Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Multimedia horror maven Clive Barker followed the success of his feature directorial debut, Hellraiser, with this equally surreal effort, based on his novella Cabal. The story involves the plight of Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer), a young man tormented by visions of monstrous, graveyard-dwelling creatures. Seeking the aid of his clinically cold therapist Dr. Decker (played by Canadian horror auteur David Cronenberg) in deciphering his nightmares, Boone becomes convinced that his frequent blackouts are linked to a recent spate of mutilation murders in the area. His frantic search for the truth leads him to the subterranean city of Midian, the dwelling place of a mythical race of undead nocturnal monsters known as the "Nightbreed." But it is only after he is cornered and shot dead by police that Boone's real journey begins – he finds himself resurrected as one of the Breed. Though Barker's unique and graphic vision is somewhat blunted by choppy editing (thanks to relentless tampering from the studio), this is nevertheless a fine sophomore project from a talented storyteller; the central conceit of presenting the monsters as the "good guys" – at least compared to the gun-and-bible-toting lunatics who hunt them – is handled with verve and originality.

Synopsis by Cavett Binion, Allmovie.com

Unfairly maligned upon initial release as the result of a faulty advertising campaign and extensive studio tinkering, Clive Barker's ambitious follow-up to the breakout success of Hellraiser (1987) remains a remarkable fantasy epic that never fails to intrigue despite its undeniably distracting shortcomings. Based on Barker's Cabal, this mythical tale of physical transformation amidst an underground world inhabited by an ancient race of monsters was pitched to audiences as a low-rent slasher film, a campaign which served as a box-office death knell following a series of mind-numbing Friday the 13th and Halloween sequels. Add to that the fact that distributor cut the film by roughly 25 minutes, and it's hard not to see that the film was doomed to failure. Weighing in on such heavy issues as questions of mortality and violent xenophobia that alluded to historically significant events like the Holocaust, this story demanded a much wider canvas than Barker, a master of complex storytelling on the written page, was capable of translating given external desires for a commercially acceptable film. With the tables turned and humans portrayed as villains incapable of living with creatures whom they choose not to understand, Barker used a technique of placing real-world issues in a fantasy context in order to create a marked and safely removed social commentary. In this respect, Nightbreed uses the horror genre as it is most effective, and one can only speculate on the potency of this message if it had reached audiences in its pure form.

Review by Jason Buchanan, Allmovie.com

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Nightbreed (1990) [The Director's Cut]

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Special Features:

Introduction by writer/director Clive Barker and restoration producer Mark Alan Miller
Audio Commentary with writer/director Clive Barker and restoration producer Mark Alan Miller
"Tribes of the Moon: The Making of Nightbreed" documentary
"Making Monsters" interviews with makeup effects artists Bob Keen, Martin Mercer, and Paul Jones
"Fire! Fights! Stunts! 2nd Unit Shooting" interview with Andy Armstrong
Original Theatrical Trailer