Nightbreed (1990)

Director:

Clive Barker

Writers (WGA):

Clive Barker (novel)
Clive Barker (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 February 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Lori thought she knew everything about her boyfriend... Lori was wrong!

Plot:

A community of mutant outcasts of varying types and abilities attempts to escape the attentions of a...

Plot Keywords:

Redneck | Vigilante | Mutant | Serial Killer | Stabbed To Death

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Craig Sheffer	...	Aaron Boone / Cabal
Anne Bobby	...	Lori Desinger
David Cronenberg	...	Dr. Philip K. Decker
Charles Haid	...	Captain Eigerman
Hugh Quarshie	...	Detective Joyce
Hugh Ross	...	Narcisse
Doug Bradley	...	Dirk Lylesberg
Catherine Chevalier	...	Rachel
Malcolm Smith	...	Ashberry
Bob Sessions	...	Pettine
Oliver Parker	...	Peloquin
Debora Weston	...	Sheryl Ann
Nicholas Vince	...	Kinski
Simon Bamford	...	Ohnaka
Kim Robertson	...	Babette

Also Known As:

Clive Barker's Nightbreed (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1992) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2007) | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

20th Century Fox drastically cut this film at the last minute prior to its theatrical release, omitting most of the more graphic violence and completely deleting rock singer Suzi Quatro's role from the final print. Moreover, the movie was misleadingly advertised as just another standard slasher feature.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the camera slowly pulls away, over Boone's dead body in the field in front of Midian, you can see him blink after several seconds.

Quotes:

Boone: Look we can make it out... but we need fighters
Lylesberg: We're not warriors
Boone: What about the beserkers?
Lylesberg: Madness, they're uncontrollable
Boone: Better yet... let them out. We are the tribes of the moon... you said so
Lylesberg: [Reminiscing] The tribes of the moon
[pauses then reluctantly]
Lylesberg: I'll release them

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: If You're So Smart, Then Why Are You Dead? (#2.7)" (2007)

A superb work of macabre art.

Adapting his own novel "Cabal" for the screen, author / screenwriter / director Clive Barker fashioned this marvelous story of outré horror and fantasy. Craig Sheffer plays Boone, a young man who becomes suspected of being a serial killer. The cops gun him down in front of Midian, on the surface a cemetery but which is actually a haven for monsters that have been shunned by society. When they lay claim to Boone and make him one of their own, this causes repercussions for everybody, including Boone's sweet girlfriend (the very cute Anne Bobby) and dubious psychiatrist (a most enjoyable David Cronenberg).

"Nightbreed" displays the kind of wild and twisted imagination that I don't see in movies all that often. For one thing, Ralph McQuarrie, an old hand at conceptual art having worked on such films as the initial three "Star Wars" entries, helps Barker to create excellent visuals for "Nightbreed", starting right away with the opening credit sequence. The visual and makeup effects are elaborate, and production design and cinematography quite impressive. Barker and crew do a wonderful job at creating this whole other world with compelling characters. It's colorful and flamboyant entertainment and is a pleasure to take in. And of course there's the strong sense of social commentary regarding intolerance and bigotry, not to mention the heavy consequences that can result from a person's actions.

Great supporting performances add to the fun. Cronenberg oozes lots of malevolent intent and is a real gas as the bad doctor, while Charles Haid is a fine love-to-hate-him type of antagonist, a rather nasty police captain. Doug "Pinhead" Bradley once again gets buried under heavy makeup as the weary Lylesberg, and is solid as a rock. Hugh Ross is great fun as Narcisse, as is Catherine Chevalier as Rachel (as an added bonus, she bares her breasts in one sequence). Simon Bamford, who played the "Butterball Cenobite" in the first two "Hellraiser" pictures, turns up here as well. There's even a cool cameo by 50's and 60's sci-fi star John Agar.

Danny Elfman supplies another of his fantastic scores, and Barker leads us steadily through the intriguing story towards a terrific apocalyptic showdown.

"Nightbreed" is an excellent genre film worth checking out for anybody who hasn't seen it. I give it a hearty recommendation.

9/10