: Tie.
"The Last Illusion" vs. "Lord of Illusions": Lord of Illusions is nothing like the Last Illusion. Lord is your standard Hollywood action/horror film with just enough Barknerian innovations to stand out from the pack. The Last Illusion is a mind bending, spiralling plunge into a wild, creative, nightmarish world that even the protaganist doesn't fully understand, even after the smoke has cleared. Indisputable Winner (and a highly recommended read): The Last Illusion.
Joseph Morris, Cultural Guru, presents today's Comic the You Cannot Live Without: "Heavy Liquid" by Paul Pope, published by DC/Vertigo. Pope's style seemlessly blends the best of American, European, and Japanese influence into a manic, energetic whole. I thoroughly recommend anything by Pope (THB, 100%, The One Trick Rip Off, ect), but Heavy Liquid, a sci-fi gangster drama, is the easiest to find in Trade Paperback form. Go forth and read my minions.
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