Morgan Creek Productions, 1990
starring:  Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg and Doug Bradley
written and directed by: Clive Barker

the plot: Aaron Boone (Sheffer) is plagued by strange, often terrifying dreams of violent murders and monstrous people living in a hidden city called Midian. The dreams are troubling enough that Boone shares them with his psychiatrist, Dr. Decker (Cronenberg). During a routine visit, Decker tells Boone that the murder dreams he has described during their sessions match a series of violent serial killings in the area. Worried that he might be the killer, Boone goes on the run and stumbles upon Midian, a real city located below an abandoned cemetery. The denizens of Midian are known as the Nightbreed, the remnants of a number of races of shape-shifters, mutants and other super-human species hunted down and killed by zealous homo sapiens. Led by the mysterious Lylesberg (Bradley), the Nightbreed only want to live in peace away from regular humans. Boone is sent away for being a “natural,” but after Decker orchestrates Boone’s death, he is resurrected and returns to Midian. His girlfriend, Lori (Bobby), follows close behind, as does Decker, who reveals himself to be a power-mad serial killer bent on laying waste to Midian. As Decker and a cadre of corrupt, maniacal cops roll into Midian with guns blazing, it’s up to Boone to rally the Nightbreed to defend their home. 

why it’s good: You’ve got to hand it to “Nightbreed”—it may be the ultimate monster movie. There are so many different varieties of freaks, mutants, geeks and other weird-looking monster folk traipsing about in “Nightbreed” that it’s impossible to keep track, though Clive Barker does his best to fit every single creature on the screen at least once. And while that’s what makes “Nightbreed” so cool, it’s also what makes it an absolute mess of a movie. Porcupine women, dudes with multiple eyes in their faces and other assorted monstrosities are all fun to look at, especially when the effects are as good as they are in “Nightbreed,” but there needs to be a story to hold it all together, and that’s where “Nightbreed” is lacking. Barker short-shrifts all his characters, from leading man Boone, who’s little more than a cipher-turned-savior, to bad guy Decker, whose motivations for destroying Midian are muddy at best. Make no mistake, the movie’s a blast to watch, but the lack of coherent story saps the urgency pretty quickly, and the various plot holes that Barker ignores become incredibly distracting by the movie’s climax. But in the presence of so much monster mayhem, it’s worth overlooking those shortcomings, especially when there are women made of shadows and guys with giant stomach-dwelling snakes afoot.

why you should own it: If you’re into special effects and make-up, the monsters in “Nightbreed” are more than deserving of a place in your library. And there’s a decent performance by director David Cronenberg, to boot. Warner Home Video’s DVD is barebones, but Barker claims on his Web site that some sort of special edition full of extras is in the offing.