Nightbreed is a very difficult film to review since it gave me a lot of mixed emotions. Let me explain why.
On the one hand I liked it and enjoyed it because it offered a lot visually. On the other hand I was disappointed how little story there was. Not to mention very confusing. Now I have read the studios butchered the film and that the Cabal cut is the version Clive Barker intended to make. However that version unless I am mistaken only had a limited release on Blu-ray (of 250 copies). You can imagine how hard it will be to get a hold of that version. Then there is the director's cut which is not exactly the Cabal cut but has 40 minutes of footage added. Now that is quite a lot and I think I will definitely check that one out as soon as I get my hands on it. For now we will have to do with the theatrical version.
Story wise Nightbreed is a mess. There is almost to none buildup in tension or suspense. And characters that are given importance to don't impress as is promised. Instead we go from event to event that visually looks wonderful but in the end have no impact. Only in the final part of Nightbreed you feel emotionally connected to the mutants and almost makes up for the previous minutes. Personally I am not understanding the praise Nightbreed is getting. Compared to Hellraiser this is abonimally bad. Which might not be entirely fair since Nightbreed is not really a horror tale. Still I found it hard to fully immerse myself into Nightbreed because it was lacking so much. So I can't really recommend it. But judged as a action fantasy movie this is adequate.
On the one hand I liked it and enjoyed it because it offered a lot visually. On the other hand I was disappointed how little story there was. Not to mention very confusing. Now I have read the studios butchered the film and that the Cabal cut is the version Clive Barker intended to make. However that version unless I am mistaken only had a limited release on Blu-ray (of 250 copies). You can imagine how hard it will be to get a hold of that version. Then there is the director's cut which is not exactly the Cabal cut but has 40 minutes of footage added. Now that is quite a lot and I think I will definitely check that one out as soon as I get my hands on it. For now we will have to do with the theatrical version.
Story wise Nightbreed is a mess. There is almost to none buildup in tension or suspense. And characters that are given importance to don't impress as is promised. Instead we go from event to event that visually looks wonderful but in the end have no impact. Only in the final part of Nightbreed you feel emotionally connected to the mutants and almost makes up for the previous minutes. Personally I am not understanding the praise Nightbreed is getting. Compared to Hellraiser this is abonimally bad. Which might not be entirely fair since Nightbreed is not really a horror tale. Still I found it hard to fully immerse myself into Nightbreed because it was lacking so much. So I can't really recommend it. But judged as a action fantasy movie this is adequate.
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