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Nightbreed, directed by Clive Barker and based on his book Cabal, wants to be a sprawling horror-fantasy epic for the ages. But the multifaceted story is told so quickly and haphazardly in the studio’s cut of the film, the end result is something between whiplash and total discombobulation. As messy as the end result is, I still really admire the sheer ambition behind the movie, which was once in the Guinness Book of World Records for containing the most actors in prosthetic makeup at any one time. I also connect with the core idea of the story, which Barker has called a confession of his homosexuality. Indeed, it’s easy to transpose the plight of gays and lesbians with the plight of Nightbreed‘s community of monsters.

The monsters are actually the good guys of Barker’s tale. Our protagonist is a man named Boone (Craig Sheffer) who goes in search of Midian — the place where the monsters live — after his psychiatrist convinces him that he has a split personality… and that one of his personalities has just killed a half-dozen families. Turns out that dear old doc (played by director David Cronenberg) is the real serial killer, pinning all his crimes on Boone. Also turns out that the monsters in Midian have long prophesied about Boone, who is destined to lead them. In addition to the monsters and the mad doctor, Nightbreed also focuses on the plight of Boone’s beleaguered girlfriend, Lori (Anne Bobby). After Boone runs away, she has her own adventure finding Midian and evading the killer shrink. And there’s also subplots involving the local police and a drunken preacher, who team up to launch full-scale war against the Nightbreed at Midian. See what I mean by ambitious storytelling?

Shuna Sassi and Pelloquin, two of the denizens of Midian in Clive Barker’s ‘Nightbreed.’

I know there was studio interference and a lot of scenes were left on the cutting room floor, but even what’s left in the theatrical release is a little clunky at times. More than anything, Nightbreed suffers from sloppy pacing and jarring scene transitions. The script is far too ambitious for one movie, rushing over too much exposition, watering down its complex protagonist and its core mythologies, and involving too many villains. We do get an awesome score by Danny Elfman, though. Sheffer and Bobby do decent jobs in the lead roles, and some of the monsters are pretty nifty-looking. It’s also fun to see David Cronenberg play a soft-spoken serial killer.

As critical as I am of Nightbreed, I still really like it. I mean, I really, really like it. I tremendously admire the thoughts in play and the thematic broad strokes. Sometimes, the idea is king. And a glorious mess is always preferable to a tidy bore.

This film was restored as Nightbreed:The Director’s Cut in 2014. Read the review here.

David Cronenberg plays the real villain of ‘Nightbreed,’ a character dubbed Button Face by the film’s fans.