SCORETOBER!!!! Day 18 NIGHTBREED CABAL CUT!!!!

Day 18

Nightbreed

If ever there was a film that deserved far more love and attention. This would be it.

Especially with the release of the long thought lost Directors Cut.

Another piece of my childhood I stumbled onto in a video store, and fell in love with for being so completely not what I was expecting at all. I rented Nightbreed originally as a kid because it had Clive Barker’s name on it. I knew him for Hellraiser, and having read a few of his novels. So I thought okay lets do this, Another Hellraiser like film!

What I got instead, was a film about survival against evil. I really almost struggle to call this a horror film as it just has so much depth and emotion in it. Buut it does have a lot of blood, and death, and okay it is a horror film. BUT it is so, so much more.

It also has one of the oddest, and simplest posters, box art I’ve ever seen for a horror movie. Just a bunch of monsters hanging out like its another Friday night, and the title “Nightbreed”

Clive Barker had a lot going on with this project and he really believed in it. Unfortunately, between a studio not being sure what the hell it was and if it would even sell, and a distrusting individual with all the money or the film. Well. Things happened and ultimately its amazing the film got finished at all. But it also got severely cut down and butchered from Clive’s original vision.

Thankfully though they were able to recover all the lost scenes and re-edit them into the film so that is the cut I decided to watch. And this was also, still is in fact. One of my all time favorite movie scores done by Danny Elfman.

With that said lets get right into it, because I’ve been looking forward to talking about this one.

The Movie

The movie waste no time at all with subtly unleashing its story on us. Though most might ignore it initially, it is worth finding the story in the wall paintings they go through during the opening credits as it actually does begin showing us the story of Cabal and the Nightbreed. The movie doesn’t want to hide them from you. It even shows you though a clever and creepy shot of the films opening title some of the Nightbreed. Which is still mildly creepy and very cool to see again.

If you weren’t able to really make it out? Don’t worry.

This film is starting off hard and fast. Once the credits are done. We are running through a graveyard. Being chased by countless odd human like creatures. Ranging from porcupine ladies, to chubby men with snakes, crescent moon headed men, and dog like men beings running and laughing through the tall field of grass in the cemetery, leading to its gate. Chasing and laughing, showing off like dogs would to another dog as they try to get them to play with them. Soon waking up our hero of the film. Aaron Boone(Craig Sheffer). Apparently Boone has many dreams about monsters, Seeming like nightmares, but he’s never scared of them.

He's not alone though, his girlfriend Lori Winston(Anne Bobby) is beside him as he wakes, immediately there to comfort him and calm things down. Which she is surprisingly able to do, while waking up another far scarier beast.

I’m not talking about dreamland beast. But I am talkin about the camera angle giving us a shot of Boone in his Fruit of the Looms just before Lori straddles his waist and well.

Good for him. Good for him.

The two talk about his dreams and their plans coming up. As well as his doctor. Who keeps contacting Boone about their need to talk, and continuing their sessions.

In fact as Boone and Lori enjoy some alone time followed by a shower. Boone is getting yet another call from his doctor. A wonderful part of this film and one I do enjoy seeing appear on screen, Dr. Philip K. Decker played by the man himself David Cronenberg.

Who as we are introduced too, we soon learn though, the good doctor, has some troubles of his own. And a deep fascination with Boone and his dreams about monsters, especially their home.

From here though, we are headed toward a darker road. We come to a family in their home. Enjoying a hockey game and fun discussion on why being chubby is fun. While I can certainly relate and agree with him. Their fun is cut short as his wife heads toward the kitchen to get them a snack. On her way there her son stops her at the top of the stairs. Telling his mom that he saw a scary man. She tells him to go back to bed and it was just bad dream. Mama is focused on her mission of snack time, which looks to be onion rings! Hot damn that’s a good hockey game snack.

But no one is going to be eating these onion rings. No. Instead mom meets her sons ‘bad man’, a tall figure in a black trench coat with a surgical knife, and an odd textured mask with black buttons for eyes and a zipper over his mouth. The mystery man cuts her throat and across her face, watching the wide eyed woman fall over dead in a silent death scream. Before stalking into the living room and taking out her chubby happy husband. But things don’t end there. Standing at the top of the staircase still, is their little boy. He watches the masked man stalk from the kitchen to the living room, then makes his way up the stairs and finally to the little boy. Which if you need me to tell you how that encounter goes. Just remember. This killer left the frozen onion rings on the floor. But he wont leave any witnesses.

It doesn’t work I know but I just want to point that out.  Those onion rings will never be eaten. RIP.

Meanwhile, a few days later as the meme goes.

