Nightbreed (1990)

A community of mutant outcasts of varying types and abilities attempts to escape the attention of a psychotic serial killer and redneck vigilantes with the help of a brooding young man who ... See full summary »

Director:

Clive Barker

Writers:

Clive Barker (novel), Clive Barker (screenplay)

Stars:

Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Craig Sheffer	...	Aaron Boone / Cabal
Anne Bobby	...	Lori Winston
David Cronenberg	...	Dr. Philip K. Decker
Charles Haid	...	Captain Eigerman
Hugh Quarshie	...	Detective Joyce
Hugh Ross	...	Narcisse
Doug Bradley	...	Dirk Lylesberg
Catherine Chevalier	...	Rachel
Malcolm Smith	...	Ashberry
Bob Sessions	...	Pettine
Oliver Parker	...	Peloquin
Debora Weston	...	Sheryl Ann
Nicholas Vince	...	Kinski
Simon Bamford	...	Ohnaka
Kim Robertson	...	Babette

Storyline

A community of mutant outcasts of varying types and abilities attempts to escape the attention of a psychotic serial killer and redneck vigilantes with the help of a brooding young man who discovers them. Based on the novel "Cabal" by Clive Barker.

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Plot Keywords:

mutant | vigilante | redneck | serial killer | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Come meet the dead of night.

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Clive Barker's Nightbreed

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$8,862,354 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Ohnaka was first intended for singer Marc Almond, and he was contracted to play the part, but his management strongly advised against the role given the nature of the film, as he was seeking to redefine his previously dark image as a more mainstream crooner at the time. The part subsequently went to Simon Bamford, who was already a friend of Clive Barker.

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Goofs

When Decker and Lori meet in Midian, Decker takes off his mask. Before chasing Lori he puts the mask back on, with the mask's long neck flaps now hanging over his collar and necktie. But in the next shot, the neck flaps are neatly tucked underneath his tight shirt collar again.

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Quotes

Boone: Then it's true.
Peloquin: Everything is true. God's an Astronaut. Oz is Over the Rainbow, and Midian is where the monsters live.

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Connections

Referenced in Naked Making Lunch (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Home on the Range"
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

A self-indulgent film, with potential.

Clive Barker is, by far, the best horror writer of this century, and a fine visual artist as well. Few of the films made from his fiction are satisfactory "Clive Barker Experiences". This is partly because his main strength as a writer is, naturally, his use of language to provoke emotional reactions and to evoke very special moods above (beneath?) and beyond ordinary shock and revulsion. He raises horrific imagery and psychological situations to the level of poetry. This is not easy to do in film, a purely visual medium. The image of a monster or a monstrous act in film is a picture: there it is before you. A description of same in fiction can be given all sorts of depths and angles in the mind in writing. "Nightbreed" almost works as an adaptation of Barker's "Cabal". Unfortunately, as is apparent, most of Barker's budget was blown on the monsters (which are excellent movie monsters), with insufficient funds remaining for factors like cast. The actor who played the all-important role of Boone was not up to it at all. He conveyed almost nothing of the depth of Boone's torment, which exists on a number of levels. A talent should have been sought instead of a hunk. This is symptomatic of the film's weakness in general. Too many (albeit high-quality) monsters and too little time and attention spent on the basic human values (simply, character) which must underlie all fiction, no matter what its genre.