The other two are original, reportedly conceived by Braga and Barker. In one of this production's strangest decisions, only one of these three stories is actually based on a Barker composition, and even that one (the actual story called “The Book of Blood” that opens the anthology) has been liberally altered.

Would I judge this differently if it were three episodes sent to press for a new Hulu series instead of a complete feature? Maybe, but I’d still be nervous about where it was going next. If creator Brannon Braga had been allowed to expand this into the series it should have been, it might have worked, but it feels like a half-hearted project in every way in this form. It is perhaps bad criticism to say, 'I can't put my finger on it' but I really can't figure out why this doesn't work for me.Originally conceived as an anthology series, 'Books of Blood' has now been reduced to an anthology film, three stories with loose connections in terms of plot but all about people who learn that they shouldn’t mess with the other side. This is another one that feels like it should have been a short novel rather than a short story. The story's ultimate revelation (No spoilers) really reads like a premise from a century ago, I think there needed to be another level to the story. 'New Murders in the Rue Morgue' - This one is missing something I cannot put my finger on. A town under siege from a parade of 20-ft tall monsters from the desert is cool, a father who finds out he is not the father and instead his son is some kind of halfbreed monster is cool. 'The Skins of the Fathers' - I would argue this is the worst story in this collection, but I think it could have worked if the premise had gone in some different directions. I think that this should have been a novel and as is does not work as well as it could have had the story been given the full room to breath. 'Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament' - This reads like a 300 page Stephen King book that has been cut to the bone. 'Hell's Event' - While I think Dread is the best, I think this is my favorite because of the imaginative demons and the specific premise, a foot race to save the world from demons, to be rather tight and enjoyable. I found the idea of an up his ass philosopher trying to discover true Dread/Fear/Despair to be great, sort of a dime store Batman villain. It certainly shows its age as there are technological references that seem super-dated to any modern reader, so if you are the type that prefers a more timeless feel to your fiction that might take you out of it. 'Dread' - I think this is the best story in the book.

The two best stories are only 4-stars, the worst story is a 2). If you are fans of him for those two things then this collection is for you. Overall I find this hits Clive Barker's great strengths, Elegant Prose and Imaginative (often transgressive) ideas, but none of them really knock it out of the park in either horror or surrealness.

Books of blood volume 2