Boone is visited by Lori at work, she has an audition she is headed off for to sing in a show, and she wanted him to know she won’t be home when he gets there. So he promises to come see her instead. He’ll just finish work early, pop over to see his doctor so the man stops calling him all the time and then head over to catch her. This is all said somewhere and somehow between the two necking and making out. Seriously they can’t keep their hands off each other, let alone their lips. But they manage to at the very least smooch those words out so. They’re trying. We’ll go with that. But Boone’s happy and that’s what matters.

Which we learn as he visits his doctor, is why he hasn’t had more sessions lately with the good doctor. He’s still having these odd dreams sure. But otherwise, with Lori in his life and over all. He’s just much better off than he was during their earlier sessions.

But Decker isn’t buying this. He tells Boone he has become very concerned with him. Especially given his dreams and some of their violent images. The beast, their savagery and his own issues with anger. More importantly though. He is deeply concerned as Boone had a problem with blacking out at times and losing track of himself. He tells Boone that he received a worrying call from the police, asking about any patience he might have that fit a violent profile similar to Boones, when prompted why, Decker shows Boone a series of grisly murder photos. Included among them the newly murdered family of three.

Seeing these deeply upsets Boone, as the doctor begins to imply that he fears for him, as he believes these cold actually be the work of Boone when he blacks out, giving in to a viscious animalistic side that takes its rage out on innocent people. 6 families killed in 10 months. Boone ask the doctor if he believes he did it. The doctor says so without actually, saying so. He gives Boone a prescription bottle of pills. Tells him to take two of those, then turn himself over to the police. It’s all he can do to help him, and then he’ll have 10 hours before he turns him over to the police.

With that Boone leaves in a state of panic. Taking the pills as instructed. But soon finds himself unable to focus. He’s hallucinating and losing it. He heads home and in his state gives over to his panic. Gathering his ID, passport and important documents. Burning them in the center of his room. Only to further hallucinate as the fire dances and draws him further in. Eventually he see’s the best worst thing any of us could while tripping. He see’s himself, walking down his spiral staircase, past the fire. Looking at himself in the corner. Before his double walks to the bed, where Lori sits in her underwear, and he watches himself deeply makeout and begin snogging with Lori.

There was a time, I won’t say when. But I celebrated the legality of recreational fun in my state. I had tried a few oh so wonderful things, and one night, I tried a strain we’ll say that sounds like a metallic type of fog. This was the most…..uplifted I had ever felt before, and I decided I should make myself a sandwich.

Which I did, I grabbed a soda, sat myself on the couch in front of the tv. Accepted the fact my legs were now useless and I would not be going back to my computer desk. I began playing a game and then realized, very suddenly aware. I asked myself “Wait…how did I get here? Did I make this sandwich?”

In that moment, my eyes scanned very slowly to my left, at my computer desk, looking over as if seeing my path of travel from there, to the kitchen, recalling my steps in the sandwich making process, then finding myself having moved from the kitchen to the couch. I. In my head. Just retraced my entire forgotten journey if 5 minutes ago, leaving my desk to make a sandwich in the kitchen then sitting down to eat it. The realization I had completely forgotten that I did that, and just retraced my steps, saw myself without seeing myself do so.

I did my best impression of the sloth from Zootopia as my mouth slowly opened in realization of just how lifted the fuck up I was, and began to turn into an even slower dumb smile resembling an “OOoooh hooo hooo hoooo” face.

THAT is the type of experience I got being that completely….lifted.

But this bastard, has a full on realized vision of himself getting it on. What the hell man.

ANYWAY…moving on!

Lori is singing her heart out and the crowd is loving it. Apparently her audition went super well, and now she’s singing for a huge group of people and a live band, everyone loves her singing and she’s loving it. But where oh where is her boyfriend who said he’d be there? Fear not. He was tripping serious balls, in fact he still really really is. But he did what most people would do to sober themselves up a little. He took a shower, got dressed and headed out to see his girlfriend.

 Only he doesn’t stick around long. Mainly because he’s so out of it, and, in his mind he wasn’t going there to be with her. He was saying goodbye to her. He just needed to see her once more, and seeing her there. Seeing her happy was enough for him.

So naturally he continues his trip of self discovery laced with paranoia into the middle of the highway. Where he tries shaking hands with trucks.

Lets say he is thankfully not successful. But he did get picked up and taken to a hospital once he is nearly struck. It’s only once he is there, that he discovers things are not as they had seemed. A doctor ask him what he’s on, why he was trying to hug trucks, and Boone tells him he was taking Lithium his doctor had prescribed.

The doctor having found the pills tells Boone those aren’t Lithium, he said they’re in fact a high grade lab created hallucinogen.

