Viewing this with a fresh set of eyes, I now appreciate it for what it is: a vessel to showcase a variety of neat and gnarly creature make-up effects. I'm swept away by the classic Elfman score and the vast, expansive Gothic sets, but those elements alone do not a good film make. The problem is that the story, which was obviously intended to be the set-up for something larger, doesn't fully materialize and was not enough to hold my attention in and of itself. I know it's become somewhat of a cult film in the years following its release, but I for one find it a mess.Note: I watched the theatrical cut that the director himself was unhappy with. Uncut versions have not yet been made widely available.
2.5 Hellraiser rejects out of 5
10 comments:
As a Barker fanboy myself, I felt a little diffently about it.
STS FB review said:
"Did it hold up? Well...yes and no.
Clive Barker's "Night Breed".
It's deeply flawed and rushed in many moments but it's still a great roller coaster of a ride if you like monsters.
I love monsters so I had no problem with the flaws.
When this movie came out I felt I could really relate to it's themes. The whole "freaks ostracized and hated by society" seemed to be a favorite of mine back then. It was around this time my favorite movies dealt with the same themes. Edward Scissorhands, Darkman, Batman Returns and of course, Night Breed. There's another similarity these films all share but I'll let you figure it out. :rolleyes:
The effects are sometimes quite nice and sometimes they're quite bad. The sets are beautiful. I love Midian and would love to visit one day. :D
Perhaps it's because I am a Clive Barker fanboy that I find myself so enthusiastic about a film that really isn't that great. But like any fanboy, I tend to ignore the flaws and make believe it's actually a work of art. I understand about 45 minutes were cut from the film and have been restored for independent screenings but it has yet to see a DVD/Blu-ray release. :( I'm hoping the extra 45 minutes will fix a lot of the poorly rushed scenes.
David Cronenberg's performance is delightfully sadistic. ....and why does Craig Sheffer look so much like David Boreanaz?
A scattered review, I know. In the end, Night Breed brought me back to my younger days when imagination was my greatest strength. What a great way to revisit that feeling...so nostalgic. :)"
3 Ol' Button Eyes out of 5
I'm a fan-boy as well. I've read the novel a number of times and have fond memories of the film. Be thankful you have it all, despite being cut as it's STILL unavailable on R2 dvd. :rage:
@cuckoo: A half-star difference ain't too bad. I'd be more than happy to upgrade to a 3.
@Doc: DVD? What is this DVD you speak of? I just download everything nowadays. :P
1/2 star is starting to make too much a difference to me now. I forget which movie it was recently but I almost considered going with a 1/4 star....but thought it was too silly and opted to not do it. I think it was one of the Saw movies.
I also thought of doing different fraction/decimals thing, just as a gag. Or something like 5432 out of 14325 or some shit like that, but I didn't want to piss you guys off. :P
Like I said before, it's all broad strokes. I know whether I like a movie or not, it's just a matter of translating that to some absurdist rating system. It's not perfect.
WTF is going on in here? 1/4 points? Improper fractions? Quadratic things? I vote for algebra. xxx out of ky.
I will eat you.
I will endeavour to give you trots.
Exactly three years later to the day, I've finally seen the Director's Cut.
Much more cohesive this time around (with 40 minutes of new material), plus the Blu-ray transfer just looks great.
3.5 Midian nightmares out of 5
It came in the mail this morning. :D
I'm actually just getting ready to sit down and watch the DC right now.
I'll wipe my filthy Natural nuts on it sometime this week.
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