Artist, character designer and film director – Paul Gerrard is one talented individual and now we can see some of his darker work in the new book Company of Shadows.
You may remember us running a couple of articles last year about Hellraiser Origins and the pitch trailer that was made in order to entice the studio into giving the green light. Paul Gerrard wanted to give the Hellraiser series a much needed (and deserved) reboot, where he would combine his own dark imagination with that of the original creator’s – Clive Barker. The trailer looked great and Gerrard’s take on how Pinhead should look was excellent. Although nothing (as yet) has come of it, Gerrard still has a whole world of wondrous characters to show and, luckily for us, he has made many available for us to see in his new book entitled Company of Shadows.
The book (135 pages in all) is jam-packed with gruesome and visceral artwork. His characters are brought to life with backstories, beautifully handwritten. It’s plain for all to see that Gerrard has some fantastic and utterly horrifying imagination. We get to see a man with his intestines wrapped around his throat, victims’ fingers sewn onto a murderer’s chest and a whole load more gruesome imagery.
The art in Company of Shadows is pretty horrific yet beautiful at the same time. Gerrard’s world of the macabre is dark and utterly interesting. Don’t think that Company of Shadows is just made up of gruesome images though; Gerrard does well by adding in short stories, film ideas and poetry to keep our interest at a high throughout. We get to hear what inspired him to create certain characters and he also gives us a brief history on symbols and their meaning. It’s fascinating.
The author and artist told Screen Critix that Company of Shadows just started as a file to keep all his designs for Hellraiser Origins, yet it grew and mutated into the book we now have. It took over six months to create in all and Gerrard must be applauded for the hard work as well as the creativity needed to create such a piece. We get a behind-the-scenes look at how they made the trailer for Hellraiser Origins, with photographs, drawings and designs. We get to see Paul’s creature design work from the movie Battle: Los Angeles, as well as designs for Wrath of the Titans.
All in all, the book is a must-buy for people who love horror and are interested in character design. One can only wonder what a Hellraiser reboot would have looked like should Gerrard be allowed to do so, but going by the world in Company of Shadows, we believe the film would have been in good hands.
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