Nightbreed
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Movie Reviews of Nightbreed
Movie Review: Pleseant
Summary: 5 Stars
This is in very good shape/keeped up in good conidition, thank you again for the product.Movie Review: clive barker is gifted
Summary: 5 Stars
i loved it clive barker can write direct and paint. this is a must have for barker fansMovie Review: NIGHTBREED
Summary: 5 Stars
ALL I CAN SAY THAT IT IS A GREAT MOVIE. ONE OF THE BEST.Movie Review: "God's an astronaut, Oz is over the rainbow, and Midian is where the monsters live."
Summary: 4 Stars
Ever feel out of place, like you just don't fit in? A square peg in a round world? Plagued with dreams of fantastic and nightmarish creature who couldn't possibly exist? Ever look at your fellow man with cannibalistic intent? If so, it could mean one of two things...either you're a typical teenager, or your Nightbreed, remnants of shape-shifting race that once thrived on Earth, but has since been hunted down and destroyed, driven to live in secluded secrecy for survival. Written (based on his novel titled "Cabal") and directed horror auteur Clive Barker, Nightbreed (1990) stars Craig Sheffer (Some Kind of Wonderful, A River Runs Through It), Anne Bobby (Born on the Fourth of July, "Cop Rock"), and writer/director/actor/producer David Cronenberg (Videodrome, Naked Lunch, A History of Violence). Also appearing is Hugh Quarshie (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace), Hugh Ross (Patriot Games), Doug `Pinhead' Bradley (Hellraiser), and Charles Haid, whom I best remember as Officer Andrew 'Andy' Renko from the hit 80s television series "Hill Street Blues".
After a strange opening sequence (featuring all kinds of crazy looking creatures), we meet Aaron Boone (Sheffer) and his girlfriend Lori Winston (Bobby). Seems Boone, who has a troubled past, has been suffering from frightening nightmares for a while, ones featuring fantastic creatures related to a place called Midian. After this we see the particularly brutal slaying of a family by an oddly masked man and we also learn this isn't an isolated event, as some six families have been murdered in the last ten months, the general consensus being it's the work of a deranged (is there any other kind?) serial killer. Boone's therapist, Dr. Decker (Cronenberg), warns Boone that the authorities have contacted him with regards to the killings, investigating the possibility that one of Decker's patients may be responsible. Due to his uncertainty with his possible involvement, Boone hits the road to find this place called Midian, which turns out to be a sanctuary of sorts, inhabited by bizarre creatures, located under an old, isolated cemetery, with the authorities not far behind. Various events occur, which lead up to Boone's demise, but death doesn't always signify the end, as Boone experiences a rebirth of sorts, indicating he's more than he seems, which results into acceptance into the community (via a ceremony involving magic, glowing juices) that previously rejected him. Lori makes the scene, in search of Boone, as does a familiar, malignant force intent on the destruction of those it sees as an aberration to mankind. This force had been successful for years in dealing with the `disease' in isolated situations, but it desires to uncover the source, perceived as being Midian, and has now enlisted the aide of local authorities to achieve its goal. As all hell is about to break loose, we learn of a prophecy involving Boone, but his role, whether it be savior or destroyer, is unclear...
I have to say, given Midian was supposed to be this highly secretive place, a sanctuary for those of the ancient tribes of the super freaky, it sure didn't seem difficult to find...not that I ever would have wanted to have gone there myself. I did enjoy this movie a lot, but I think it's important to note Barker's original film was something like two and a half hours long before he was forced by the studio (meat) heads and an obviously out of touch ratings board to hack it up considerably. As a result, it does feel like there's quite a bit of integral material missing, much of it probably focusing on character development, which would have elevated this to more than what it was, that being a very glossed over rendition of his original story. The film does seem to hit on most of the main points, but I couldn't help feel that which was removed would have helped fleshed the story out considerably, and would have provided for a more natural flow overall. I thought the performances were all pretty good, although I had a hard time separating Craig Sheffer from his role as the Hardy Jenns from the film Some Kind of Wonderful (1987). It's not that the two characters (here he's a hero of sorts) are similar, but he provided such a convincing performance as the antagonistic a-hole in that previous film that I kept flashing back to it whenever I saw him on the screen, a sort of mental typecasting on my part, I suppose. The two standouts for me were Cronenberg, who played Decker, and Charles Haid, whose character Captain Eigerman was the psuedo-patriotic, some what psychotic, gung-ho, prone to violence leader of the redneck militia who eventually go to war with Midian at the end of the film...and what a battle scene that was, featuring handguns, shotguns, dynamite, a flamethrower, and even a rocket launcher (who the hell has one of those lying around? And where can I get one?). I think my favorite scene occurred around this point, as the Nightbreed, attempting to fight back in their own, unusual ways, realize they need assistance, and let loose their dogs of war, specifically the Berserkers, a group of beings so violent and unpredictable that they must be locked deep within the Nightbreed sanctuary. There was some grisly scenes (the throat cut near the beginning stands out in my mind) along with a decent amount of blood, but I'm betting the more extreme parts got removed...ah well...the upside, I guess, is that the movie does move along well (going into overdrive at near the end). I also thought the freaky character prosthetics, make-up, and special effects were very well done, and helped foster the sense, within the context of the film, that these types of characters really did exist.
