Nightbreed

As I typically keep up on forthcoming special editions of various movies and frequent Bluray
collector sites, I became aware of a movie named Nightbreed that was being given quite the royal treatment. Shout! Factory was releasing a 3 disc special edition of this film, pricing it at about $45 and stamping limited numbers on some of them upon the thriving horde of movie collectors worldwide. Never heard of Nightbreed before, so I took it upon myself to see what the fuss is all about, and most importantly, decide if I wanted to partake in this expensive special edition. After all, at a price like this, there must be something boiling underneath.

The first hit on this movie brings up the name Clive Barker, who wrote and directed the film, which was based on a short story of his own creation. It's a familiar name, especially for those of us growing up in the late eighties: a few iconic horror movies adorned Clive's name above the title, including Hellraiser and Candyman. He was also a well known author, and was involved in various comic book projects (and still is, most likely). It wasn't my type of horror back then, so I missed out on all of it, including Nightbreed.

Not having seen it upon initial release shields me from the nostalgia-goggles that so often blurs the quality of a product - or movie, in this case - from your harsh adult judgments. It's not a bad thing by any account: I love watching movies that were significant to me when I was younger, even though I can see why they would be terrible. Nightbreed, however, was met with critical and box office failure when it released back in 1990. A special edition decades later like this screams cult classic, which indicates I could very well enjoy the film. After all, I've been revisiting many films from the eighties recently and have gotten a kick out of most of them.

Nightbreed is definitely a cult classic. Further investigation unearthed a story of studio meddling, cutting and general Hollywood tomfoolery. The theatrical cut was an abomination, and soon after, Clive Barker put together his own cut which became known as The Cabal Cut. It looks like there was a 145 minute version Barker put together back in 1989, which existed only on VHS as a work print and presumably was bootlegged into cult status. Fast forward two decades, and a newer 159 minute cut was revealed on another long-lost VHS. In 2012, a new 155 minute cut was put together, using elements of the VHS tapes and a DVD from the Warner Bros Archive. This was enough to get people really excited, and it was time for Shout! to announce an upcoming DVD release for the followers of this film. Turns out, they really outdid themselves, as they discovered the original film elements of Nightbreed and gave Clive Barker the opportunity to put together his own cut. The Director's Cut would be the definitive version of this film, and it's made up entirely by thoroughly restored original footage. If you were part of the cult, this was a dream come true.

With all that knowledge, it was time to watch the movie - because I knew about the history of the film I kept myself dark on the film itself. I chose to watch the Director's Cut of course. And what can I say? This is not a good movie, and it pains me to say that. I really wanted to enjoy this film. It's not even a matter of exceeding or falling short of expectations, I just sincerely could not enjoy the film. The first act felt disjointed; there was a lot happening that I didn't understand, nor did the film provide me a lot of clue in the end to what was happening. Our main character - played by Craig Sheffer- is flat generic and meaningless. His girlfriend, played by Anne Bobby, is perhaps the most versatile and impressive on screen, but her poor character keeps walking into danger. Many character actions just don't seem to make a lot of sense. The plot seems like a mess. Is this because there was such a focus on the "monster" makeup? Clive Barker's mind can produce some really interesting imagery, and it's all present here. Each of the dead, residents of Midian, are unique and interesting to look at. Unfortunately they all kind of suck. They are not interesting characters. In fact, they all seem like pushovers with a ton of negativity. Barker wants to guide us through a dream like world, but there's simply too much. The literal trip down the levels of this underground world is incredibly impressive: the monsters and sets are incredible. Unfortunately it's all marred by poor dialogue, silly actions and a weak story. Then there's Cronenberg - yes, that David Cronenberg, who plays a doctor who is really a serial killer trying to frame our poor protagonist. He aids in exposing the hidden refuge of these mutants, and helps the plot along and get us our actual "horror" in the film with traditional slasher methods. The mask he wears is brilliant.

Apparently Clive Barker wanted this to be a Star Wars of horror films, so to speak. And you can feel that ambition flowing from the film and it's rather unfortunate that it falls flat. It seems like this happens too often, and when you look back at some of the great trilogies and worlds, they are built on strong first outings, and those first films don't necessarily try to build up an entire world and leave strings out for future iterations. The first Star Wars film - episode IV - can stand on its own. When you boil down the plot and the characters, there are classic elements that have withstood the test of time and proven themselves in other films (before Star Wars). Through the creation of compelling characters, future stories are born.

The story of how this film came to be restored is interesting, and I'm envious of the fans of the movie. If only some other cult classics could be so lucky and treated with such care and passion. While the movie didn't impress me, I can see that passion coming through, and I can see hints of great, more wonderful things emerging.