By the mid-1990s, with a slew of bestselling novels, short story collections and comic-book series bearing his name, Clive Barker seemed poised to challenge Stephen King's preeminence as the leading producer of brand-name horror/fantasy fiction. Furthermore, whereas the Maine-based King has only dabbled in the visual media as an active creator, his younger English counterpart has embraced the movie business as a producer-writer-director since the late 80s. The workaholic Barker has also emerged as a thoughtful and articulate commentator on the horror genre.

Barker began his career in the arts as a playwright, actor and director for the Dog Company, a "fringe" theater group he formed in London, staging such works as "Frankenstein in Love" and "The History of the Devil". While starving for his art, he began writing horror short stories, not expecting them to be marketable. The first publisher who read them, however, asked for more, and in 1984 they were issued in three volumes in the US as "The Books of Blood". Propelled by a priceless Stephen King jacket quotation which read "I have seen the future of horror and its name is Clive Barker", the books sold extremely well and launched a career in which Barker has written, directed and/or executive produced several distinctive horror films that are both gruesome and literate.

Barker's goal has been to produce horror films that take themselves seriously, as opposed to the campy, tongue-in-cheek fare that has dominated the genre since the early 80s. He made his directorial debut with "Hellraiser" (1987), adapted by Barker from his novella "The Hellbound Heart". Described by the London periodical "Time Out" as "a serious, intelligent and disturbing horror film", this exceptional project was produced on a shoestring budget of $1.5 million and grossed more than $30 million. "Hellraiser" introduced the sharp-featured "prince of pain" character who has been given the affectionate nickname "Pinhead" by an enthusiastic and bloodthirsty audience. Played by Barker's erstwhile school chum and Dog Company colleague Doug Bradley, Pinhead returned for "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" (1988), "Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth" (1992) and "Hellraiser IV: Bloodlines" (1995), all of which were executive-produced by Barker but directed by others. He received a story credit for the first sequel and a "from characters" credit on the subsequent entries. Barker has no control over the extensive marketing of his creation--whom he describes as "the Noel Coward of the lower depths"--because he sold those rights for $1 million in the deal that allowed him to direct the first installment.

Though hailed in some quarters as a genre innovator (and a rare prose stylist), Barker's greatest talent may be as a clever recycler--one who spices up the old formulae with liberal helpings of unconventional sexuality and surreal, over-the-top violence. Indeed some sharp fans can directly trace the literary lineage of a number of his early short stories. In any event, Barker has moved away from horror since his first books, concentrating instead on fantasy ("Weaveworld" 1987; "The Great and Secret Show" 1989). In 1992, he published his first children's book, "The Thief of Always", which features 27 of his own illustrations. Barker has continued to alternate between film and book projects.

Barker's second outing as a writer-director was the uneven but intriguing "Nightbreed" (1990), adapted from his story "Cabal", in which fellow horror auteur David Cronenberg had a role as a sinister psychiatrist who frames a patient for murder. The lad takes refuge in a hidden land of legendary monsters. Far better was "Candyman" (1992), a genuinely creepy and original story of urban folklore, which Barker executive produced and penned the original story ("The Forbidden"). Adapted and Americanized by writer-director Bernard Rose, "Candyman" received the strongest notices of any Barker-related film to date. The film spawned an inferior sequel "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh" (1995) on which Barker secured executive producer and story credits.

Barker returned to the director's chair for "Lord of Illusions" (1995), an unusual film noir inflected story of how real and deadly magic sometimes fuels the art of illusion. Barker also served as producer and adapted his 1985 story "The Last Illusion" for the gory special effects-driven movie which opened to mixed reviews and moderate box office.