The picture on this DVD, presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), looks very clean and sharp, but I did notice a few, minor dirt specks from time to time. Nothing serious, but perhaps Warner Brothers didn't feel the need to ensure the transfer negative be cleaned prior to using it to encode the DVD. The Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 audio comes through well, and compliments Danny Elfman's wonderful musical score nicely. As far as special features, included is an original theatrical trailer, along with cast & crew filmographies, and that's it...feels a bit skimpy, but the DVD was released way back in 2001, and studios had yet to fully appreciate the value of thoughtful and interesting extras, in my opinion. Will we ever see a full blown, director's cut of Nightbreed, with all the cut footage restored? I doubt it, as I have a feeling much of it was probably discarded...oh well, if anything, we still have the book "Cabal", for those interested in getting the full story.
Cookieman108
Movie Review: Forgotten fantasy?
Summary: 4 Stars
"Nightbreed" is a clear case of a studio barreling into a creative contract with a hot, young talent and bankrolling auteuristic genre piece before they had any idea what they'd bought into. Co-produced by Morgan Creek and 20th Century Fox, "Nightbreed" was touted by auteur, Clive Barker as "the Star Wars" of horror which was just what Fox wanted to hear (especially with their sci-fi horror franchises, "Alien" and "Predator" in creative limbo). I'm guessing that their conservative expectations anticipated the ultimate, effects-filled Us vs. Them tale, with just enough of a faith in "general goodness" to morally justify the film's existance. Things fell apart when they sussed that Barker's overbudget production (it ballooned from $8 million to $11 million) was a gleefully paganistic and psychosexual affair. The story involves young heart throb, Aaron Boone (played by Craig Sheffer of "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "A River Runs Through It") who suffers from maddening dreams of frolicing in a night-time field with a platoon of chuckling, inhuman creatures. An outcast himself (although how Craig Sheffer could be an outcast with that face, hair, body tone and slick leather jacket is beyond me), he dreams of escaping to this dream place where "all [his] sins will be forgiven." Equally obsessed is Sheffer's psychiatrist played by David Cronenberg (yes, THAT David Cronenberg), affecting an ominous, monotone performance, "I find you...intriguing." No prizes for guessing the psycho here. All of this set-up is merely conceptual red herring for the conservative viewer. The real draw here is the film's second and final third which thrusts Boone's girlfriend, Lori (played by Anne Bobby of "Cop Rock" fame. . .and occasional ringer for director, Barker) and her quest to find her lover who goes missing, presumed dead...but maybe not. The film's second half in particular is rife with a stunningly imaginative array of monsters (mostly human actors in some really elaborate, prosthetic make-up). As Bobby, Cronenberg and the creatures take center stage, the film seems to abandon all pretense of a conventional narrative and accelerates towards a action-oriented, comic book-style climax. Apparently, Fox executives were disgusted with Barker's early cuts of the flick with a few even maintaining that they found Barker's vision to be completely amoral (especially the way that the climax invites the audience to root for the monsters to massacre a particularly buffoonish mob of Canadian rednecks) and forced as many cuts as they could to keep the flick watchable, yet to pare away as much of Barker's sensibility as possible. No dice. The flick IS overly short and the editing often shows haphazard hastiness, but Barker's vision and sensibility permeats every frame. Even truncated and conceptually neutered. Among the missing plot points are allusions to the hero's impotence, the heroine's climactic suicide (even though we see her holding the machete with which she was meant to do it) and a priest's renunciation of his faith (Rev. Ashberry is wearing a collar up until Sheffer's line, "We don't like priests here." In every shot afterwards, he isn't.). Perhaps the most amusing of the editing faux-pas involves cisfigured bohemoths known as The Berserkers. Every sequence with them is cut so poorly that it feels like you're watching a far shoddier production than you are. It feels almost as if the camera cuts away from The Berserkers as if afraid for the viewer to get a good look at their make-up. The reason for this has less to do with the craftsmanship on the suits as it does with the beasts' endowments. Apparently, The Berserkers were fitted with huge, sledgehammer cocks and the editors were left with the thankless task of ommitting every instance where these members were visible. The result is the absolute mess of editing that is the "Charge of the Berserkers" sequence. So, what does this all add up to really? Well, in spite of all the factors stacked against it, "Nightbreed" remains (for me, anyway) an absolutely fun and compelling flick. It was always meant to be a fun, naughty b-flick, but the forced edits make the whole experience seem a lot more hollow than it intended. Be that as it may, this film is far more entertaining and imaginative than most "straight" films. The fact that the narrative seems to barrel along, madly accelerating from quiet shocker to apocalyptic epic is actually part of its charm. In a lot of ways, it resembles David Lynch's "DUNE" in the way that it propels itself from ponderously quiet and visually sumptuous to epic action. The perk here is that "Nightbreed" doesn't waste your time with loose-thread exposition which goes nowhere (all instances of this have been more thoroughly ommitted than in "DUNE"), it just gets down to it and dares you not to downshift your brain and go with it. Sure, the action is sometimes clumsy and the actors are occasionally less assured, but I'd maintain that the fun to flaw ratio is a lot more satisfying in this 10-year-old "bomb" than in most "blockbusters" that we've been treated to this summer. Give me the breed over Lara Croft or that overly-pixelated mummy any time!