The Hellbound Heart

more like 2.5 - it was like a car crash that you can't look away from. I wanted a tiny bit of Halloween spookiness, but this was overboard. Plus I was just past the holiday. But I didn't stop reading. It's a Faustian story - but a bit more depraved in the character of Frank Cotton who some would consider a playboy and others a serial rapist. He may have orange hair. To reach a plane of ultimate fulfillment, he summons horrible Cenobites from the Order of the Gash - otherworldly, disgusting creatures - with some puzzle box gadget. He then gets sucked into their dimension where he lives in some limbo of being 9/10 dead. He is trapped in the walls of his original family home, which comes into his brother's possession. Rory and his wife show more Julia move in, and of course the 'haunted' room is creepy and avoided until a coincidence of dripped blood awakens Frank's hope to free himself into some other form, not unlike Voldemort. Julia, who was seduced by Frank prior to marrying his brother agrees to help and makes her own pact with evil. There is one force for good in this nasty story - Kirsty, a good friend of Rory's, despite her mousy appearance and wimpy demeanor must be pure of heart enough to combat this whole demonic scenario after she stumbles into the ploy. Would not recommend. show less

"The Hellbound Heart" has a lot of surprises in it. The first, of course, is that everyone's favorite cenboite, Pinhead, makes only a cameo appearance. I'd been warned about that one, but it also surprised me how much like a regular literary novel "The Hellbound Heart"can sometimes seem. Sure, it involves bloodthirsty unspeakable ghouls from another dimension who have disfigured their bodies beyond recognition, but it's also the story of an upwardly mobile Thatcher-era British couple called Rory and Kristy whose marriage is falling apart. It's kind of surprising how much of "The Hellbound Heart" doesn't involve people getting torn limb from limb. "The Hellbound Heart" could even be mistaken for a stealth critique of boring yuppiedom. show more Yes, Frank's a monster, but it's clear that he's got much more ambition than his brother, and Barker seems to kind of admire him for it. To be perfectly honest, Barker's not at his best in that part of the book: the characters aren't particularly memorable, and there's a lot of stock language to be found in the book's quieter scenes. The horror stuff is, of course, a fair sight better. I'm a sucker for art about bodily difference and transformation, and that seems to be one of Clive's major obsessions, too. The cenobites aren't, after all, anyone's victims, and they weren't born looking that way. They're the weird products of their own out-of-control desires. In fact, despite the fact that the Hellraiser movies are notorious for their references to S and M and fetish sex, there's less of that sort of thing here than I expected: the cenobites aren't much for talking, and they keep things pretty understated when referring to the bizarre pleasures that they've experienced. It is, in a way, wonderfully British of them. Lastly, I also wondered how much "The Hellbound Heart" prefigured the modern vogue for all things steampunk: Barker's "hooks, chains and pulleys" fixation seems more industrial age than Gothic, and we meet a cenobite called "The Engineer" as the book closes. I'm not really a horror fan, and don't know if I'll read any more of the Hellraiser books, but this brief, gory little novella was still worth my time. show less

As the kid of a horror fan, I'm quite familiar with Clive Barker's work. However, it was only recently that I actually read any of his stuff. Well, I did read Abarat when I was younger (which I recently re-read because I could barely remember a thing; even if most of it came back to me as I was reading) but that's not really horror, is it? So, after seeing Hellraiser a few months back, I decided it was probably time to read The Hellbound Heart. What could possibly be a better book to read on a flight down to Gran Canaria?

Frank is a man who has gotten bored with the simple pleasures this world has to offer. They can hardly even be called pleasures. But as he hears whispers of a mystery box that will grant you pleasures beyond this show more world; as long as you solve the puzzle that guards the door within the box... it doesn't take long before he sets out to get his hands on his last hope for actual pleasure.

But not everything is what it seems. Frank fails to understand that his pleasure might not be the same as someone else's – his kind of pleasure is definitely not the same as the kind the creatures he calls for as he opens the box. The Cenobites have long since forgotten what tells pleasure and pain a part. But despite their mutiliated appearances and warnings of a world of heightened sensations that might not be to his liking; Frank is determined to leave this simple world of halfassed pleasures. Oh boy, does he regret it only seconds later.

But a year later, Frank's brother moves into the same house with his wife, Julia, who still has a hard time getting Frank out of her head. Perhaps Julia is his door, his one chance to return to the world he once belonged to. Perhaps Julia is willing to help him aquire what he needs.

Blood.

I've already praised Clive Barker's fantasy writing but now it's time to praise his horror writing. Like, fuck, man. I've read quite a lot of Stephen King and sure, sure, I love King quite a lot but this was horror in a way not a lot of King's book are. If you like short but brutal stories about women flirting with men only to bring them home and kill them so the love of her life can feast on them... this is a book for you. It is a nice little story about how you should not fucking go looking for a box just because people claim you can enter another world of heightened sensations... because guess what? It doesn't sound like a world that shares your idea of pleasures. At all. Why would you do that? So I can read about it and gush over how incredibly stupid you are? Sure, go ahead. I had a good time.

