Director: Clive Barker
Screenplay: Clive Barker
Based on the book Cabal by: Clive Barker
Starring: Craig Sheffer, David Cronenberg, Anne Bobby, Charles Haid, Hugh Quarshie, Hugh Ross, Doug Bradley, Catherine Chevalier
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Running Time: 102 min (theatrical cut) / 121 min (directors cut)
Year: 1990
BBFC Rating: 15
Aaron Boone (Sheffer) is on the run. Plagued by nightmares of murders he is adamant he did not commit and pursued by the authorities and his psychiatrist, the sinister and mysterious Dr Decker (Cronenberg), Boone finds his way to the mysterious underground city of Midian, home to the monstrous outcasts – The Nightbreed. But will Boone find sanctuary with this terrifying group, or is something more strange at play – could Boone be the prophesied Cabal who will lead the Breed to freedom from oppression by those who live above?
Clive Barker is one of the voices in horror that has fascinated me over the years. While his body of literary work is perhaps not as vast as other authors such as James Herbert or Stephen King, his books and short stories are frequently incredibly engrossing. Mixing elements of grotesque horror with incredibly rich fantasy worlds, Barker’s works transport the reader to worlds both familiar and yet completely alien, whether it be the earthly hell of The Scarlet Gospels or the darkly fantastic Fugue of Weaveworld, none stands out here more than the gothic city of Midian from Cabal.
Situated underneath a cemetery, Midian is initially a thing of nightmares, filled with ghoulish monsters who seem to relish the taste of human blood. While the city is presented as hostile, as the story progresses it becomes apparent that this is not the case; Midian is a sanctuary for the outcasts, the Nightbreed, creatures that the world does not understand and fears; a monstrous X-Men if you will. It’s no surprise that Barker, an openly gay man, would write a story like Cabal, a parable about intolerance viewed through the eyes of horror in which man is the monster and the monstrous are the ones who do not conform to “normality”. It’s even less of a surprise that Barker would choose to adapt Cabal as his second feature as director into the remarkably faithful film Nightbreed.
Sandwiched in between Barkers only other two directorial efforts, 1987’s Hellraiser and 1995’s Lord of Illusions, Nightbreed is a fascinating production, not only as a film which fully manages to dive into Barker’s dark fairytale, but also a film which was historically plagued by studio interference and much maligned on its original release. Seemingly thrown into the “bad movie” bin, time has been kind to Nightbreed thanks to a cult following and the discovery in 2009 of a 147 minute long assembly cut on VHS, Nightbreed has managed to survive way beyond its original release. The assembly cut was eventually cleaned up and restored, allowing Barker to re-edit the film into a 121 minute Director’s cut, a more faithful representation of his original vision which includes many omitted scenes which led to the original theatrical cut feeling slight, poorly paced and confusing. Arguably this is the “true” version of the film and it presents a fuller, far more compelling watch than the studio butchered theatrical release, yet it still can’t hide some of Nightbreed’s more obvious flaws.
As a whole the film is visually and audibly sumptuous with Barker painting in very broad strokes on his cinematic canvas. The creature design is impeccable with some truly grotesque creations being visualised courtesy of the team at Image Animation, headed up by Bob Keen, while the sets are grand and gothic, bolstered by some truly gorgeous matte paintings. On top of this we have Danny Elfman delivering a score which echoes similar sweeping symphonies to his Batman score from the previous year. But the package doesn’t always feel complete. Despite the directors cut adding some additional scenes and alternate takes which allow the characters and the concept of the Breed to develop better than the Theatrical counterpart, the acting can often feel a touch soapy at times, and some of Barkers grander ideas don’t always land with the film often feeling a little too ambitious and disjointed. It’s also a shame that the ending of the film (and the book for that matter) sets up a sequel that Barker is yet to realise.
