Let’s be honest… The 80s were a weirdly wonderful time: Fashions were questionable, the music was ridiculous, and the movies… really embraced their cheesier sides. For example: Clive Barker's NIGHTBREED. When the film was released, audiences were mixed in their reviews. Some… really enjoyed its mixture of monsters and – what was at the time – realism. Others (critics, mostly) hated the film. I was somewhere in the middle. While I enjoyed the look of the killer (affectionately referred to as Buttonface) and some of the monsters, there was plenty of fromage on display. And what the hell is David Cronenberg doing acting in this kind of tripe? Anyway… flash forward to now and we get a revamped version of the film with 40 additional minutes. Normally, I’m all for that sort of thing, but only when the original film warrants it. NIGHTBREED does not. The extra footage is mostly saved for the presentation of an alternate ending… which is, quite honestly, less than stellar. Yes, it is different from the one presented in the film. No, it is not any better. That all said, kudos to Barker and the FX team for some of the monster designs. It’s important when watching the film to keep in mind that there was no such thing a CG when it was made. All of the creatures – for good and for ill – are practical FX (which is fascinating). Acting is wooden and hammy. You’d be hard pressed to find a worse performance than Charles Haid’s in film. So, yeah… this is another one of those cases of “if you liked the original film, you’ll love this longer, fatter version” as it is literally more of the same. If not, then this version is not going to change your mind any.
Rating: 1 out of 5
~ Thom Carnell
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