Cem Lamb This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

clintstevens Strange? Hey, we're talkin' Clive Barker here. Pretty much typical horror/zombie/love story. I did watch the entire movie so it rates a 5, because it does have a certain a'peel'. The best that can be said for the flick is Jonas Armstrong has a fine rear end. If that offends you, no skin off my nose, just his.

Scott LeBrun Wyburd (Clive Russell), a sociopathic goon who procures victims for a particularly macabre "collector", has just selected Simon McNeal (Jonas Armstrong), a handsome but sickly looking young man he spots in a diner. He escorts the young man away, to a secluded cabin where he prepares to flay this unfortunate soul. First, however, he is curious enough to know his captives' story, especially when he sees that so much of his skin is covered with bloody marks and printing. In his recent past, Simon had been helping author / professor Mary Florescu (Sophie Ward) conduct some research, by investigating a "haunted" house where a horrible, mysterious murder had taken place.There's enough here that is by now overly familiar (including the fact that Simon was a haunted individual with the power of second sight, a la 'The Dead Zone') to prevent "Book of Blood" from being anything special or great. But that doesn't mean that it isn't compelling, in a very sad and sordid way. Director / co-screenwriter John Harrison, who adapted the Clive Barker stories 'The Book of Blood' and 'On Jerusalem Street', does manage a fairly good balancing act here, combining mood, atmosphere, pathos, gore, sex, and nudity into a reasonably effective whole. Admittedly, the whole idea of the human body turned into a journal of sorts for those that have passed on is a good hook. The deliberately drab look adds to the overall sense of doom and gloom, and the ending IS one that could stick with some viewers. Some interesting visuals are created throughout.The four leads (also including Paul Blair as Mary's associate Reg Fuller) do capable work. Studly Armstrong is remarkably sincere, and for those who are interested, he gets nude but stops shy of doing full frontal. The lovely Ward is quite easy to watch. Be sure to watch for the cameos by Simon Bamford ("Hellraiser" 1 and 2) and Doug "Pinhead" Bradley.Good bloody fun for 101 straight minutes.Seven out of 10.

Leofwine_draca CLIVE BARKER'S BOOK OF BLOOD is an adaptation of his work that comes across as a traditional haunted house flick, albeit with a few Clive Barker-style flourishes. The main characters are a trio of paranormal experts who become interested in the history of a creepy old building that may just be the gateway to hell, so naturally they decide to live there while they carry out their investigation.What follows is a traditional spook-fest that tends to move quite slowly and doesn't really offer up much we haven't seen before. We're in definite Barker territory here, with some face-tearing gore, bodily mutilation, a Doug Bradley cameo, and an ancient arcane book of lore, but there's a general seen-it-all-before sense to the proceedings that means you'll need to be in a forgiving mood to really enjoy it. Me, I wanted something more than a typical haunted house/evil CGI ghost movie, and I didn't get it. Jonas Armstrong's poor acting is more of a hindrance than a help, although Sophie Ward gives a neat performance as the protagonist.

Rabh17 I won't give any spoilers-- because that destroys the reason for watching. Usually, my past experience with Clive Barker adaptations has been rough and not-very-memorable.Other times, Ghost stories always seemed to involve some happy, Upscale yuppie family moving into some idyllic country house and then the Audience is supposed to thrill to the horror of the Perfect Little Yuppie Children being threatened by some ectoplasmic nasty. These formulations are so plastic, I might as well watch Casper the Friendly Ghost.This one, though it spawns from Clive Barker-- it does not make the usual thematic gestures that Hollywood counts as Horror Requirements: Country Mansion with a secret, Sweet beautiful Unsuspecting Yuppie Family Moving in (After all, No-one cares if Ghosts kill Ugly people!), disgustingly adorable sacchar-whiney uber-brats saving Mom and Dad from Pointless Horror. This one is DIFFERENT.Additionally, this one comes via a NON-US directorship production. This is not so much about the Horror of Ghosts. . .it's about the Rules by Which Ghosts Exist, and what happens when a Paranormal Investigator and her team follow-up on a gruesome death in a nondescript row house somewhere in England.The build-up to the climax is slow, be prepared for this. There is no Non-stop high-decibel Hollywood Scream & Splatter here. But there is personal interests and reasons that are explored on the part of each person on the team that makes for a macabre mix-up when the final doors are finally blown open. It's about Personal beliefs and teasingly low-level eroticism. So be aware-- this movie is NOT for kids.The end is. . . interesting.This movie is Girlfriend Friendly and She will find it interesting. And it goes well with a hot, lazy Summer Evening during the Weekend. Turn the Lights down and watch.