Anyone with an interest in watching Clive Barker's director's cut of Nightbreed should most likely be familiar enough with the troubled production history and the Cabal cut that was making the festival rounds a couple of years ago. What makes this the definitive version of Barker's ambitious dark fantasy is how this manages to expand the grand mythology taken from his novel Cabal, while adding clarity to Lori (Anne Bobby) and Boone's (Craig Sheffer) relationship as the center of the story. Most importantly, the 40 minutes of new material was added in a way that actually helps the pacing and only running 18 minutes longer than the theatrical version keeps this from being a bloated experience.
Added footage of Boone and Lori together before he travels to the exotic home of the monsters, helps give their relationship a sense of purpose and Lori's nightclub performance adds more depth to her character. The affection that they have for one another is what connects Boone and to the relationships he establishes with the monsters at the heart of the movie. It also parallels the odd obsession that Boone's psychiatrist has with his patient and his visions that he shares about the residents of Midian.
I've always had mixed feelings about the character of Dr. Decker (David Cronenberg), as the reveal of the murder mystery subplot is far too obvious and, as the conflict of the story, he serves the same purpose as the redneck lynch mob who brutally attack the peacekeepers of Midian. Cronenberg's emotionless performance does lend his character a chilling aura, but his mere existence doesn't add much to the movie other than being another symbol to represent the evil of human nature. Without his story arc, it would have been more difficult for the studio to manipulate Barker's movie away from his intended vision. When Police Captain Eigerman (Charles Haid) and his army of hate mongers enter Midian to wage genocide, many more creatures can be found this time around and it's this scene that gives Nightbreed much of the scope that the theatrical version was sorely lacking. Even the priest character, Ashberry (Malcolm Smith), ideally serves more purpose as a future antagonist against the new revolution of Cabal.
Bob Keen and Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie's visual contributions gave Nightbreed a grand scale on a modest budget and Danny Elfman's unique score is one of his most inspired works to date. There are some issues that this movie has that editing doesn't have the power to fix. There's some bad acting, cheesy one liners and problematic creative choices that will always remain, but in an odd way these flaws lend Nightbreed some of it's personality and charm. This director's cut is the best that Barker's movie is ever going to get and for those that remained loyal to the original, despite it's flaws, will feel greatly rewarded with how this definitive version turned out. What really comes across is Clive Barker's love for monsters and folklore; he sees them in a way similar to Guillermo Del Toro as creatures to be enthralled with as opposed to merely being feared.
This astounding restoration makes viewing Nightbreed a brand new experience and is presented in a way that compliments Clive Barker's intentions of creating a fully realized grand epic. The extras that Scream Factory has included are extensive and insightful, offering a great perspective into the creative process and the overall reconstruction of making this version possible. A 72-minute feature titled “Tribes of the Moon” interviews most of the cast of Nightbreed as they discuss their experiences in detail regarding their collaboration with Barker, and some of the actors like Doug Bradley share experiences that date all the way back to their early days in theater. Craig Sheffer still maintains the charismatic personality that stirs wonder why he never found that role to catapult him among his generation. "Making Monsters" is a 42 minute look at the work of makeup FX supervisor Bob Keen and his young Image Animation team and thoroughly examines their individual achievements. In the 20-minute “Fire! Fights! Stunts!”, 2nd-unit director Andy Armstrong gives a revealing account of the stuntwork and the behind-the-scenes madness that accompanied their accomplishments.
Once again, Scream Factory has spared no expense in delivering a package well worth your investment and the Nightbreed Director's Cut is a welcome addition to their growing genre library. This revised work shows the heights of which Clive Barker's imagination could reach in cinema and, with better cooperation from the studios, he might have excelled at a level that would have made him a household director still aspiring to stretch his abilities in movies today. This release will certainly please any fans of this movie and could quite possibly win over some new ones as well.
Movie Score: 4/5
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