In 1987, Clive Barker (born on this day in 1952) gave us Hellraiser.
'87 was a good and varied year for horror. We had Evil Dead II, Opera, Near Dark, Predator, Bad Taste, The Lost Boys and Prince of Darkness.
But Barker brought a degree of eloquence, imagination and daring to the genre that I, at just 17 years of age, hadn't seen before, at least not combined to such stunning and elegant effect.
Barker is horror's Renaissance Man, a lively bundle of talents, skills and experiences through which his beyond-wild imagination is artfully channeled. We're lucky to have him.