Now he’s aware his doctor, the same one who got him to believe he murdered 6 families was lying to him and for some reason gave him pills to freak him out, sending him out into the night fueled by paranoia.

As Boone rest, getting the meds out of his system. He hears another patient, muttering talking to themselves. What grabs his attention though. Is in this mans odd mumblings. He mentions a place he knows, from his dreams. Midian. When Boone ask about it the man tells him its where the monsters are.

He’s a lot more sober than he was earlier. But finding someone who knows about the place he’s dreamed, and more importantly where it is, definitely is creating another trip. He begins asking him more about Midian, and the monsters there. The man believes he’s being tested by Boone, that Boone was sent by them to test him and see if he’s worthy.

Well. Boone learns from the man, where Midian is. Which is not far from the hospital he stands in. The monsters live in Midian, they hide from everyone, only those chosen can enter Midian, and only those chosen can become one of them. Which, is his own hopes.

In fact, he believes Boone and his ploy to get him talking, by telling him he was one of them and indeed testing him. So he feels he must show Boone he is worthy to become one of the monsters.

Boone realizes maybe lying to this man was a bad idea. He considers that thought as the man pulls out from his pocket two silver thumb rings with large very sharp blades on them. He again tells Boone he will show him he is worthy and begins to cut his face and scalp. Beginning to actually scalp himself in front of Boone.

Yeah this was a mistake. So Boone politely yeets himself from the scene as doctors and nurses rush over to begin helping the disturbed man. During all the excitement, Boone ends up down a hallway. Turning to his right, he sees of all faces, Dr. Decker. Along with police officers.

Boone takes off immediately and manages to escape the hospital. Making his way to Midian, if he can before the cops and his doctor can catch him. Meanwhile Decker is asking about the patient Boone talked too. Upon hearing the man was having visions of a place that didn’t exist. He decides this is worth investigating. He ask to talk alone to the man and ask him about Boone and this place he told him about. Taking his briefcase with him, the sheriff decides it might be best, especially if Boone is out there and potentially a murder suspect.

This can only go well, right?

Thankfully one person is having a better night of things. Boone was able to make out just where to go and find Midian. Mind you this was in the before time. Before GPS, and cellphones. When all you had were maps and you know, paying attention to the road.

I’m happy for him that he found the place. But also shocked he made sense of the mans directions.

So he arrives at Midian. A large stone gated cemetery. Much like his dreams. He makes his way through the maze of tombstones, however he’s been traveling a long damn time and finds himself passing out. Only to be awoken some time later by of all things to find in a cemetery, and the last one you’d expect. A little pupper licking his face, and flea of the red hot chili peppers shirtless in filthy pants.

No it’s not actually Flea, but I mean, it could be. But it isn’t.

But I kinda wish it were.

Anywho.

Boone now with a bit more energy and a lot less drugs in his system is up and exploring the place of his dreams. The man with his dog looks normal but somehow tribal. Making him wonder if that could be one of Midians inhabitance, but he chuckles it off, because well. The man is just a man, with a doggo.

However all of his fears and concerns are put aside as he is soon found and held at night point by two actual beast men. A man with the chin child of Bruce Campbell and Jay Leno. But also somehow the same chin child on his forehead too. He looks sort of like a human version of a McDonalds character from the 80’s that was a singing piano playing moon faced man. His name, is Kinski(Nicholas Vince) and with him, a much more intimidating and cool dude. With flesh like cornrow appendages. Almost demon like red skin, and beautiful eyes.

YES I SAID IT!

Boone is officially puckering his ass as he is held at the mercy of these two actual residents of Midian, while the red creature, Peloquin(Oliver Parker) debates eating Boone, but his friend Kinski is quick to remind him “If we eat him, we break the law!” Peloquin snarls and scoffs answering perfectly, just as anyone would say when defending being told they can’t have Arby’s because the meat defies mans law of what dictates meat. “Oh, fuck the law! I want meat!”

Boone tries reasoning with them and pleading his case. Telling them that he is one of them. He belongs there. That he’s killed people. Peloquin scoffs at Boone, asking him who told him that, Boone is confused by this and is quickly told by Peloquin that whoever told him that was lying to him. That Boone wreaks of innocence. He can smell it all over him, and that scent of an untainted soul is driving his need to feed. His friend worries more that he may actually try to forsake their law. Especially when he starts thrashing his head around and roars, his face suddenly changing, covered in sigils and odd markings. Looking even more threatening. Kinski again reminds me about the law, and that if they break the law they will be banished. Boone decides Kinski is a man he should side with and nods telling Peloquin that’s true, as if he'd know. Peloquin smiles and snickers “Everything is true. God’s an Astronaut, Oz is over the Rainbow, and Midian is where the monsters live…and you came to die.” With that Peloquin again tells Boone he does not belong there. He wreaks of innocence, which makes him as other humans, a natural, prompting one of the more memorable lines in the film “Which means, you are meat…for the beast!”

