Attack of the B's!

Nightbreed (1990), Clive Barker

This is probably the only movie I've ever seen where monsters are good guys, and humans are bad guys. Said monsters reside beneath a graveyard, in the city of Midian. They never venture outside of Midian, and therefore, go on about their existence causing no harm or annoyance to the inhabitants of the surrounding town. But alas, the mere fact that the "naturals" know that they are there is enough. David Cronenberg plays a psychiatrist bent on eradicating the monsters, at any cost. However, it seems that he himself desires to be a monster but was not allowed? And therein lies the reason for revenge. Or not? It's kind of a hard movie to explain.

A lot of people say this is an allegory of being gay. There are a few lines that really, really stick out when you watch the movie with this in mind. But I guess you could say that most of Barker's work is a metaphor of the many facets of being a gay male in a hetero-dominated world. So essentially, he is simply writing what he knows.

I watched this last night at a bar, on a projector. I wish I was rich, I would buy myself a projector, because that's the way movies should be watched. Anyways, I think I may have been the only person there who actually enjoyed this film. Most people found it to be boring and cheesy. If only the Director's Cut were available! The studio cut out about 25 minutes of Barker's original film, attempting to make it more marketable as a slasher movie of sorts. All they really did was cut out things that were pretty integral to making it an interesting story and added in things that left it open for sequels. Sequels that never even happened. Thanks a lot, Hollywood!

David Cronenberg was perfect in this movie, with those steely eyes and those weird ass glasses. And his hair! My god, that man has a head of hair that even I am jealous of. Craig Sheffer seems like he's probably a douche. The dude who played the sheriff? Clearly more stoked on being in a movie than learning to act. The only boobs in this are monster boobs, so sorry pervs. Regardless, it is a pretty cool movie. A must-see for Barker fans. Keep your fingers crossed for that Director's Cut, dudes!

Grade: B