Rare Novella Review: Cabal

I am currently obsessed with Grumpy Cat (see earlier post) and Clive Barker.  Grumpy Cat doesn't quite give me the nightmares that Clive Barker does, so Barker wins this round.  Delving into Barker's world is a bit like having a fever dream.  I know I should wake up and get out but I can't, and really don't want to.  Inspired by Rue Morgue's excellent recent cover story on Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut, I finally read the $1.99 paperback I had picked up a few years ago at a used book store. I had been meaning to read it for years, but you know how that goes. 

I saw Nightbreed a few years ago, well aware of the troubles surrounding it and Barker's well justified unhappiness with the finished product.  I have to say I love this movie: flaws and all.  For one thing, it stars David Cronenberg, one of my number one horror boyfriends.  Cronenberg and Barker together.  Yes, I just died and went to heaven.  The Berg plays Decker, the all too human villain of this story. 

The Rue Morgue article is about the restored Cabal Cut that is making it's way around the festival circuit.  The studio needs to release this.  I mean really.  Or, they need to finally stop playing Life of Pi at Palo Alto Square and book this movie!  Seriously.  A movie theatre within walking distance to my apartment and they play the same movie for 3 months.  Before Pi is was the Marigold Hotel thing.  For like a year. 

 

Click on the picture to "Occupy Midian" and sign a petition to get this film released!  Finally, on to the novella!  The main difference between the film and the novella is Lori.  She is really the hero, so to speak, in Barker's story.  I felt that in the film she was a little annoying, but now I love the character.  She chases after Boone when he accused of terrible crimes.  She becomes obsessed, wants answers, and even she doesn't know why.  In the novel she is propelled more by curiosity than love, and she falls in love with the world she discovers in Midian, even as she is repulsed by it.  I love this passage:

 

All that she'd coveted or envied in others of her species now seemed valueless.  Dreams of the prefect anatomy- the soap opera face, the centerfold body- had distracted her with promises of true happiness.  Empty promises.  Flesh could not keep its glamour, or eyes their sheen.  They would go to nothing soon. 

But the monsters were forever.  Part of her forbidden self.  her dark, transforming midnight self.  She longed to be numbered among them.

 

No other work by Barker has reminded me so much of Guillermo del Toro.  The celebration of monsters: the idea that monsters can be loved, can be admired.  This idea is on full display in Cabal.  Midian is a refuge for monsters. A sanctuary.  Some want to be part Midian, like Narcisse, the human who goes to extremes to prove he is a monster down deep.  (Quick aside: I seem to be reading or watching a lot of horror where people get their faces torn off.  Can we stop this please?  This grosses me out more than most other forms of head trauma. Thank you.)  Some, like Boone, join Midian because they have no choice.

 

Of course, the real monster in Cabal is Decker.  Decker is so black inside that even the residents of Midian would reject him.  Decker uses Lori to get to Boone, which has unfortunate consequences for Midian. 

 

This story is SO GOOD!  Read it, really, if you haven't.  Warning: nightmares will probably follow.  And try to catch Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut if it plays near you.  I am off to see Life of Pi for the twentieth time.  God, I hate Pi and that damn Tiger.

 

The Thief of Always (rare book review)

The Thief of Always is not a rare book, the fact that I am writing a book review is rare.  But since my last got such an overwhelming response (3 comments!) I figured I would do it again.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love horror written for children.  I also love the show Toddlers & Tiaras.  Anyway, two of my favorite "horror" books of all time were written for the young and young at heart: The Graveyard Book and Coraline.  Both of those books were written by Neil Gaiman.  The Thief of Always is written by Clive Barker.  Yes, the creator of the Books of Blood and The Hellbound Heart wrote a book for children.  I love this on so many levels.

The Thief of Always was really terrifying.  If I were a 10 or 12 year old reading it I would wet my pants.  When I was 10 or 12 I was reading shit like Flowers in the Attic and Sweet Valley High, which actually explains a lot about me.  The Thief of Always tells the story of 10 year old Harvey Swick, a bored boy who is sick of winter, sick of school, sick of his family, sick of everything.  He wants some excitement.  He wants to relive the happy times like spring and summer, Halloween and Christmas.  I am right there with you Harvey. 

