Horror fiction has undergone a number of transformations — both literal and figurative — in the past three decades. One way to track these various metamorphoses is through the increasing number of horror subgenres thriving nowadays, subgenres as wildly varied as psychological horror, mythic horror, tortureporn, and dark fantasy. In The Painter, the Creature, and the Father of Lies, however, we are given another way of viewing these many metamorphoses: through the nonfiction writings of a single writer, an artist who has created in many different media, including novels, films, games, comics, theatrical plays, and painting. Not only does this provide readers with a fascinating insight into Clive Barker’s body of work but, as we read about Barker’s many influences and collaborators, we gain further insight into how many art forms which are typically considered to exist outside of the boundaries of the horror genre, from traditional Punch and Judy shows and pantomime to medieval epics and French poetry, are woven through with their own dark threads of horror.
This tome includes over four hundred pages of Clive Barker’s nonfiction writing taken from hundreds of introductions, forewords, essays and articles, separated into two sections. Part One is titled “Complementary,” and is related to Barker’s own work. Part Two is titled “Complimentary,” and contains Barker’s writings related to other writers and artists. These include Barker’s introductions or appreciations of fellow horror writers such as Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, and Ray Bradbury, but also include Barker’s introductions to a wide range of horror media including the shooting script for the film Gods and Monsters and a collection of essays about horror video games.
For the dedicated Barker fan like myself, the themes of many of these writings will be familiar: the preoccupation with the forbidden and the transgressive, the embodiment of the monstrous and the sacred, the exploration of the territory between fantasy and horror (what Barker calls “the fantastique”), and what Barker himself considers to be his main theme, creation, “…the idea of how something is made and imagined” (p. 155). Yet to have all of these writings collected into one volume underscores rather than reduces the power of Barker’s themes, themes which are given physical form in the many drawings by Barker interleaved throughout the work.
The Painter, The Creature, and the Father of Lies is a worthwhile addition to any horror fan’s library and a must-read for anyone studying or writing about Barker’s body of work. I would also recommend this book to any writer and/artist who is interested in tapping into the psychological or mythic roots of horror, as Barker’s writings provide a lot of useful suggestions as to how he accomplishes this in his own work.
The Painter, The Creature, and the Father of Lies can be purchased through the usual online vendors, or at Earthling Publications.
(Earthling Publications, 2011)
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