Clive Barker's Nightbreed - Director's Cut - 1990

Clive Barker’s Nightbreed - Director’s Cut - 1990

The first thing that caught my attention was the chaos at the start of the film. That and the fact that the first kill takes place within the first 10 minutes. Now, I will admit that if Clive Barker’s name had not been in the title, I might have glossed on over this film. I’m glad I stopped and give it a look. Though I should have known that putting Clive Barker and David Cronenburg together is pretty much a recipe for a horror home run.

So without giving too much away, Our story starts with monsters of all shapes and sizes running around what appears to be a cemetery. Then we see our “hero” Aaron as he wakes from a “bad dream”, staring up at his girlfriend, Lori. He mentions that his doctor has called numerous times and he has yet to call him back, so Lori suggests that he call and tell the guy that all the problems are gone but the dreams are not, so he begrudgingly agrees. Once he sees his doctor, things start to get interesting. This film is similar to other Barker films as it marches to the beat of its own drum and you find yourself going along for the ride. Having the “Baron of Blood” David Cronenburg as the ultra-creepy Dr. Decker makes that ride all the more fun. This film is considered dark fantasy/horror, which is pretty evident in the story arc as well as the look of the monsters. They look like late 80’s monsters, most are more funny-looking than scary, though there are a few that I would not want to meet in a dark alley at midnight. I am not going to lie, there were times, that I was not sure if I was going to be able to make it through the film. Though I reminded myself that I had committed to watching all the way through. All in all, it is not a bad film, it is just “out there”. The makeup department did a great job making the monsters look as good as they do. As well as making horror icon Doug Bradley almost completely unrecognizable. The special effects are pretty good for when they were done. There are some not so great CGI effects, but CGI was not as advanced in 1990 as it is now. I am a sucker for atmosphere and soundtrack and I really felt that this film was a bit lacking in this department.

The characters were interesting and a bit different. Between Cronenberg’s creepy doctor to the personalities of the monsters, it was a refreshing change. Even our favorite Cenobite was involved with this little gem. Though he is completely unrecognizable and you can only hear his voice in the Director’s cut, as he was dubbed by another actor in the theatrical release, much to his disappointment.

He plays the leader of the monsters, Lylesberg. After seeing him as the take-charge “Pinhead”, this role is a bit different from that but still enjoyable. Would love to hear what you think. I will admit that this film has one of the more creepy villains that I have seen in an ’80s-’90s horror film. When you see it, you will totally understand the creep factor. It is pretty cool the way the film builds, it is not really a slow burn, nor is it breakneck speed. It is a pretty easy pace that just sort of moves along at its own pace and it is pretty easy to follow what is going on. The only complaint I really have is that the film’s climax does feel a bit chaotic, but not in a good way. It is easy to feel that there were budget or time problems and they just rushed to get to the finish line. Now, this could have been intended, I am not sure. So if it was the intention of the filmmakers, I apologize, but it just didn’t seem to fit the flow of the rest of the movie.

OK, time to move on to our cast. Our first cast member is the troubled Aaron Boone, played by the talented Craig Sheffer. Now if this name or face seems familiar to you, it should. As well as being known for this film, he is also well known to the horror community as the corrupt Detective Joseph Thorne in the fifth installment of the Hellraiser franchise, “Hellraiser: Inferno”. He has had a few roles that endeared him to the horror community, those being roles in the 1987 “horror/comedy” television series “Teen Wolf”, the 2002 “Tales from the Crypt” film “Ritual” with Jennifer Gray, and horror icon Tim Curry. As well as starring with Jason Scott Leigh and film legend Roy Scheider in the 2003 vampire film “Dracula II: Ascension”. For our purposes, Craig’s character Aaron is a young man troubled by his past and his mind. When he turns to his doctor for help, this begins a series of events that will change his life forever. He is not quite a tough guy, but he isn’t a pushover either. He is trying to make sense of everything that is happening around him and none of it makes any sense. There are times that I was not impressed with his reactions to situations, but all in all, he did a great job. Most recently he has had roles in the 2003 teen drama “One Tree Hill” and the long-running crime drama “CSI”, you can also see him in the 2016 movie “Code of Honor”. I am looking forward to seeing him anytime he returns to the horror genre.

Our next cast member is an actor, writer, producer, and director that really needs no introduction. If you are a horror fan, there is a good chance you have seen something that he has had a hand in. I am speaking of “The Baron of Blood” David Cronenberg. This man has an impressive resume that spans five decades (1966-Present). He is responsible for such gems as the “Scanners” franchise (writer), the 1988 thriller “Dead Ringers (writer/director/actor), the 1983 film adaptation of the Stephen King bestseller “The Dead Zone” (director), as well as acting roles in “Extreme Measures” (1996) and the tenth (and strangest) installment of the Friday the 13th franchise “Jason X” (2001). With his tall, thin, almost gaunt look, as well as his very soft-spoken demeanor, he is great for the role of the super creepy Dr. Decker. Throughout the film, no matter what is going on, Decker’s tone rarely changes, he is always quiet and thoughtful in how he speaks. This is a man that is up to something, you just don’t know the depth of it when you first see him. But once you see what he is up to, it jacks up his ranking on the creepy scale. Usually, when he acts in a film, it is an “uncredited role” or a smaller role” so for him to be a main character in this film made me very happy. I always find myself getting excited when I find out that he is involved with a project. I have yet to see anything that he has been involved in that I have not liked. Most recently you can see him in the 2013 TV movie “Rewind” or his latest directorial project the 2014 film “Consumed”.

Our final cast member is Aaron’s girlfriend, Lori, played by the beautiful Anne Bobby. Anne has primarily been a television actress since her role as the stubborn and persistent Lori. She is probably more familiar to video gamers than television or movie fans. Well, her voice anyways, she is the voice of Brigid Tanenbaum for the Bioshock franchise. She did have a part in the 1989 Tom Cruise, Vietnam war film “Born on the Fourth of July”. With her big doe eyes and beauty in general, she looks like most 80’s or early 90’s female characters in a horror movie. The nice thing is that she was strong, determined and she is more of a heroine than just a supporting character. I love her spunk and the fact that she doesn’t just play a simpering fool, she has her own personality and ideas about what is going on and does not take anything at face value and is willing to do what it takes to get the answers that she wants and to try to get the outcome that fits her agenda better. There is something off about the chemistry between her and Aaron, I have not been able to put my finger on what it was, but it was just off for most of the movie. Most recently you can see her in the 2014 television series “In Fear Of”.

Even though this movie is listed as a “Dark Fantasy/Horror” film, in my personal opinion it leans more toward the dark fantasy with a bit of a slasher background. Though if you are a fan of Clive Barker or David Cronenberg, then the film is worth the watch. Though there is a scene that looks and sounds like it should have been featured in Beetlejuice instead of this movie. I have to say that I enjoyed seeing all of the different monsters, especially since they were not all the same movie monsters that you usually see.

4 of 5 - There is nudity as well as a “sort of” sex scene.

3 of 5 - Due to the fact there is a battle scene, it elevates the death count a bit.

3 of 5 - Pretty middle of the road as far as the blood and gore, there are a pretty gory couple scenes, but then there are some scenes that the blood looks more like watered-down ketchup.

2 of 5 - There are not a lot of scares in this. There are a couple of jump scares as well as some characters that are kind of scary looking, but all in all, not anything overly terrifying.

3 of 5 - While this film is low on the scares and blood list, The violence that is there pushes it just far enough down the scale to not qualify as a PFF

Recommendations:

Lord of Illusions

Hellraiser franchise

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

Tales from the Crypt (Any of the films)

Fright Night