Rating: 
Summary: Underrated.
Review: Nightbreed (Clive Barker, 1990)Of the three adaptations of his own work Clive Barker directed, Nightbreed is the redheaded stepchild. It doesn't have the visionary brilliance of Hellraiser nor the gruesome spectacle of Lord of Illusions, and as a consequence it faded rather quickly into obscurity upon its release. Which is unfortunate because, while Nightbreed isn't the same work of genius Barker's other two adaptations are, it stands above all (with the sole exception of George Rose's original Candyman) non-Barker adaptations of his work. The opening of Nightbreed should be familiar to Barker fans; a normal, everyday chap, in this case named Boone (veteran character actor Craig Sheffer [Merlin: The Return, Deep Core]) gradually becomes aware that the normal everyday world has parallels to something that is very much not our world. Through a combination of his own inquisitiveness and his association with certain characters who don't seem unsavoriy but in actuality are, in this case his psychiatrist Decker (David Cronenberg), our hero finds himself embroiled in complications involving this world and the parallel he's discovered. Pretty standard stuff, Barkerwise. Where the film becomes above average is both in Barker's direction (pretty good for someone who, while filming Hellraiser, said in an interview he didn't know a camera lens from a plate of spaghetti) and the characters therein. Cronenberg very rarely steps in front of the screen, and when he does it's usually in very small roles. Pity. Decker is the consummate bad guy: softspoken, cultured, the kind of guy you'd take home to mom not realizing that he'll rip her still-beating heart from her chest and use it for a midnight snack. Sheffer and his girlfriend, played by Anne Bobby [What the Deaf Man Heard, Born on the Fourth of July, et al.], are perfectly aware that they're not supposed to take this seriously, and inject just enough melodrama to let the audience in on the joke. An overlooked gem from the Barker stable. Worth going out of your way to find on TV late at night.***
Rating: 
Summary: Warning!!!
Review: Nightbreed is one of my favorite movies. You may not want to buy this yet, though. I have it from a "good source" that a director's cut will be released within the next two years. That being said, if you can't wait that long, the price isn't too much to pay for this fantastic film!
Rating: 
Summary: Another fake widescreen presentation of a great movie...
Review: Nightbreed remains a fantastic movie, even if the studio cut Clive Barker's epic tale of the hidden society of monsters down. But more than frustrating is the fact that DVD market is confronted with yet another newly mastered widescreen presentation in which the black bars at the bottom and at tht top are just glued on the regular full frame version of the movie. Sure, picture and sound have been reworked to look and sound good. But this faked widescreen format restores not a bit of the original movie. It even steals parts of the picture and betrayes the fan of great motion pictures in favour of giving those who have been seduced to by letterbox formated TV sets something to strech across their screen. The movie itself would get 5 stars from me, even if the extras on this DVD - some textual info and a trailer - are rather few. But since the clever DVD marketing geniuses have provided another jigsaw version of a movie, I have to settle to one star. Not only have they ruined the movie experience. They've also destroyed the chance that someone else might ever release a real widescreen or a real full screen DVD of that impressive movie. My tip is, by the video. You get more picture for less money.
Rating:
Summary: Another fake widescreen presentation of a great movie...
Review: Nightbreed remains a fantastic movie, even if the studio cut Clive Barker's epic tale of the hidden society of monsters down. But more than frustrating is the fact that DVD market is confronted with yet another newly mastered widescreen presentation in which the black bars at the bottom and at tht top are just glued on the regular full frame version of the movie. Sure, picture and sound have been reworked to look and sound good. But this faked widescreen format restores not a bit of the original movie. It even steals parts of the picture and betrayes the fan of great motion pictures in favour of giving those who have been seduced to by letterbox formated TV sets something to strech across their screen. The movie itself would get 5 stars from me, even if the extras on this DVD - some textual info and a trailer - are rather few. But since the clever DVD marketing geniuses have provided another jigsaw version of a movie, I have to settle to one star. Not only have they ruined the movie experience. They've also destroyed the chance that someone else might ever release a real widescreen or a real full screen DVD of that impressive movie. My tip is, by the video. You get more picture for less money.