With that Peloquin bites Boones chest, taring out a chunk of him. But Kinski knocks his friend back and shoves Boone away shouting for him to run and get out of Midian. Which Boone does not need to be told twice. He takes off into a full sprint, even as the bite seems to mess with him. Almost like a venom coursing through his body. He manages to barely stumble out the front gates and make it out. Only to be met with the police and Dr. Decker.  The doctor convinces them to let him speak to Boone. Boone is still, and rightfully not trusting of him but allows it.

He decides to chance the truth and tells Decker that he didn’t kill those people. He doesn’t tell him how he knows that now, that two monsters had to tell him this. But Decker smiles and nods, “I know. I believe you.” And with that, Decker nods to Boone, turns suddenly toward the police and shouts “He’s got a gun!”, Decker ducks out of the way and the police officers begin unloading on Boone like it was a party at the range.

Boone takes multiple hits from every angle and soon becomes home to a ton of lead. The head detective shouts for them all to stop firing. But it wont make much of a difference seeing as even if three or seven officers missed him. He’s still had so many rounds pumped into him he’s deader than dead. He’s totally dead.

So Decker tells the police they’ve killed the mass murderer, and the world can rest at ease. Decker takes it on himself to talk to Lori before she is asked to identify his body, while the coroner works on him.

As Decker talks to Lori and readies her for the sight of Boone, the coroner storms in telling them someone has stolen the body. They all rush in and find he wasn’t high or lying, Boone is gone, and his chest wound, has mysteriously healed into a gnarled scar. INTERESTING!!!

So what is a girl to do when her boyfriend who was shot over 30 times, accused of murdering 6 familes and children ends up a missing corpse? Find the nearest bar!

Where she makes a nice lady friend. Who tries her best to cheer Lori up. Which she somehow manages. That says a lot honestly, given the love of her life was shot down and a murderer. She even offers to go with her  to….of all places and activities. To visit the sight her boyfriend was shot down.

It’s just weird. But her reasoning isn’t so much a, hey I wanna see where he died. So much as she’s curious why he wanted to see that place so badly. It was obviously important to him, so. She’s curious herself. So the two promise to meet back up the next day or so, and maybe they’ll do that.

But what, you ask. Of Boone and his bullet holey body? Why he’s up and about, all healed no less, and thanks to the coroner all the bullets removed. He’s joined by the man who pulled his body from the morgue, our mysterious friend from earlier who peeled his own scalp off. And is still just as he was left. The only skin on his head being what remains of his face.

He’s talking to Boone and telling him he was chosen. He had been bitten and as he died on Midian’s ground. It means he could be one of them. MORE importantly, we learn his name at last! Narcisse(Hugh Ross). He too is from Midian.

Boone finds himself now at a ceremony, Helf by their leader, Dirk Lylesberg. Played by the legendary and always a welcome voice. Doug Bradley. Boone is tested by their leader and his hand placed into an alter full of bubbling fluid. Marking Boone and he is found…deserving. He is allowed in as one of them, and told he must now forsake his human self, as he is Nightbreed now.

YES! That is what Nightbreed is. Also yes they do say the thing. They say the title of the film, so cheer if you must.

As Boone celebrates his rebirth, and acceptance into Midian, Lori is meeting her new friend who seems to be recovering from a hangover. But she recalls her promise to Lori about going to Midian, and she figures the fresh air might do her some good. She tells her about her evening and a nice man from out of town who showed her a good time last night as the two drive off to their destination, possibly their final destination.

As they arrive, Lori is struck by the place. For once. It’s a cemetery. Secondly the place is huge. It’s like a city for the dead. Which makes sense. But she still can’t imagine why Boone would want to go there. She ask her bar friend if she’d mind staying behind while she went exploring and she doesn’t mind one bit. It’ll give her time to heal her hangover. So in Lori goes, and as she does. Her bar friend finds another visitor has arrived. The stranger from last night who bought her drinks and showed her a good time, Dr. Decker.

