Horror Movie Review: Books of Blood (2020)

Clive Barker’s Books of Blood are six volumes of short stories framed by a prologue called ‘Book of Blood’ and an epilogue called ‘On Jerusalem Street (a postscript)’. The two stories put together come to 15 pages, yet have been turned into a movie not once, but twice. Firstly, with the 2009 horror, Book of Blood that could be called ‘alright’ at best (read our review here). Secondly, with this 2020 anthology, directed by Brannon Braga and co-written by Braga and Adam Simon.

Now, considering that Barker’s Books of Blood were anthologies, this film being an anthology itself should make sense. However, of the three stories told here, only two of them are actually adaptions of his work and those two are loose adaptions. The other is an original story with a very light connection to the others.

It’s this story, Jenna, that we begin with.

Jenna (Britt Robertson) is a young woman suffering from mental illness following an event that cost the life of someone close to her. The lack of understanding from her mother, her refusal to take her medication and her fear of being returned to the ‘farm’ sees Jenna choose to run away.

As she makes her way across the country, she begins to suspect she is being followed as she regularly sees a man dressed in black. Scared, she ends up at a rural bed and breakfast run by an elderly couple, Ellie (Freda Foh Shen) and Sam (Nicholas Campbell). It’s there she also meets Gavin (Kenji Fitzgerald) and she begins to bond with all of them.

Her mental health problems aren’t going away though and her paranoia is increasing. Is this bed and breakfast really the safe haven it appears to be?

A slow-burn of a horror that choses to focus on the characters over anything else. That does work in its favour except when a big reveal near the end makes it far harder to relate to the story’s protagonist. Strong acting, a dark mystery and a gruesome payoff makes Jenna a memorable horror short. However, those expecting some Barker style horror will come away disappointed.

No such issue with the next story as it’s the first of the two adaptions and the one relating to the title of this movie. Called Miles, this is a loose retelling of The Book of Blood and sees a woman named Mary (Anna Friel) approached by a man named Simon (Rafi Gavron) who claims he can commune with the dead.

Of course, she doesn’t believe him, until he proves it by getting a message from her recently departed young son, Miles. The dead want their voices to be heard and Mary will do anything to ensure she isn’t separated from her son again.

This is a great story, Barker’s writing makes it a great story and while this adaption is loose, the basic premise is there and plays out in suitably twisted fashion. Good acting, some really graphic gore and a super-satisfying payoff makes this the best version of The Book of Blood seen to date.

Linked directly to that story is the final part of this anthology, Bennett. He (Yul Vazquez) is a thug for hire, introduced to us as he comes to collect a debt from a bookseller. The bookseller, unable to pay and desperate to save his life, offers Bennett a prize worth a million dollars. It’s a book called the ‘Book of Blood’ and it’s located in an abandoned town.

Bennett kills the bookseller anyway and decides to go and get the book for himself. Of course, we know that this book isn’t a normal book. It’s the body of Simon and getting hold of it, isn’t going to be an easy task for the man.

Called ‘On Jerusalem Street (a postscript)’, Barker kept this one really short in this original tales and for good reason. Here, it’s extended and transformed into something way more and it doesn’t really work. It’s not interesting and the changes made to the original story just don’t do anything worthwhile.

Thankfully, this isn’t the end of the anthology as we then go back to Jenna’s part of the story and finish that up. It’s dark and sinister, enough to wash the bad taste of Bennett out of the mouth.

So that’s Books of Blood. A second and better attempt at turning Clive Barker’s stories into a worthwhile watch. The actual Book of Blood is the highlight but credit must also be given to the Jenna story, which is solid enough to be watched as its own thing completely.