Pan and Slam

Nightbreed (1990)

by Jason Koenigsberg

One of the strangest horror films of all time will be the final streaming pick of the week for October 2016. Nightbreed is the second of only three films directed by Clive Barker and his follow up to the massively successful Hellraiser (1987). It is better than his directorial debut and probably unlike any other horror movie ever made. The plot is kind of ludicrous. Craig Sheffer plays Aaron/Cabal, a troubled young man whom with his girlfriend Lori (Anne Bobby) is drawn to a mythical place with various monsters hiding from humanity. David Cronenberg usually known for directing horror films acts in Nightbreed as the main villain, an evil doctor trying to obtain these misfit mutants and either murder them or control them in order to unleash them onto our world to wreak havoc, or both, the story is not very clear. Where Nightbreed falters as a commentary about isolated loners and their acceptance from society, it succeeds sometimes as a dark comedy and other times as a legitimately scary movie with fantastic make-up and practical effects. It is a hodgepodge of horror elements but surprisingly, because the film is so unique, they never feel like cliches. It may not be a great horror movie, but it is certainly one that is different and memorable. 

Nightbreed is currently available to stream on Netflix.