FAQ

Horribly disfigured by bloody words carved all over his body, clairvoyant Simon McNeal (Jonas Armstrong) is entrapped by mercenary Wyburd (Clive Russell), who wants to procure Simon's skin for "a collector". Prior to killing Simon, Wyburd asks him to tell how he came to be a "book of blood." Simon relates the story of how he was employed by paranormal investigator Dr Mary Florescu (Sophie Ward) and her partner Reg Fuller (Paul Blair) to investigate Tollington Place, a house where a young girl was violently murdered and her face torn off by an unseen force. Simon explains that the house was an intersection on a highway for the dead and that he became the living "book" on whom the dead tell their stories.

Book of Blood is based on two stories in a series of short stories written by British horror novelist Clive Barker. The stories were published in six volumes and encompassed under the title Books of Blood (1984,1985). The movie is based 'The Book of Blood' (the first story in volume one) and 'On Jerusalem Street' (the last story in volume six). The stories were adapted for the movie by American screenwriters Darin Silverman and John Harrison, who also directed the movie.

The majority of the movie was filmed in the old town area of Edinburgh, Scotland, with some scenes shot in Glasgow. The university is the University of Glasgow.

After Simon relates his story, Wyburd slits his throat, killing Simon quickly, as promised. He places Simon's skin in a suitcase, after which he tells the collector to come and pick it up. He then sits down to wait, taking a few nips from his bottle and dozing off. He awakens to find blood pouring out of the suitcase, spilling over the cabin floor. Unable to stop the blood, Wyburd tries to leave the cabin but finds the doors and windows won't open. The cabin quickly fills with blood until Wyburn drowns in it. Some time later, the cabin door opens, and Mary enters. She sees Wyburd lying dead on the floor, walks past him, and opens the suitcase to look at Simon's skin. In a voiceover, she says, "The stories go on. They bleed and bleed." In the final scene, dead people can be seen slowly moving toward the camera, presumably to write their stories on Simon's skin. Simon can be seen moving in the opposite direction, indicating that his story has been told and that he is moving on. Mary's voiceover continues: The dead have highways...only the living are lost. But there are signposts and bridges where the dead will stop to tell you their stories, because the telling of them would relieve the tale. And it would be best to listen.