Books of Blood

If you're looking for a constant jumpscares fest, this is not for you. Books of Blood delivers a slow burn anthology with decent acting. Some of the stories are a little drawn out and could've done with some trimming. The pacing is where this movie suffers but it is definitely worth watching.

Nothing new horror wise. However, the first story goes on and on and is not well acted and takes up over half the film. The second story is much better acted and scripted, Anna Friel should have played the lead in the first story as Britt Robertson is not a strong enough actor, but that's the least of the problems. The problem is you need to watch to get the twist at the end and most will give up, I almost did but was too lethargic. As for the story running through well it is there just to link so it is what it is. In the end, after nothing has really happened you realize you've wasted over an hour and a half for a nice twist but is it really worth it? NO

I'm a sucker for a horror anthology whether good or cheesy, but this one treads a fine line. Three interconnected stories that all start off almost blandly acted and poorly written, but as the stories unfold, the insanity starts to ramp up. It interweaves human monsters with ghostly ones and the result is some very unsettling content. I also like that the visionaries for this film didn't rely heavily on CGI, and added a heavy dose of practical effects, cinematography and good editing to naturally disturb me. Learning that this is based off the work of Clive Barker, it makes so much more sense as it feels like a dark poetic nightmare from the 80's. Where the film falls short is the over-extension of one story, a loosely threaded connection and failure to captivate the audience out the gate with something truly compelling. Otherwise it was a good watch.

Ok let's get this out the way first. The Books of Blood by Barker have never been equalled since publication. They are also almost impossible to translate into film. Most of their horror derives from an existential terror of something beyond our understanding. From the grisly horror of "Rawhead Rex" to the sublime "In the Hills, the Cities" all of the separate stories spin us around in search of a tether we never find. This is a pretty good adaptation of a series of books that defy translation into something as safe as cinema. There are moments of horror and some dread. I can feel Barker behind it but it just can't reproduce the terrible beauty if the writing. Nothing ever did. Hellraiser was close because Barker was still in that mindset when he directed it. This is good. The Miles sequence is the most faithful if transposed and altered. But i enjoyed it and just want to read the stories again. Do yourself a favor. Go find them and read them too. It's quite an experience. Good luck

I almost abandoned watching it after discovering the overall rating but glad I didn't.

Grippy horror movie consisting of 3 stories that of course are kind of linked together.

Relatively short, relatively terrifying and pretty watchable. In fact I would enjoy this as a TV series.