Thankfully the cast are remarkably solid; Sheffer and Anne Bobby are remarkably likeable in the romantic leads of Boone and his girlfriend Lori, but it’s Canadian director David Cronenberg who steals almost every scene he’s in with his heel turn as Dr Decker. Doug Bradley meanwhile delivers a solidly understated performance as Lylesberg, leader of the Nightbreed, a performance fully restored with the actor’s voice in the Directors cut having been criminally overdubbed in the Theatrical version. Meanwhile Charles Haid is brilliantly unhinged as fascist police Captain Eigerman, determined to hunt down and kill the Nightbreed. This leads the narrative to its main themes of the monsters not being the enemy, of the “normies” fearing the Breed and hunting them down. The persecution of outcasts and the final 30 minutes of the fascists trying to ethnically cleanse Midian, children and all, is fairly chilling.
With such a remarkably storied cinematic history and a tale of resurrection that feels almost a mirror of the narrative of the film itself, from cinematic outcast to underappreciated cult classic, Nightbreed has over the years become an essential part of 90’s horror canon and a fantastic look at a visionary director who’s voice was not allowed to be heard in the way it should have been.
Bonus features
2-DISC 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS • 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and Director’s Cut
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray™ presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of both cuts
- Original lossless 2.0 stereo audio and optional DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio for both cuts
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for both cuts
- Reversible sleeve feature original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
- Perfect-bound collectors’ booklet featuring writing on the film by Mark Salisbury, co-author of Clive Barker’s Nightbreed: The Making of the Film, and Barker archivists Phil and Sarah Stokes
- Double-sided fold-out poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
DISC 1 – THEATRICAL CUT
- Audio commentary by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
- Vintage introduction by writer/director Clive Barker
- Monsters, Maniacs and Midian: The Making of Nightbreed, a brand new feature-length documentary incorporating never-before-seen interviews and behind-the-scenes footage shot on location at Pinewood Studios for an Electronic Press Kit in 1989
- Memories of Midian, an interview with actor Nicholas Vince
- Walking the Line Between Heaven and Hell, an interview with critic Kat Ellinger
- Speaking up for the Monsters, an interview with critic Kim Newman
- Deleted and alternate scenes
- Extended torture scene
- Theatrical trailers and TV spots
- Extensive image galleries, including early sketches, set photos, poster and pre-production art, stills from the UK launch party at Tower Records, and more
- Original screenplay
DISC 2 – DIRECTOR’S CUT
- Introduction by Barker and restoration producer Mark Alan Miller
- Audio commentary by Barker and Miller
- Brand new audio commentary by critics Kim Newman and Stephen Jones, and Barker collaborator Peter Atkins
- Brand new audio commentary by Miller and director’s cut editor Andrew Furtado
- Tribes of the Moon: Making Nightbreed, an extensive documentary on the making of the film, featuring actors Craig Sheffer, Doug Bradley, Anne Bobby and many more
- Making Monsters, a documentary on the film’s creature designs, featuring special makeup designer Bob Keen
- Fire! Fights! Stunts!, an interview with second unit director Andy Armstrong
- Cutting Compromise, an interview with editor Mark Goldblatt
- The Painted Landscape, an exploration of the work of concept artist Ralph McQuarrie
- Monster Prosthetics Masterclass, an interview with Keen on the film’s incredible prosthetic effects
- Matte painting tests
- Makeup tests
- An exploration of the film’s abandoned stop motion animation tests, with special makeup designer Bob Keen
- Rehearsal test
- “Johnny Get Angry” music video
This 4K release from Arrow is particularly compelling for fans – not only do we get fully restored 4K versions of both cuts of the film, we also get all of the bonus features from Arrow’s original Blu-Ray release including the feature length documentary, Tribes of the Moon.
On top of this we also get a slew of brand new features, including a couple of new commentaries and, most interestingly, a brand new documentary called Monsters, Maniacs and Midian. This superb, feature length behind the scenes look includes never before seen footage and interviews shot during the making of the film and, rather than a retrospective, edits this all together to create a modern documentary exploring the shoot itself.
Out of all the interviews here perhaps most interesting are the times we get to hear from Clive Barker himself. The creator comes across as an intelligent, conscientious director who values collaboration from the cast and crew. He talks about Nightbreed as a story he’s more emotionally connected to than Hellraiser and something he’d find more compelling as a series and discusses working on a sequel film should the first be successful – it’s a shame this never came to be and you have to wonder what could have been.
This is a great release and easily recommended for fans who are either buying for the first time or considering double dipping on previous editions.