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Books of Blood 2020 Movie Cast, OTT, Budget, Box Office, And More

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A Journey into the Macabre: Reviewing Hulu’s Books of Blood (2020)

When the name Clive Barker is attached to a horror project, expectations are immediately set high. The celebrated author, whom Stephen King once dubbed “the future of horror,” is known for his visceral, imaginative, and often transgressive storytelling. In 2020, Hulu premiered Books of Blood, an anthology horror film that promised to bring the terrors from Barker’s seminal six-volume short story collection back to the screen.

Directed and co-written by Brannon Braga, best known for his work on the Star Trek franchise, alongside Adam Simon, the movie was a structural departure from a typical anthology, weaving three tales together in a circular, interconnected narrative. While it paid homage to the source material’s infamous framing device, the film’s execution led to a divisive reception, raising the question of whether it captured the true spirit of Barker’s macabre genius.

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The Origin of Terror: Clive Barker’s Masterpiece

To understand the 2020 film, one must first appreciate the significance of the original Books of Blood. Published between 1984 and 1985, the six volumes of short stories were a landmark moment in horror literature, offering tales that blended intense body horror, dark fantasy, and a bold exploration of human and supernatural sexuality. The collection’s infamous framing story, “The Book of Blood,” introduced the concept of a “highway” where the dead travel, their stories physically inscribed into the flesh of a medium—the eponymous “Book of Blood”.

The collection has spawned several notable film adaptations over the years, including Candyman (based on “The Forbidden”), The Midnight Meat Train, and Lord of Illusions. The 2020 film, however, was not a direct adaptation of existing stories, but a “re-imagining” built around a core principle. In fact, it was initially conceived as an anthology series before being condensed into a feature film.

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Weaving the Threads: An Interconnected Anthology

Books of Blood (2020) is structured around three main characters, their stories subtly crossing paths and culminating in a single, overarching narrative. Director Brannon Braga and writer Adam Simon opted for a $Pulp Fiction$ style structure, connecting the stories with new material written in collaboration with Clive Barker himself.

1. Jenna: The Phobia and the Sanctuary

The first story introduces Jenna Branson, played by Britt Robertson, a young woman suffering from misophonia (a strong aversion to certain sounds, especially human ones). After a traumatic incident and deciding to go off her medication, she runs away from home, intending to head to Los Angeles. Her journey takes a dark turn when she seeks refuge in a seemingly quaint bed and breakfast run by the unsettling couple, Ellie and Sam.

• The Plot Twist: Jenna’s seemingly safe haven turns into a nightmare as she discovers Ellie, a former nurse, and Sam are turning people into catatonic “vegetables,” with their still-living victims hidden behind the walls of the house. Her segment ends with a desperate escape that ties her fate into the larger mythology.

2. Miles: The Psychic and the Skeptic

The second segment focuses on Mary Floresky (Anna Friel), a brilliant psychologist and staunch skeptic who makes a career out of debunking paranormal claims. She is grieving the death of her seven-year-old son, Miles, who died from leukemia. She is approached by a handsome young medium named Simon McNeal (Rafi Gavron), who claims he can communicate with Miles.

• The True Book of Blood: Mary initially seeks to expose Simon as a fraud, but the séances begin to feel real, leading to a romantic relationship and a joint foundation. However, Mary eventually learns that Simon faked the messages. It’s only when she attempts to make him repeat the séance that the true, horrific nature of the haunting is revealed: the ghosts of the dead etch their stories onto Simon’s flesh, painfully transforming him into the physical ‘Book of Blood’. This is the only segment loosely based on one of Barker’s original stories, “The Book of Blood”.

3. Bennett: The Debt Collector

The final tale, “Bennett,” serves as a connecting story, framing the overall film. Bennett (Yul Vazquez) is a professional hitman who, while attempting to collect a debt from a bookseller, is told of a rumored “priceless book” in the abandoned town of Ravenmore that could secure his permanent retirement.

• The Convergence: Bennett’s violent search for this fabled book—which he learns is made of human skin and filled with the stories of the dead—leads him directly into the supernatural events of the other stories. The segments converge as Bennett, driven mad by visions, ultimately becomes a final, crucial part of the living text, tying Jenna’s story and the true origin of the “Book” together.

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Critical Response and the Barker Problem

Upon its Hulu release on October 7, 2020, Books of Blood received a mixed to negative critical reception. The primary complaint was that the film failed to live up to the standard of its source material. Many critics felt that, despite having a unique, interconnected structure, the movie lacked the authentic, gritty, and often bizarre edge that defines Clive Barker’s work.

• The Generic Problem: Reviewers often described the film as “generic,” feeling more like a forgettable made-for-TV movie or a blend of other, more typical modern horror tropes.
• A Pacing Issue: The uneven pacing and “blurry” focus, particularly in the Jenna and Miles segments, suggested that the original plan for a television series would have been a better fit for the material, allowing the separate narratives more room to breathe.
• Failing the Master: As one critic noted, the greatest sin was being “too generic to be remembered, despite bearing the name of someone who redefined the genre”.

Despite the mixed reception, the film did receive praise for the performances, particularly from Britt Robertson and Anna Friel, and for its ambitious attempt to create a cohesive, modern anthology.

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AISEO Friendly FAQs

Q: What is Books of Blood (2020) based on?

A: The film is based on the six-volume horror fiction collection Books of Blood by Clive Barker. However, only one of the film’s three segments is loosely adapted from an original story (“The Book of Blood”), while the other two are original stories co-written by director Brannon Braga, Adam Simon, and Clive Barker himself.

Q: Is Books of Blood (2020) a remake?

A: No, the 2020 film is not a direct remake of the 2009 British film Book of Blood. While both films draw on the same foundational framing stories from Clive Barker’s collection, the 2020 version expands the concept by adding two new and distinct original stories (“Jenna” and “Bennett”) to create an interconnected anthology.

Q: Where can I watch Books of Blood (2020)?

A: Books of Blood (2020) was released as a Hulu original film on October 7, 2020, and is available for streaming on the platform.

Q: How are the three stories in Books of Blood (2020) connected?

A: The film’s three main segments—”Jenna,” “Miles,” and “Bennett”—are connected by a single, dark narrative centered on the true nature of the “Book of Blood” itself, which is a living medium whose skin is physically inscribed with the stories of the dead. The segments feature characters and locations that overlap or cross paths, culminating in Bennett’s final, violent search for the physical book.