I probably smiled too much during this book. I wonder what that says about me. Ah well.

Noura, if you are reading this.... read it. Just read it for your own sake. show less

Many people don't realize that this book is actually a parody; a commentary on the ever increasing thrills we post-moderns crave from our lives and even horror fiction, films, etc. Look up Barker's own comments if you don't believe me. In fact, Barker has never written a story more gut wrenching and extreme than Heart; some equal it, but none actually exceed it. The fact that it spawned an entire industry of graphic novels and films all predicated on the the goal of being ever more extreme is an ironic commentary in itself. One wonders whether Clive is secretly enjoying the further irony that his baby spawned, just the thing he was commenting on, or just taking it to the bank.

The Cenobites and the Lamarchand's Configuration are two of show more the great creations in horror and certainly one of the reasons the novella resonates so well with horror fans (ignore the fact that one of the films ruins the creation, makes the Cenobites "good" and mindful of their former lives).

In any case, the novella is as perfect a modern horror story as there ever was written and Barker, and few others, have ever equaled it though he/they have tried. It is hard to repeat perfection. One of the reasons the book is so good is it jettisons all the horror tropes and traditions up to it's time to create a truly original story. Add to this Barker's perfectly evocative prose. It didn't hurt that it was especially memorable because it came out in the '80s when horror fiction was a having a sort of Renaissance.

Every horror fan should have to read this story and watch the first two films (maybe Bloodlines too). If you haven't, you aren't a real horror fan, yet. Oh, and avoid Hellraiser III (the film) at all costs. It makes a joke of the entire Cenobite concept. show less

Lmao, what a wild ride. So, I've only seen the newest Hellraiser movie, and honestly didn't know what I was getting myself into, but Barker is so funny and has such a way with language that is gorey and romantic and creepy, it's enthralling. I love his light jabbing at heterosexuality and his dialogue with pain/ pleasure. The ending is so satisfying, I stan a revenge plot.

This story commands some respect for the committed trashiness of the writing. The Lovecraftian italics, the sadomasochistic bodice-ripping! And for shameless use of Hollywood horror tropes: The tinkle of a music box in the opening scene. The walking back into The House of Horrors alone, unarmed, and without a plan. The characters with soap opera relations and no backstories. The classic “Come out come out wherever you are” structure of the denouement.
It also has me re-evaluating the most elemental conviction of my existence as a sentient being: that the book is always better than the movie unless Stephen King. I give two more stars for the identity crisis it triggered. The characters are mere empty husks (lol!) and it was show more impossible not to contrast the ways the lead actresses made this story real for me, in film version. show less

I’m assuming everyone in the world has seen the last Harry Potter movie? This isn’t a spoiler but there is this part in the movie where Voldemort is in some place that looks like a train station and he looks like a cross between some sort of fetus and a seahorse. When I saw it with my friends, we were all wondering what the frak we were looking at…in fact, it is pretty safe to say that I am still wondering a few months later. So I know Clive Barker wrote this novella decades before HP7p1 would come out but nevertheless, the movie impacted my reading enjoyment. Why? Because a man in The Hellbound Heart is trying to become more flesh and bone (just like good ol’ Voldy) and needs blood to do so. As he becomes more substantial there show more is a period of time where all I could picture was some weird-looking seahorse thing flapping around in a corner. This is supposed to scare me? Mission NOT accomplished. Also, Barker went out of his way to mention one of the victims’ saggy, gray underwear before he dies. I was more disgusted by the saggy briefs than the murder.

I feel a bit foolish that I didn’t know the movie Hellraiser was based on this novella until my book club buddy told me at our meeting. Because I read an e-version rather than the DTB, I didn’t have the benefit of all the creepy drawings. (Tip #1: Read the DTB. Actually there is only one tip.) I said to my friends, “Hey! That picture looks like that guy Pinhead from that horror movie!” Cue the cricket noises. Considering how short this work is (around 125 pages), Barker really packs a punch of a story. The brevity of the work really limits characterization and plot development. It felt like I was walking down a cafeteria line and just looking at all the things I could have but then never taking a bite of any of it. What kind of woman would just start killing people to feed blood to the demonish presence that may or may not be her brother-in-law with whom she had a rape-and-if-not-rape-certainly-rapey experience with before her wedding? Who the hell moves into a house where one room is totally dank and seemingly haunted? Who disposes of bodies and/or bags of bones by just tossing them in the spare room? Who finds a crazy-ass box in a haunted house and just starts playing around with it? (because that can only have GOOD results, right?) I just had to stop typing for a second to laugh at the memory of us rehashing the plot of this novella at book club.

Here’s the lowdown:
Was it scary? No.
Am I an idiot for not realizing Hellraiser was based on this book? Yes.
Do I recommend it to horror lovers? Meh, not really.
Was it worth the read? Yes, for the weirdness.
Do I want to watch the movie now? Yes, if only to see if there is a seahorse fetus scene. show less