Nightbreed (1990)

Director: Clive Barker
Starring: Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg

Synopsis:
A man suffering from mental illness is made to believe he is a serial killer, which leads him to seek out the refuge of monsters known as Midian to find absolution.

Impressions:
I like this story quite a bit with its hidden world of monsters and the mind games at the beginning where Boone is made to believe he's a serial killer. I wasn't expecting David Cronenberg to be in an acting role and he's quite good as the creepy psychiatrist Dr. Decker. Hugh Ross as Narcisse is also pretty entertaining. The creature designs are real neat, giving a strong sense of writer/director Clive Barker's aesthetics, and are definitely one of the highlights of the film. It would be nice to explore the society of Midian more, but I guess there's only so much that can be done with the runtime. Speaking of the runtime, there are three different versions of the film: the theatrical cut, the director's cut and the Cabal Cut. They're quite different and an enthusiast will probably want to check them all out, with a priority going to the director's cut and the Cabal Cut. Also, I can't fail to mention the score by Danny Elfman, which definitely gives the film a boost. As a side note, there seems to be some animus against West Canadian rednecks, the police, and especially West Canadian redneck police. Draw from that what you will. There's more than enough good stuff going on here to make this movie worth a watch, even more so if you're a fan of Clive Barker's work, so give it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It