Clive Barker's Nightbreed is an interesting stew of horror and high fantasy mixed together to make for an intriguing and unique film. Of course, it had a long road to becoming the film it is today. Originally released in 1990 in a severely edited form, the film was a confusing mish-mash of a film that didn't really make much sense or much of an impact. At least, that's what I thought when I saw it way back when. But then, a few years back, Barker was able to assemble and release his director's cut. Upon finding out how much was changed and put back into the film, I knew I had to give it a second chance. And wouldn't you know it, I fell in love with the movie.
Aaron Boone (played by Craig Sheffer) is a troubled young man who has been having vivid dreams of a place called Midian. He's been seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Decker (played by David Cronenberg), for help. However, unbeknownst to Boone, Decker has been moonlighting as a serial killer and framing Boone for the crimes while dosing him with a heavy hallucinogen that lands Boone in the hospital. There he meets Narcisse (played by Hugh Ross), who is ranting about getting to Midian. Boone asks him about Midian and Narcisse, thinking he's being tested, tells him how to get there. Upon arriving, he discovers that Midian is an old cemetery in the middle of nowhere, but underneath is a subterranean city populated by the Breed, a group of fantastical monsters of varying appearances and abilities. Despite initially being rejected by them, Boone is eventually welcomed into the group and joins the Breed. However, he has unwittingly led not only his girlfriend Lori (played by Anne Bobby), but also Decker and the local police who wish to destroy Midian and the monsters within.
Clive Barker wrote and directed the film from his novel, Cabal. His central inspiration for the film was making a monster movie that flipped the expectation, with the monsters being the good guys and the humans the villains. The movie establishes the Breed as descendants from ancient races that populated the Earth alongside humans, but were wiped out, given humanity's tendency to destroy that which it does not understand. The Breed seen in the film are all that are left and live in hiding in Midian. Barker and his crew exhibit a great deal of imagination in both it's creature design as well as the creation of the underground world of Midian. This more than anything is what drew me into the film as I revisited it all these years later. Barker also does a good job balancing the outright horror and more fantasy elements of the film, blending them together nicely. The whole thing is finished off with a fantastic score by Danny Elfman, whose compositions add another level of excitement to the film.
The acting in the film is decent with Craig Sheffer making for an appealing hero and Anne Bobby is good as his girlfriend Lori. I always thought David Cronenberg was an interesting choice to play the villain Decker as he's not really an actor, but rather a director. Still, Cronenberg gives a suitably creepy performance that is perhaps a bit more unique than it otherwise would be with another actor. The actors portraying the members of the Breed were good as well, with Doug Bradley as Dirk, Catherine Chevalier as Rachel, Oliver Parker as Peloquin and Hugh Ross as Narcisse being standouts for me.
Nightbreed never quite achieved the same fame as Barker's prior film, Hellraiser, but with the recent release of the director's cut, as well as the even more recent release of the even longer Cabal Cut (which I have not seen yet), it is finding a second life as more people discover it. If you're into fantasy or horror (or better yet, both!), then this is one worth checking out.
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