Troubled young man Aaron Boone (a likeable and passable performance by Craig Sheffer) gets set up as a serial killer by cunning and deranged psychiatrist Dr. Philip K. Decker (well played with chilling understatement by noted film director David Cronenberg). However, it turns out Boone is actually a monster messiah in disguise who Decker is using as a means of finding a mythical creature Shangri-La called Midian.

Writer/director Clive Barker delivers a potent and provocative horror/fantasy allegory on mankind's cruelty, hatred, and intolerance towards anyone or anything different that goes outside man's ability to understand and subsequently accept. Moreover, Barker presents a dazzling array of monsters that are exotic, grotesque, sympathetic, and wholly convincing: The magical underground world of Midian and its colorful inhabitants are both beautifully realized.

In addition, it's acted with zeal by an able cast: Anne Bobby as Boone's concerned girlfriend Lori Winston, Charles Haid as hateful bigot Captain Eigerman, Hugh Quarshie as the pragmatic Detective Joyce, Hugh Ross as the raucous Narcisse, Doug Bradley as peaceful Moses-like leader Dirk Lylesberg, Catherine Chevalier as the alluring Rachel, Oliver Parker as the ferocious Peloquin, and Malcolm Smith as weak drunken priest Ashberry. Popping up in nifty small roles are John Agar as an ill-fated gas station owner, prolific British bit player Harry Fielder as the redneck who gets taken out by little black demon Devil Lude, and splatterpunk writers John Skipp and Craig Spector as a couple of bloodied dead bodies in a hotel room. Robin Vidgeon's vibrant cinematography offers a wealth of stunning visuals. Danny Elfman's robust and majestic orchestral score hits the rousing spot. A superior creature feature.

Let me say from the outset I'm not a particular fan of this kind of film, but Nightbreed holds a certain fascination for me with a message about perspective.

Back in the old days, the folks who inhabit Midian would have been called Zombies, the undead. And according to what Clive Barker has given us certain members of human kind, in this Craig Sheffer are born with the potential to become part of that world.

Psychiatrist David Cronenberg at first looking like the mild mannered professional has taken unto himself a fanatical mission to rid the world of the Nightbreed. He tricks the police into killing Sheffer, but Sheffer goes to a graveyard named Midian cemetery where the Nightbreed congregate and live underground.

Sheffer has also left a girl friend, Anne Bobby, who still has feelings for him even after he's been killed and is now one of the undead. She tries in her own small way to be a bridge to humankind.

Clive Barker's creatures are a pretty gruesome looking lot and are not particularly fond of humans. But it's plain to see that if humans left them alone, the Nightbreed in turn not bother with them.

Your sympathies are definitely with the Nightbreed especially after seeing a fanatic like Cronenberg and redneck police chief Charles Haid in action.

Clive Barker's been an out gay man for some time now and some have suggested to me that the Nightbreed is a metaphor for gay people. I can see where that would come in, especially since there are a whole lot of people who don't even think of gays as anything human because they're taught that way.

Granted Nightbreed is pretty bloody with a lot of gratuitous violence, but it also does make you think and I do like the way Clive Barker does turn traditional theology on its head and makes Craig Sheffer a kind of messiah for the Nightbreed creatures.

Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer) has disturbing dreams of Midian where monsters live. Psychiatrist Dr. Decker (David Cronenberg) is treating him and convinces him that he committed a series of murders. He tries to go to Midian for real and is rejected by its inhabitants. The police catches up to him outside the gates and Decker tricks the police into killing Boone. Boone is resurrected and he is accepted into Midian. His girlfriend Lori Winston tracks down Boone but she is followed by Decker who turns out to be the real monster.

Clive Barker is not quite good enough to direct this. Cronenberg is competent as a villain but he would have been a far superior choice as the director. This is filled with the grotesque and weird monstrosities. Some of it is very effective gore. Narcisse slicing through his own head is amazing although other creatures are less effective. There's only so much real makeup can do and CGI is rather primitive. The movie attempts for grand horror but Barker doesn't have it in him. He is still stuck in a lot of B-movie horror tropes. The cops are too silly. There are not enough good actors for the minor roles.

EDIT: Director's Cut It's been so long that I can't tell what's been added in this version. There's almost twenty minutes more. This probably flowed a bit better although it could cut down Anne Bobby's singing. Neither her nor Craig Sheffer are A-list performers. The limitations are still the same in this extended cut. I still don't see why body-horror expert Cronenberg isn't doing the directing. He's right there on set already. The creature creations are pretty good especially considering the limited budget although Midian is short-changed. It needs to be more other-worldly. The secondary acting is still B-level. This will never be better than a relatively good B-movie. I do wonder if a bigger remake could be great.