Nightbreed, based on his sublime novel Kabal, is the second feature film that prolific writer Clive Barker directed. The film explores themes of otherness, and the search for that place where you belong. Obviously, being a Clive Barker tale, this is told via a plethora of nightmarish looking creatures and plenty of blood. The difference here though is that the nightmarish creatures, or Nightbreed as they call themselves, aren’t actually the monsters. That role is filled by fellow filmmaker David Cronenberg, who plays Doctor Decker, a psychiatrist whom moonlights as a murder…or should that be the other way around?
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Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer aka Uncle Keith in One Tree Hill) is a troubled young man. Plagued by dreams about a place called Midian, and haunted by images of murder, he seeks the help of Doctor Decker. Rather than help Boone though, Decker uses his patient’s strange dreams as a way to frame him for a spat of killings that he himself has perpetrated. In dire need of sanctuary, and believing that Midian is far more real than just a dreamscape, he manages to find the sacred place. However, no sooner has he found Midian, he is shot dead there. Luckily for Boone, Midian is very real and has special properties, meaning things never stay dead there for long. Upon awakening, Boone finds himself a newly anointed member of the Nightbreed, one doomed to live apart from the living. His girlfriend Lori (Anne Bobby) has an opposing opinion, and Boone must decide if he wants to return to Lori and the living, or remain with his new family.
Although directed by Barker, whom wrote the novel of which Nightbreed is an adaptation of, Barker was frustratingly marred by studio interference. Their demands for a less violent story, and concerns that the ‘monsters’ were cast in the good guy role, led to them changing big portions of the film. The result of this is obviously a muddled and flawed theatrical release, the film switching tones from scene to scene. There is still a heavy amount of Barker’s signature style; the settings and Midian natives could have come from no other mind, but there’s a clear disconnect at times. It’s disappointing that the studio didn’t let Barker unleash his full vision on the public as it would have surely become as beloved as his Hellraiser. All is not lost though, as Arrow Video have come to the rescue.
Doing what Arrow Video do best, in addition to making the theatrical cut of the film available on Blu-ray, the team are also releasing a 120 minute director’s cut. This version of the film has been transferred from the original camera, and whilst it is still missing a few scenes (thanks to the studio vetoing their filming) it is as close to Barker’s original vision as we’ll ever get. This version is around twenty minutes longer, feels much more coherent and, more importantly, feels much closer to the source material.
The director’s cut is not the only extra feature available on this new Blu-ray release as Arrow Video once again throw everything they have onto disc. There’s an audio commentary by Barker for his director’s cut, an in-depth documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew, a documentary of the special make-up effects, the original screenplay, and so much more.
As with everything that Arrow Video do, this is a home entertainment release that fans of Nightbreed will adore.
Arrow Video
Nightbreed is available to own now via Arrow Films.
