Nightbreed
A dark fantasy cult film about outcast monsters.
Nightbreed is a 1990 American dark fantasy film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his 1988 novella Cabal. The film follows an unstable mental patient named Aaron Boone who is falsely led to believe by his doctor that he is a serial killer, eventually finding refuge among a tribe of monsters and outcasts known as the Nightbreed. At the time of its release, the film was a commercial and critical failure, but it has since become a cult film.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Clive Barker
- Producer
- Gabriella Martinelli / Jon Turtle / Joe Roth
- Based On
- Cabal · Clive Barker
- Starring
- Craig Sheffer / Anne Bobby / David Cronenberg / Charles Haid
- Music
- Danny Elfman
- Cinematography
- Robin Vidgeon
- Editing
- Mark Goldblatt / Richard Marden
- Studio
- Morgan Creek Productions
- Distributor
- 20th Century Fox (United States) / J&M Entertainment (Overseas)
- Released
- 16 February 1990
- Runtime
- 102 minutes
- Country
- United States
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Aaron Boone has recurring nightmares of a place called Midian. His girlfriend Lori Winston encourages him to resume psychotherapy with Dr. Phillip Decker. Meanwhile, a serial killer has been massacring entire families. Decker tricks Boone into believing he is the killer and gives him LSD. Boone escapes to Midian, an abandoned cemetery, where he encounters monstrous beings called the Nightbreed. After being shot by police, Boone is revived and inducted into the Nightbreed society. Decker, revealed as the real serial killer, leads a police assault on Midian. Boone kills Decker, and Baphomet, the Nightbreed deity, charges Boone with finding a new home for the Nightbreed. Lori is killed by Decker, not by suicide.
Reader's Guide
Nightbreed has been characterized as containing themes related to queerness and the LGBT community. In 1997, author Harry M. Benshoff called it 'One of the first horror films to make an explicit connection between monsters and the activist politics of the queer community.' Filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky called Nightbreed 'the first truly gay horror fantasy epic.' The film's director's cut, released in 2014 through Scream Factory, restored cut material and deepened the allegory for persecution of the queer community. The film's initial failure was attributed by Barker to the studio marketing it as a standard slasher film, despite its more complex narrative about outcasts finding community. Its enduring cult status stems from its sympathetic portrayal of monsters as marginalized beings.
Did You Know?
- The film is based on Clive Barker's 1988 novella Cabal.
- David Cronenberg, primarily known as a director, appears in the cast as Dr. Philip K. Decker.
- A director's cut was released in 2014 after original film elements for cut material were re-obtained.
- The film has been interpreted as an allegory for queer persecution and community.
More in LGBTQ-related fantasy films 1-24
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