Nightbreed Review
As I begin watching this I couldn’t help but think that Mr. Barker bit on more than he could chew. I bring this up mostly because the movie starts off in a way that would probably make most people want to stop watching it after the first ten minutes. Whether it’s the disjointed violence (which, while impressive for even the start of its decade, may have still been excessive) the muddled narrative, or just the way it develops its characters, this is certainly not your average horror movie. But once you get past the tricky feel of the first act, and the start of the second, there’s definitely life in this movie critics may deny. Meaning that its 80s holdover atmosphere, along with its macabre yet creative visuals, and the way its premise takes full advantage of its aesthetic, is what gives it identity. It’s definitely a movie based mostly on feeling and the way its same characters build upon one another, hence why maybe its status as a cult movie is what really helped flesh it out. At its best it feels like the sort of movie Tim Burton may have drawn inspiration from to help him bring Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar children to life. In other cases, though, it’s as I mentioned with its violence: while it had more guts (almost literally) than The Dark Half that also meant it was less organized than that same film/book. Still, thanks to its Freaks meets Footloose idea, along with its lore, I found it passable and unique. Though I still prefer Barkers final film, Lord of Illusions, in terms of tonal coherence and a more concentrated, if not polished, idea.