Salome

Clive Barker is multi-talented horror artist. Mainly writer, but also screen writer, director, producer, actor, painter, illustrator... Although most of you know him as author of Hellraiser movies, for me his life achievement will always be a collection of short stories Book of Blood and video game Undying. Salome from 1973. is first cinematography attempt of then 20 years old future king of horror. This is short 18 minutes black and white silent film. Maybe more of visual performance than real movie. This low- budget, or more accurately no-budget film is made in some basement with just a few friends. Using just one light source in complete darkness Barker concentrates more on building an atmosphere than telling a story. Considering when it is done, his age and budget and fact that this is his first amateur attempt of film making, it is very ungrateful to try to rate it objectively. For true Barker fans and film students this is must watch film, that will almost surely leave positive impression. For the majority of the rest this will probably be unwatchable crap. To me, this is

<3 Barker <3 /10

Seen several times (what it takes, I think, to get used to the strange mood of the movie), it never gets rid of its inherent "malhabilities",but one cannot deny that it gives a very strong insight in what the director/writer would do once famous. Visually and narratively weird and unsettling, it has a violent and memorable visual identity, which makes it instantly recognizable. This does not make it good (I don't think anything can), but it is nevertheless a must-see for any Barker fan. Treat yourself, it is available on video and DVD !

I have to disagree that SALOME and THE FORBIDDEN are for Clive Barker fans/completest only. I'm not an CB fan. I haven't even seen HELLRAISER - although I have the original soundtrack by COIL. I am a fan of art films done on a shoestring. These two films would certainly fit into that category. Barker does a good job of creating another world while filming in the basement of a flower shop. The use of only one lighting source is also no doubt an inspiration to film students and aspiring filmmakers. In fact, a film student gave me a copy of this. I would have never discovered it otherwise. I do have a problem with how this was packaged by it's distributer. The strip orgy wraparound stuff is totally unnecessary. These early Barker shorts should be shown at art houses, art museums and shown to film students. 10 out of 10 for the films, not the distribution company.

Salome is one of two short films that horror writer Clive Barker directed before he went on to make the cult classic 'Hellraiser'. While you cant go into a short film expecting the likes of Hellraiser, Clive Barker does deliver an interesting spectacle with this film and, like many director's pre-hit short films, you can see some early signs of the man's later work in this film. Salome only runs at about twenty minutes, and it has no dialogue; so the plot is non-existent. This doesn't matter, however, as it is the imagery and atmosphere that is important; and Clive Barker, even with only twenty minutes to play with, more than succeeds in impressing on that level. The action takes place in a dank abyss, and through the dark atmosphere and empty surroundings, Barker is able to show this. While this film doesn't have enough about it to aptly call it 'good', by the same standards; it's not bad either. Fans of Hellraiser will enjoy the film for it's style, and fans of atmosphere will find lots to like also. Salome isn't worth going out of your way to see; but if you come across a copy, it's well worth seeing.

Salome (1973)

* (out of 4)

Early film from Barker tells the story of a beardless John who is loved and tortured by the mysterious Salome. At least I think this film is trying to tell the story from the Bible as it's rather hard to tell because I had a really hard time following the film. I think it's very safe to say that Barker hadn't yet gained his talent for constructing a story that the viewer is able to follow but I guess you can't really blame him considering how young he was. The film was shot on 8mm, which makes the visual look of the film very grainy but this actually works well and leads to some fairly well crafted scenes. Some of the lighting effects are also well handled but in the end the film is still a major drag to get through.

Forbidden, The (1978)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Second film from writer/director Barker is somewhat based on the tale of Faust but it certainly goes in its own way. The movie was shot on a 16mm negative, which gives it an overexposed look, which adds to the surreal nature of the film. I'm really not sure what Barker was going for expect to come up with some very strange and he certainly captures that here. The movie has a nice music score to go with it and the film really captures the mood of doom and death. There's an extremely bizarre sex scene and an even stranger scene where a man with an erection dances to something that I'm not quite sure what it is. Pete Atkins and Doug Bradley, both from Barker's Hellraiser appear in the film as well. I doubt horror fans are really going to jump all over this film but if you enjoyed Luis Bunuel's early "art" films then this might be more for you.