Book of Blood (2009)

Wonderful character development!

Sadly Over-hyped

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

CLIVE BARKER'S BOOK OF BLOOD is an adaptation of his work that comes across as a traditional haunted house flick, albeit with a few Clive Barker-style flourishes. The main characters are a trio of paranormal experts who become interested in the history of a creepy old building that may just be the gateway to hell, so naturally they decide to live there while they carry out their investigation.What follows is a traditional spook-fest that tends to move quite slowly and doesn't really offer up much we haven't seen before. We're in definite Barker territory here, with some face-tearing gore, bodily mutilation, a Doug Bradley cameo, and an ancient arcane book of lore, but there's a general seen-it-all-before sense to the proceedings that means you'll need to be in a forgiving mood to really enjoy it. Me, I wanted something more than a typical haunted house/evil CGI ghost movie, and I didn't get it. Jonas Armstrong's poor acting is more of a hindrance than a help, although Sophie Ward gives a neat performance as the protagonist.

Book of Blood (2009) I actually forgot to post this last year, I SAW this over a year ago, or around this time last year.This movie for me, I like the bloody death near the start of the movie, which were really bloody and tad gory but after that, I just could get into first part of the movie.I stuck with it for the second part of the movie, were i really got into the movie, which i found it a lot more enjoyable.There were some really decent gory and Bloodly scene's in this movie and there were decent Ghost scenes in this movie.Nothing really creepy or scary but the movie it's self was very enjoyable 6 out of 10

Clive Barker released a series of short stories back in 1984 through 1986 called the Books of Blood; exploring themes of fantasy and horror. Barker was originally a writer and later turned his interests towards that of film making. His background has allowed him to release great titles like Hellraiser (based on Barker's The Hellbound Heart), Nightbreed (A tale based on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos), Lord of Illusions (The Last Illusion), and Midnight Meat Train (which also happens to be another short story from the Books of Blood). This particular films draws influence from two of his short stories, The Book of Blood and On Jerusalem Street (a postscript). There are 6 volumes to the Books of Blood, but personally I've only read Volume 4.A paranormal investigator hires an equipment expert and a so-called psychic to explore a house - one that has witnessed a brutal murder. What they discover is not your typical spiritual activity but an intersection for the dead. This isn't your run-of-the-mill haunted house story; there is plenty to think about and consider with a fair amount of violence and thrills. The final act of this film is really awesome, almost making it worth it just for that alone. Unfortunately Barker did not direct or produce this film, but John Harrison did a wonderful job representing him. Harrison did great work of his own, such as 1990's Tales from the Darkside: The Movie and several episodes of Tales from the Crypt and Tales from the Darkside. Clive is back, in some form or another! Now, I shall recite a quote by Stephen King from 25 years ago: "I have seen the future of horror, his name is Clive Barker."

This was nicely shot with good atmosphere and very capable actors. It's a low budget film but, unlike a lot of horror films made in recent years, it doesn't rely on expensive special effects.The script itself - the dialogue - could have been better and more naturalistic. There is a lack of depth to the backstory or the kind of casual banter that allows viewers to get comfortable with the characters.However, I wish that, just for once, the unfolding of a horror story didn't depend on the characters making unforgivably stupid decisions and unfathomable choices.This isn't a terrible film, and it is good to see Barker's stories getting onto the screen again.