Rating:
Summary: underrated Clive Barker classic
Review: PICTURE QUALITY (4/5 STARS)
The picture quality varies between 'very good' and 'average'. Generally sharp, no artifacts and anamorphic widescreen format. SOUND QUALITY (4/5 STARS)
The Dolby Digital 5.1 remix is very good and the best choice for the audience. The stereo track sounds weird because of the pervasive reverb; quiet unnatural. EXTRAS (2/5 STARS)
Just the most necessary things: trailer & biographies. SPECIAL/UNIQUE ON THIS DVD RELEASE:
- anamorphic Widescreen
- Dolby Digital 5.1 remix and Dolby Stereo COMMENT:
Maybe not as good as HELLRAISER but truly one of his best. Great fantasy film - this time the monsters are the good guys!
Rating: 
Summary: Heavy Handed morality movie that isn't very scary
Review: The Nightbreed are the monsters that dwell on the edge of our dreams. Actually, the monsters who inhabit the nocturnal wonderland of "Midian" (which is appropriately located under an abandoned cemetery), are just a bunch of misunderstood undead innocents trying to exist in peace and safety from the violent cruelty of our world. Despite their monstrosities (which go beyond some imaginative latex), the Nightbreed amount to exotic refugees - metaphors for jews, gypsies and other victims of 1940's repression - while the humans of the story come off as arch-conservative fascists - jack-booted thugs or bigoted rednecks. It doesn't help that Midian's surroundings place it near the sort of rural town that easily breeds such oppressive people. Nevertheless, Midian has managed to survive without detection - occasionally taking new converts from the recently dead. Among them is Boone (Craig Sheffer), a young and troubled artist whose dreams are filled with either visions of Midian or of blood-spattered murders. Unfortunately, Dr. Decker, Boone's latest psychiatrist (David Cronenberg) has a few secrets of his own - which involve acting out Boone's dreams in murderous detail, and framing him for it. At first believing that Midian exists only in his dreams, Boone's accidental meeting with another troubled soul - Narcisse - changes his mind. A sly but not just slightly sinister character who wears razors on his fingers, Narcisse also knows of Midian, but knows that neither it nor its population are dreams. Believing Boone an emissary, Narcisse mutilates himself to death to prove his worthiness. Leaving behind both his girlfriend and his life as an accused murderer, Boone becomes the monstrous Cabal (the title of the original short-story), and joins the underworld society of Midian. Love proves a far stronger than special effects, meaning that Boone will be followed to Midian by Lori. This also means that Lori will be trailed by Decker. Using Lori as bait, Decker lures Boone to the surface world where he unintentionally exposes Midian to its bigoted neighbors. Despite their honest ways, the Nightbreed are forced to rely on their dark powers in a fiery and climactic battle with the cruel humans. This was a heavy-handed and utterly pointless movie. At its root, "Nightbreed"'s message is that no greater monstrosity exists than the mortal human soul. We learn this from the inhuman Dr. Decker well before we really meet the Nightbreed themselves. By the time Boone reaches Midian, we have already seen the Decker's savagery and his willingness to frame Boone for his own crimes. Dramatically, nothing the Nightbreed can do matches Decker's singlehanded and bloody murder of an entire family (in their own home no less - the people of Midian are willing to do battle on their own home turf). Next to Decker, the Breed are a bunch of heavy speaking guys in costume - no wonder they want to stay hidden. It would have been bad enough for Barker's story to have left us wondering which of combatants were the real monsters - but the script leaves no doubt at a very early point. He wants us to feel for his monsters, and fear ourselves. As a moral fable, "Nightbreed" introduces humans as morally dark beings from the outset - before he says a word, we know that Decker is bad; the police chief played by Charles Haig comes off as a militant stormtrooper (after arresting Boone, he beats him in a gratuitous scene), the dark side of law-and order christian conservatism; after discovering Midian, the police amass an army of citizens who luckily have their own guns and are gleefully ready to use them; there's even a minister who has his own moral ambiguities. The Nigtbreed just want to live in peace - with or without their darker appearances. They've been victimized by normal men like us for ages. Unfortunately, you can't avoid "Nightbreed"'s moral lesson, because the flick is such an absurd failure as a horror movie - it's not remotely scary, and turning the monsters into the heroes doesn't help. Dr. Decker is the villain and monster of the story, but the script just can't tear away from those damn monsters. The special effects are imaginative but not terribly scary, and the end is....well, there is no end, nothing that ties everything up into a plot. There really is no plot because, aside from explaining Boone's arrival and unwitting betrayal of Midian, the rest of the movie exists to amaze us with its special effects. (I mean, what's the point of that priest, anyway? It seems like he's there to remind us of the part religion or at least religious ferver plays in lynch-mob mentality; and why would he splash himself with Midian's holy water?). I kept hoping the Cenobites would show up, but they didn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Making do with what you get....
Review: This film is probably the only version of Clive Barker's seminal work "Cabal" that we'll see in our lifetimes, so for fans of the book, it's definitely worth a view.
Aaron Boone is a guy with a history of mental problems and a most unusual psychiatrist - and things take a sharply downward turn from there. The film is very well-cast, with just about everyone looking the way they should. (Just think of Cruise in "Interview with the Vampire" and you'll know what I mean - this is not always the case in Hollywood.) The main difference between the film & novella versions is that the 'Breed are much more friendly and accesible in the film, and so some of their mystery is lost. The film definitely has a sort of "comic-book" feel to it - but, you make do with what you get when it comes to Barker movies :-)
The film adds several characters and increases the importance of others - a minor quibble. I was disappointed with the way Baphomet was portrayed - his original appearance would certainly have raised a few eyebrows! Here we see a dark statue with a few glow-in-the-dark limbs; not very impressive.
The ending is drastically changed - leaving the possibility of sequel films, which is understandable but totally dilutes the power of the novella's ending. The point of the work was not Decker (interestingly twisted though he might be), but the relationship between Boone and Lori and her willingness to pass beyond the boundaries of the Human to be with the man she loves. If you have not read the novella, you're missing a treat. If you're a textual Barker addict, "Nightbreed" will entertain you, even if only on a superficial level.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Frightening Films I Have Ever Seen
Review: This film plays like, no that's not correct, is a surrealistic nightmare. This is a disturbing movie. The images stay with you for days after you first see it. It's like Barker took a horrific nightmare and put it on film exactly like he dreamed it. The viewer can not wake up and escape this nightmare. By that time it is too late. This incredible film is in a class all by itself.
Rating:
Summary: So bad............. it's good
Review: This movie brought out a lot of mixed emotions in me. The plot was not the best and there were no real effects to it, but the characters makeups were pretty cool in my book. It's all about this guy Boone who gets killed and goes into this dark netherwolrd called "midian" where he meets creatures of the night. At first you think these creepy monsters are enemies of the "naturals" (a.k.a. humans) but in reality they are the innocents and the humans are the ones who are the evil enemies of them and want to rid the world of them.
This is one of those movies were the storyline in weak but it is good due to the atmosphere and some good but not great characters.
I specifically liked the character "peloquin" for some reason. He was not at all innocent and is the reason why Boone is able to go to midian.
I wish this dvd could have had more effects in it. I think there should have been a behind the scenes look at how the monsters were made and so on, but oh well.
This was an ok movie that you can watch if you want to kill time. It is not that bad but it could have been better.
Rating:
Summary: Great Fantasy Flick!
Review: This movie has the makings of a cheesy horror movie - but it's surprisingly better!! The movie centers around Boone and Midian - the place for freaks, outcasts and montsters. Boone is misled into thinking he is a monster, by his psychotic psychiatrist. He ends up in Midian, with all of the real monsters - who have very unique personalities. The make-up is incredible. By the middle of the movie, you're rooting for the monsters. Danny Elfman has created yet another wonderful soundtrack. This is one of Clive Barker's better films. It's a great fantasy flick, and I'm SO glad it's finally coming to DVD!
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