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Though primarily a prose writer, he has also worked in the theatre, graphic art and film, and his directing debut <cite>Hellraiser</cite> (1987) was one of the most strikingly imaginative British horror films of its era.</p><p>Born in Liverpool on 5 October 1952, Barker studied English literature and philosophy at the local university before moving to London to work in the theatre as a writer, director and actor. There, he also made two amateur short films, <cite>Salome</cite> (1973) and <cite>The Forbidden</cite> (1978).</p><p>In his late twenties he began writing the stories that were anthologised as <em>Clive Barker's Books of Blood</em>, given a huge commercial boost by <cite class="party">Stephen King's</cite> gushing comment "I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker". Two of them were optioned by director <cite class="party">George Pavlou</cite>, but Barker disliked both <cite>Underworld</cite> (1985) and <cite>Rawhead Rex</cite> (1987) and felt that he could do a better job.</p><p>Accordingly, Barker adapted his own story 'The Hellbound Heart' as <cite>Hellraiser</cite>. It was an exceptionally confident debut, its low budget belied by its inventive special effects, full orchestral score, and Barker's expert control of mood. Its premise, involving a terrifyingly inverted parallel universe closely linked to our own, had enough mileage to fuel several sequels, which he did not direct.</p><p>Barker's subsequent films as director were <cite>Nightbreed</cite> (US, 1990) and <cite>Lord of Illusions</cite> (US, 1995), and the two <cite>Candyman</cite> films (US, 1992/5) were based on his work. He also presented the series <cite>Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror</cite> (Channel 4 tx 4/10 - 3/1/1998) and saw his stories adapted for the US-made series <cite>Masters of Horror</cite> (2006-7), though the bulk of his recent creative output has been for print.</p><p class="bricksrc">Michael Brooke</p> <img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="10" border="0" alt="" /> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2"></td></tr> </table></td>  <td width="1" class="verticaldots"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></td> <td width="312" valign="top"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr><td colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="312" height="20" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr><td><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" border="0" /></td><td><p class="smg">More information</p></td></tr> <tr><td class="underline" colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="rh-item"> <tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="10"><img src="../../../images/gt/GT_articles.jpg" class="rh-thumbpic" alt="" border="0" /></td> <td class="rh-headcell-people"><a href="credits.html" class="thumbheadlink-people"><img src="../../../images/icon_document.gif" alt="" vspace="2" class="clipmenu-icon-right" border="0" />FILM & TV CREDITS</a></td> </tr> <tr><td><p>From the BFI's filmographic database</p></td> </tr> </table></td></tr>  <tr><td><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" border="0" /></td><td><p class="smg">Related media</p></td></tr> <tr><td><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" border="0" /></td><td><p class="smg">Selected credits</p></td></tr> <tr><td><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" border="0" /></td><td><p class="smg">Related collections</p></td></tr> <tr><td><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="3" height="1" border="0" /></td><td><p class="smg">Related people and organisations</p></td></tr> <tr><td class="underline" colspan="2"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></td></tr> </table> </td></tr> </table> </td> <td width="8"> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3"><img src="../../../images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="778" height="20" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3"><table width="778" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr class="upperfoot"> <td width="465" align="right" class="upperfoot"></td> <td class="upperfoot"><div class="footer-txt">  <a href="../../../help/terms.html" class="copylink">2003-14 © BFI Screenonline </a> | <a href="../../../help/credits.html" class="copylink">credits</a></div></td> <td align="right" class="upperfoot"><img src="../../../images/nav/lowernav_right_mask.gif" alt="" border="0" /></td> </tr></table> </td></tr> </table> </div></center> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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