Clive Barker's Nightbreed (1990)

Director: Clive Barker
Stars: David Cronenberg


Review:

Although films often adapt the story from novels, films and novels are quite different forms of art. That's why writers turning into directors often dont work. It didnt work when Stephen King did it, and it didnt work when Clive Barker did it.

Clive Barker created some really scary stories that successfully translated to other medias, such as the 1987 film Hellraiser and the 2001 video game Clive Barker's Undying. But Nighbreed is a mess. It is not scary, and it keeps you asking the movie why, why and why.

The movie follows a guy who dreamt about monsters and a place called Midian, where all the sins are forgiven. He saw a psychiatrist, who tricked him to think he murders people. He learnt that Midian is a real place from a mental patient, and went there, and stumbled upon a shapeshifter race. Someone in the race told him he cant join since he is innocient. The psychiatrist traced him and have him gunned down, only turning him into a shapeshifter. The psychiatrist turns out to be a hunter of the shapeshifters....o forget it, I cant make sense of it anymore.

Why cant the guy join the race when he is alive, but able to do so after he was gunned down? How is he sinned to just being gunned down? Why the psychiatrist hate them so much? They are shapeshifters, another kind of animals. Why they can bring back life? Who wrote the law of shapeshifters? How does the psychiatrist see behind the killer mask? Oh nevermind.

Despite the clumsy storytelling, this is actually once again the Avatar (2010) story. An outsider discovered a old race, which faces to be wiped out. He joined them and fights back. Of course almost Avatar did just about everything better, but the story is not too original.

A major reason to watch this movie is to see David Cronenberg, the Baron of Blood himself playing the killing psychiatrist. He is calm, cool, and we know that scenes of sex, flesh and blood occupied his brain. It would be wonderful if this movie is directed by him.

I like Barker's stories, especially the masterpiece that is Hellraiser (from the novel Hellbound Heart), but a good novel does not necessarily become a good film. If you want to watch a good writer fails in telling a story, watch Nightbreed.