The Forbidden is a short movie made by horror master Clive Barker when he was young and included his friends Peter Atkins and Doug Bradly, two people who would later get careers in the film business. Peter Atkins would become a screenwriter who wrote Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Hellrasier: Bloodline, Wishmaster and Fist of the North Star, Doug Brdaley would become an actor who played as the horror icon Pinhead in the Hellraiser movies as well as acting in other things like Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes. The Forbidden is not based on the short story with the same title, the short story called The Forbidden was about the Candyman and in 1992 it was adapted into a film starring Tony Todd and Virgina Madsen. The short movie is completely different, Clive Barker claimed this short film to be based on Faust. The Forbidden is a very creepy and atmospheric film, the music that plays in the background is unnerving. The film has some good imaginative effects and some good camera work, the animation such as the birds flying by the window is impressive and it gives the film a interesting appeal, the skinning scene is pulled off effectively and looks good. An interesting thing is that there are shots of nails which look similar to Pinhead's nails and it was even pointed out in the introduction before the film started.
The Forbidden is a great short film by Clive Barker that's chilling and creepy, can you see it in the special disk in the Region 2 Hellrasier box set or you can buy DVD that has both Clive Barker's short movies Salome and The Forbidden. Check this out. 10/10
