In addition to being a legendary horror writer, Clive Barker is also a movie director, and here's a ranking of his films from worst to best. While Barker isn't nearly as prolific as someone like Stephen King, he's still made a mark on the horror genre that few would be able to match. Barker is also a lot less mainstream in his creative tastes than King, being well-known for blending horrifying gore with sometimes lurid amounts of sexual content.
Nothing better exemplifies that side of Barker's work than his most famous creation, the Hellraiser franchise, which originated with a novella titled The Hellbound Heart. Sadly, Barker would stop having an active role in the creative process after Hellaiser: Bloodline, which was famously tampered with by studio Dimension Films, causing director Kevin Yagher to remove his name from the credits. Hopefully Barker's beautifully gruesome universe will get its just due again with the upcoming theatrical Hellraiser reboot.
One might wonder why Barker just can't come back to revive Hellraiser himself, but he hasn't been in great health in the last several years. He has, however, made several attempts over the years to either write or direct such a project, just to be annoyingly shot down by Hollywood. Even if he never directs again though, Barker's place in horror history as a director is already assured. Here's how his three films stack up.
3. Lord of Illusions (1995)
Lord of Illusions, sadly Barker's third and final film directed to date, adapted his short story The Last Illusion, and brought recurring book character Harry D'Amour to the big screen. Harry, an occult detective, is played by Quantum Leap's Scott Bakula, and shows why Bakula should've really been a bigger star. It's up to Harry to stop a powerful cult leader and master of magic named Nix, who believes he was "born to murder the world." Famke Janssen also stars in an early role as the wife of Nix's former protege, an illusionist named Philip Swann. Those interested should watch Lord of Illusions' director's cut, which adds a few worthwhile minutes to the film.
2. Nightbreed (1990)
An adaptation of Barker's novella Cabal, it's quite possible that had this ranking been done a decade ago, Nightbreed would fall below Lord of Illusions. The theatrical cut of Nightbreed was famously meddled with by the studio, and it took until 2014 for Barker's original vision to finally be released, in the form of a director's cut. Sporting better character development, a more coherent narrative, more of David Cronenberg's terrifying Dr. Decker, and a better ending, Nightbreed's director's cut is a vast improvement, and turns the story of Boone and the titular inhabitants of Midian into a must-watch.
1. Hellraiser (1987)
After the first two film adaptations of his work, 1985's Underworld and 1986's Rawhead Rex, both turned out dreadful, despite scripts written by Clive Barker himself, the author decided that next time he was going to get behind the camera. The result was 1987's Hellraiser, and to say Barker knocked his directorial debut out of the park would be an understatement. An all-time classic, Hellraiser spawned a massive franchise, it's just a shame that Pinhead's further adventures got progressively worse.