Clive Barker's Salome & The Forbidden

In the early 70's, British horror novelist/filmmaker (Hellraiser, Lords of Illusion) Clive Barker made a pair of amateur films which have deservedly--for the most part--not seen the commercial light of day. Until now. The video opens with the 18-minute Salome, a grainy black & white 8mm job made by a 19-year-old Barker, reputedly based on the Biblical story of Salome (though many well-versed in the tale will be hard-pressed to see the similarities). The short consists primarily of close-ups of people's faces (Clive's young friends) in a cellar. More ambitious is The Forbidden, a 36-minute piece, which Barker recently edited (and left in considerable footage of his young self with a notably tumescent penis dancing around in the buff), is loosely based on the Faust legend. Using some interesting filming techniques, the story--such as it is--involves a man who apparently makes some sort of bargain with a hellish angel and then is later flayed (a theme that would crop up again in the Hellraiser series). After 54 minutes of student film, we are finally treated to an interview with the maestro himself which--needless to say--is by far the most interesting part of the film. In additional interview clips with his early cohorts, Pete Atkins (who played "Pinhead" in Hellraiser) allows that these early shorts were "made completely for ourselves...fueled only by our artistic pretensions." I couldn't have said it better myself. As for the rather extensive weenie wagging in The Forbidden, unless one happens to be very interested in Mr. Barker's private parts, this is not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman)