Rating: 
Summary: An inconsistent film with redeeming qualities...
Review: "Nightbreed", based on the book "Cabal" by Clive Barker.Directing from a screenplay of his own novel, Barker's film is unfortunately inconsistent in both style and tone, and the plot meanders somewhat inconsequentially. Also lacking are the more homoerotic undertones of the novel, although a certain amount remains between Craig Scheffer's Boone and the decidedly sexually-appealing monster Peloquin (played by actor/director Oliver Parker). Boone is plagued by memories of a place he has never seen, with his visions twisted by psychotic psychologist Decker, played by David Cronenberg. Boone seeks out this place and eventually finds himself in Midian, which we discover is 'where the monsters' go. What is interesting about Barker's film is the perspective taken here; the film attempts to lay our sympathy with the creatures who are persecuted and slaughtered by the redneck police force, and does so with some success. Despite its major flaws, Nightbreed does succeed in eliciting a strong degree of emotion for the monsters, no doubt inspired by Barker's own homosexuality; while the direction is messy and the production design glaringly inconsistent throughout, the film does at least compensate for these flaws in its humanity.
Rating:
Summary: Forgotten fantasy?
Review: "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!
Rating:
Summary: An inconsistent film with redeeming qualities...
Review: "Nightbreed", based on the book "Cabal" by Clive Barker. Directing from a screenplay of his own novel, Barker's film is unfortunately inconsistent in both style and tone, and the plot meanders somewhat inconsequentially. Also lacking are the more homoerotic undertones of the novel, although a certain amount remains between Craig Scheffer's Boone and the decidedly sexually-appealing monster Peloquin (played by actor/director Oliver Parker). Boone is plagued by memories of a place he has never seen, with his visions twisted by psychotic psychologist Decker, played by David Cronenberg. Boone seeks out this place and eventually finds himself in Midian, which we discover is 'where the monsters' go. What is interesting about Barker's film is the perspective taken here; the film attempts to lay our sympathy with the creatures who are persecuted and slaughtered by the redneck police force, and does so with some success. Despite its major flaws, Nightbreed does succeed in eliciting a strong degree of emotion for the monsters, no doubt inspired by Barker's own homosexuality; while the direction is messy and the production design glaringly inconsistent throughout, the film does at least compensate for these flaws in its humanity.
Rating: 
Summary: Under Your Bed.
Review: A monster movie from director Clive Barker, who adapted the screenplay from his novel "Cabal." Craig Sheffer plays Boone, a young man falsely accused of murder. Boone hides out in a strange world populated by weird inhabitants - the ghoulish creatures are the centerpiece of this horror tale, but mostly their rubbery make-up is not convincing or scary. However, the premise of an underground city inhabited by creatures that are neither dead nor alive and neither supernatural or immortal is an intriguing one, and Clive Barker is stylish all the way delivering symbolism, camera tricks and some surprisingly compelling imagery. A kind of fractured fairy tale, you may say. Director David Cronenberg plays an evil psychiatrist. Rumor has it that the film was plagued by production problems and subsequently butchered - a fascinating "failure." If you want to find out what great things Clive Barker is truly capable of I'd suggest you check out his "Books of Blood."
Rating: 
Summary: Never seen the dvd but the movie its self is great
Review: About when i was 9 i first saw this movie i loved it so much i rented it 1000's of times made my mom watch it with me. I am now 14 and i love the film the same. The monsters are great. Clive Barker is a truely great director. i also loved the Hellraiser movies at this time.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative horror...
Review: An exceptional follow up to 'Hellraiser', Clive Barkers 'Nightbreed' is an entertaing horror yarn with some impressive FX. The storylines pretty good, but the film seems almost too short. I was surprised by David Croneberg's performance (I persoanlly feel he's a better actor than he is a director). The ending leaves doors, wide-open, for a potential sequel, infact 'Nightbreed' deserves a sequel. Watch out for Craig Sheffer who appears in the latest 'Hellraiser' film, 'Hellraiser: Inferno'. Which also stars Doug (Pinhead) Bradley, who co-incidently starred in this too.
Rating:
Summary: Eye Candy
Review: At the beginning of Nightbreed, we see quick flashes and glimpses of nightmarish creatures jumping and running around the screen. I was thinking "Awesome" and all of those other good words. Then we find it's the dream of a man, Boone (Craig Sheffer), who wants to reside in this place called Minion, where the monsters live. Why he wants to be there? His doctor (David Cronenberg, director of The Fly and many other horror movies) has something to do with it, I never quiet understood that. This confusion leads to many other confusing plot holes in the movie. Or at least to me it did. I've read many other reviews that praised this film for being a very good early 90s horror. Yes, it did have some great creatures and special effects and sets, but that's all I found good in the movie. The acting wasn't the best in the world. The only performances I liked were those given by the tendril-headed demon guy who bit Boone and the mama monster (Forgot their names). Maybe I need to watch Nightbreed a second time to fully understand the plot details, but the first time around - it was quiet confusing. Mostly eye candy, for me. But still, the creature effects and sets were awesome. Kudos to those.
Rating:
Summary: Eye Candy
Review: At the beginning of Nightbreed, we see quick flashes and glimpses of nightmarish creatures jumping and running around the screen. I was thinking "Awesome" and all of those other good words. Then we find it's the dream of a man, Boone (Craig Sheffer), who wants to reside in this place called Minion, where the monsters live. Why he wants to be there? His doctor (David Cronenberg, director of The Fly and many other horror movies) has something to do with it, I never quiet understood that. This confusion leads to many other confusing plot holes in the movie. Or at least to me it did. I've read many other reviews that praised this film for being a very good early 90s horror. Yes, it did have some great creatures and special effects and sets, but that's all I found good in the movie. The acting wasn't the best in the world. The only performances I liked were those given by the tendril-headed demon guy who bit Boone and the mama monster (Forgot their names). Maybe I need to watch Nightbreed a second time to fully understand the plot details, but the first time around - it was quiet confusing. Mostly eye candy, for me. But still, the creature effects and sets were awesome. Kudos to those.
Rating:
Summary: I wanted to see the sequel...
Review: But they never made it. If you are a Barker fan, then this is a must see. Despite it's summer film flavor, it has a very dark atmosphere and outlines a typically Barker-ish mythology.
Rating:
Summary: Intended to be a trilogy, in the end, just one solid movie
Review: Clive Barker had every intention of making a trilogy of Nightbreed and his title character Cabal, as he states on his website. Unfortunately, it never came to be, and we have to enjoy this delight of a movie. I must say it comes across as a Tim Burton, Little Monsters, Hellboy, type of movie (I know that is quit a range, but bare w/me).
Clive Barker does a great job of creating his characters, and developing a very solid plot. You hate the bad guy, despise him actually, root for the good guys, and hope the humans lose. What more can you ask for? I'll tell you what, the movie should have been scarier.
Nightbreed has a Tim Burton type of eeriness, and darkness to the movie. However, the monsters in the movie reminds me of Howie Mandel's Little Monsters, or at best Hellboy (though those character comparisons are far and few between).
Craig Sheffer plays the title character Aaron Boone, and he does a very good job. He has been in a lot of movies; some of his better films are The Program, Fire in the Sky, and A River Runs through It. His acting isn't anything to write home about, but it was good enough.
Anne Bobby (The Pick-up Artist, Born on the Fourth of July, and The Juror) plays Boone's mischievous girlfriend. Her acting does leave a lot to be desired, specifically the portion where she talks smart to the monsters w/little hesitation.
In the end, it is a very fun movie, worth viewing. It makes a nice movie to have in your DVD collection, as you will find yourself viewing it more then once. The ending is a downer, but that is because Barker never finished his epic.
Grade: B+
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