Salome dances an alluring dance, seduces a man we assume to be John the Baptist and it's all over, well 18-minutes later. Keeping that in mind, 'Salome' is a rough experience, it is full of atmosphere and some great use of lighting throughout the plot though, to a viewer unwilling to look into the backstory of the adaptation, is nearly incomprehensible.

Barker's direction is obtuse at times largely due to 'Salome' being an experimental film (Barker wouldn't direct 'Hellraiser' until 1987). Both have been released as extras before on UK editions of 'Hellraiser' and now both arrive as a standalone release for American audiences, begging the question, 'do we need every work of an artist, rough, polished and in-between available?'ġ973's 'Salome' is an 18-minute wordless short supposedly based on Oscar Wilde's play of the same name, which in turn is roughly based on the biblical story of Salome, whose alluring dance won her the head of John the Baptist as a prize. However, nearly a decade before Barker's first published novel, 'The Damnation Game' came to fruition, Barker created a few experimental films, 'Salome' in 1973 and 'The Forbidden' in 1978. Barker is also known to others as a writer, with most of his cinematic output actually having origins on the printed page. Most know Barker through the 'Hellraiser' series, although recently, a more complete vision of his underrated 90s cult film 'Nightbreed' has made it to the public eye through a fantastic Blu-Ray release and appearance on Netflix. I'd definitely classify myself in the former category when it comes to the work of Clive Barker. There exists a fine line between being a fan of an artist's work who is satisfied with being familiar with the highlights and some of the more obscure offerings and a fan who desires to understand the creator's process so deeply they are willing to seek out every piece of art, finished and otherwise.

The forbidden barker