Clive Barker is one of the modern masters of horror. First came his books. Then he made a little horror movie and changed everything. His film HELLRAISER revolutionized horror films and should've given him a license to do whatever he wanted. HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II pushed the limits further and his next film was going to be perhaps the greatest monster movie ever made. Today Hellraiser still stands as a true classic and arguably one of the greatest horror films of all time. But whatever happened to the movie that was supposed to be his masterpiece?
NIGHTBREED came out in 1990 and then wandered off into obscurity. Nightbreed was based off of Barker's book CABAL. The movie that was filmed followed the book very closely. The movie that was released in theaters was something very different. The studio executives didn't understand the kind of movie Clive was attempting to make, a movie where monsters were the heroes and human beings were the monsters. They made him alter his film, change it into something more akin to a slasher film. As a result audiences didn't respond to the film and it was then regarded as a failed experiment. Well, last year Clive Barker's original version of the film saw a true commercial release (on dvd and blu-ray) for the first time. Now we can all see the film the way it was intended.
THE PLOT
Aaron Boone is having dreams about monsters. In these dreams he sees a city of monsters called Midian and what's more he is one of the monsters. Some of the dreams are nightmares though, nightmares where people are murdered in cold blood. His psychiatrist, Dr. Philip Decker, shows him crime scene photos of a murder he described from one of his dreams four months ago. Decker is bound by law to inform the police and have Aaron arrested. But Boone doesn't remember committing any murders. In a panic Boone leaves the city and drives into the countryside. The police track him to an old cemetery in the middle of nowhere. Above the cemetery gates is a name: Midian.
Boone is gunned down by the police and killed. Boone wakes as something different, not human but monstrous. He goes back to Midian and finds the monsters that dwell there. Boone learns of a whole other world and a secret history between humans and monsters. Long ago there was a great purge in which puritanical humans hunted down and killed nearly all of monsterkind. Over the years the monsters have rebuilt their numbers and now live in peace in Midian. But humans are closing in and when humans find monsters they only do one thing: kill them all. The monsters of Midian need someone to sheppard them to a new home, one free of humans and safe. Is Aaron up to the task? Or will Decker and the rest of the humans wipe out the monsters once and for all?
THE GOOD
You like monsters? This movie is loaded to the teeth with monsters. The monster designs range from simplistic to inspired. Nightbreed is a feast for the eyes and a creature feature unlike any other. Clive Barker came across a genius idea when wrote the book: Every kid who loves monsters movies and horror & fantasy films loves them for the monsters. Nobody cares about the dull stereotypical hero who saves the day and kills the monster. But everybody who likes these movies likes the monsters. 99% of the time the monsters are the badguys. Our parents and those other people who don't understand why we like these things worry for our sanity when we tell them we like monsters (my parents did). Nightbreed is awesome for the simple fact that it tells us all, "It's okay to like the monsters."
David Cronenberg plays a supporting role in the movie too. I generally dislike Cronenberg's acting but his character in this film has a frightening and wicked cool mask. He is the central villain in the movie and he's basically a standard slasher from the 80's. It's cool to see monsters saving people from a serial killer. And then there's Doug Bradley, the actor who made Pinhead a horror movie icon, who plays the leader of the monsters of Midian. And actor Simon Bamford, who played the Butterball Cenobite in Hellraiser I & II joins the cast. Having both Bradley and Bamford are welcome additions to the cast and are actors who bring their own fanbases.
Monsters, monsters, monsters. Blood, guts, and horror. And a love story to top it all off. There's a lot to like about this movie. There's even more to like about the director's cut. It is a far better narrative and a much stronger story than the theatrical cut. This movie would've been like the movie UNDERWORLD, a wonderful beginning to what should've been an epic trilogy of Cabal and the monsters losing their home and eventually establishing a new Midian elsewhere. This movie engages the imagination and fills the viewer with possibilities and wonder. But instead the movie was recut and reworked and became something strange, an anomaly that no one knew quite how to react to.
THE BAD
I hate Danny Elfman's score. It's just my opinion but it feels too whimsical and childlike. I love Danny Elfman's scores for Tim Burton's movies and that's what this score feels like. But this isn't the fantasy world of Edward Scissorhands or Batman. His music makes light of the story, diminishes the severity of the narrative, and brings a childlike sense of wonder where there should be horror and fright. It's a good score but completely wrong for this movie. Also the battle sequence at the end of the film feels a little less than fully realized. Nowadays filmmakers have perfected battle scenes but here it feels a little disjointed. The special effects and technology hadn't been developed yet to truly bring a large scale monster battle like this to life. Nor did Barker have a big enough budget to give it anything more. I'd love to see it remade today with someone like Peter Jackson choreographing it.
THE VERDICT
This is a monster movie for people who love monsters. It's a mash up of 80's masked serial killer movies and monsters. The monsters are the good guys and the deranged and violent humans are the badguys. Clive Barker stumbled across a brilliant idea with this story. The monsters are more human than the humans. He instills the story with real heart and compassion. It just so happens that the compassion comes from hideous looking freaks (hideous on the outside). And right there says it all. Just because somebody looks different doesn't mean they're any less human. That and monsters are cool.
Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 4 out of 10
Want to know more about the differences between the Theatrical cut and the Director's Cut? Check out my review of the Nightbreed Director's Cut Blu-Ray linked below...
Nightbreed Director's Cut Blu-Ray Review
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