One night a mysterious man named Rictus flies into Harvey's room.  He offers to take Harvey to a place where it is always fun, and where all his wishes will come true.  After some soul searching (I would have been like "take me!") Harvey decides to go.  Rictus assures him that his parents are fine with him going, and that he can leave anytime he wants.  Rictus takes him to "The Holiday House," a place where all four seasons come and go in one day, and everyday is Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  All he has to do is wish for something and it appears.  At the house he meets Wendell, a boy about his age who had been at the house for some time, and Lulu, a mysterious girl who likes to hang out by the lake.  It doesn't take long for Harvey to figure out that everything is not what is seems at the Holiday House, and that the host, the unseen Mr. Hood, may have bad things in store for the children. 

Harvey escapes the house with Wendell but the world he returns to is not the one he left.  Mad that time was "stole" from him, Harvey returns to the house to confront Mr. Hood.  What ensues is a battle of wits, magic, and thievery.  Plus, some children get turned into fish.

The Thief of Always

The Thief of Always has plenty to appeal to adults and children alike.  For kids, it is about being careful what you wish for.  For adults, it is a reminder of the pleasures and the all to quick passing of childhood.  And although no one shows up to scream "I am going to tear your soul apart!!!" you can imagine it happening.  I didn't love this as much as I love Neil Gaiman's stories for children, but it was enjoyable. 

Hellraiser III: Hell on earth

There is a secret song at the center of the world, Joey, and its sound is like razors through flesh.

There are some things in this world I just can't believe, like the fact that Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth was made in 1992.  I actually remember 1992 and I don't recall it being as eighties-rific as this film.  I mean in one scene, Terry Farrell, who plays Investigative Journalist and Final Girl Joey, wears some kind of polka dot shoulder pad/balloon pants combo on an outing and I don't think she was wearing it to be ironic since I don't think her character is capable of irony. 

But I digress.  Let's get to the matter at hand.  Hellraiser III did not totally suck.  Yes, the classic Cenobites (save Pinhead) are MIA, replaced by new ones that kill with CD's and cocktail shakers.  I kid you not.  I guess this was filmed in the nineties, otherwise the CD Cenobite would have been killing people with cassette tapes and 8 track. 

The aforementioned Joey is trying to land a big story. While covering the emergency room beat, she witnesses a young man with chains attached to his body brought in.  He quickly explodes.  Joey, sensing that she might be on to something (smart girl) tracks down the young girl who brought him in.  She is a club girl named Terri and she is in possession of a mysterious box, which she claims is responsible for the young mans death.  The young man stole the box from club owner J.P., played by Kevin Bernhardt who would have had a great career as an eighties uber-villian.  J.P. is the owner of the "Pillar of Souls," a really cool piece of goth art that houses Pinhead and, apparently, some souls.  J.P., who is a class A asshole, unleashes Pinhead and a whirlwind of shit ensues. 

Meanwhile, Joey has shacked up with Terri (I can't tell if they were having a lesbian affair or not, but it is suggested) and she starts having dreams of an Army Officer who looks a lot like Pinhead, minus the pins.  This Oficer tells her that she must send Pinhead back to hell and forget about her career as a journalist because she is really terrible.  We see a lot of Doug Bradley in this film, both as Pinhead and his human self.  This is probably why I liked the film, because of Bradley.  The gore is surprisingly subdued, and as I said the other Cenobites are sorely missed, but compared to some of the other Hellraiser films, this one is not half bad.  The majority of the action takes place in J.P.'s club, The Boiler Room.  This is the coolest club in existence.  Not only does it have awesome goth art and goth kids everywhere, there is a room with a live eighties Metal band, and another room with a sophisticated restaurant with classical music.  Plus, if you go there is a very real chance that you will get slaughtered and/or turned into a deadly CD wielding Cenobite.  Cool beans.  Now enjoy some Legos.