I really love Lori’s trip through Midian, because she really has no idea why this place is special, let alone what it is, all while Boone underneath her feet, can sense her and hear what’s going on above them. They all can. Only he can’t interact with her. It is their law and its what keeps them safe. As Lori explores, she happens across our porcupine lady, I like to call her a hedgie lady, like a hedgehog, but everyone always says porcupine. Freaking Americans., her name is Rachel(Catherine Chevalier). She keeps herself covered in a cloak most the time. It also conceals her bed of quills on her back. She spots Lori, who is freaking out over an odd looking creature she’s found, looking like a cross between a hairless cat and rat. But Rachel calls out to Lori, pleading for her help. She ask her to please pick up the creature, telling her it is her daughter, Babette, played by two sisters Kim and Nina Robertson. Lori is hesitant but she does so as the creature looks to be in pain and whimpering. She picks her up and hands her to the mother. Only to see the creature transform before her into a full size human like child. Rachel now owes her a debt for having helped save her daughter. She tells her how the sunlight is lethal to them, that her daughter was playing and got caught in the light by accident. She also decides to let her know, that Boone is there. That he is alive, and with them now. But Lori can’t really believe that. He was dead so how can he be alive, and he’s certainly not a monster. But he is not permitted to see her. Before she can tell her more, Dirk Lylesberg shows up and calmly tells Rachel and Babette to return down below. As Lori ask him about Boone, he can only confirm with her what Rachel has told her. Adding that it is forbidden for her to go down below, or see Boone. That, because she has saved Babette. She is allowed to claim the child as her own if she wishes. But Lori thankfully turns the offer down. As the Nightbreed leave her, despite her many questions. Lori is left with little choice but to return to her friends car.

Only to find her friend is, well dead. Blood on the passenger side window and door, and not soon after, appears Decker. Only now, he’s in his black trench coat, and textured button mask, wielding a knife. Kinda laid it out for ya earlier, but if you didn’t know, now ya know. Decker is the serial killer killing families.

And now he’s going to kill Lori.

Who takes off immediately, beginning a tense chase through the cemetery. Down below the Nightbreed listen as Lori takes off for her life and Decker chases to kill her. Boone is being restrained as he repeatedly tells Dirk he has to go up and help her. He can’t stand being down below and having to let her die, and listen to her death while doing nothing. But he’s told to shut his trap, reminding him he took an oath and it would break their law.

Boone knows what to do with the law though, as he learned from Peloquin. Fuck the law!

Boone begins throwing haymakers at anyone holding him back, all while Dirk yells out at him to return. But Boone is set on his path and he is feeling empowered. So he rushes outside for a fine hello how do you do chat with Decker.

The two fight but it is very clear that Boone is the one in control here. Boone is set to kill Decker for what he did, and even gets support as, of all people to join him up top is, Narcisse. Who also wants some alone time with Decker “Are you going to kill him or not? Only I want his balls, and his eyes…unless you want them. Remember me Doctor? I was dying when you had your way with me. You made me give up my secrets when I was feeling particularly vunerable.” With that he pulls out his thumb blades and is ready to help Boone. Only Boone pushes Narcisses off and Decker escapes. Boone growls out that Decker is his to kill. So he does just as Peloquin had. Exhaling his breath and changing his features, unleashing his new powers. His face now marked in sigils as well. He takes off in beast mode after the man responsible for killing him and nearly killing the love of his life.

As he takes off, Narcisse find shimself alone with Lori, and. Well he gets a little too close to her. More so than she’d like. I believe he did it to try and stop Boone. Knowing if he killed Decker, he really would be banished forever. Lori’s screams call Boone back and he apologizes to him for causing Lori to scream and pass out. But as Boone goes to wake her Narcisse’s has to politely remind him of his beast mode face, “You might want to change your face, she might not like that.”

Just as quickly as Boone changed into beast mode, he’s back to his much more human looking self.  Craddling Lori until returning down below. Where a very unhappy Lylesberg informs him that he may have doomed them all by breaking the law and showing himself to two naturals. All for the love of a woman. Boone see’s no harm in what was done. He feels Decker won’t tell anyone about them, because he’d come off insane if he tried telling people a man who was shot over 30 times was alive and walking in a cemetery, let alone that monsters lived there. And Lori he knows wouldn’t tell a soul. But Lylesberg isn’t buying it. The Nightbreed have enemies, Us. And the moment humans are made aware of them. They are always destroyed. So he tells Boone plainly, that if they are discovered, and Midian falls. It will be because of him. Though Boone accepted the cool monster club guild invite, he apparently didn’t care much to take the rules seriously, and makes that clear by asking Dirk who exactly made all these rules, and that is when we meet the god of Midian. Baphomet. A large, living statue of a being. Who’s body is bound to the roots of Midian, giving life to it. Kept hidden at the heart of the underground city. Boone asked who made the rules. Well, now he’s being shown and made to answer for his actions.

Meanwhile Lori is waking, to find herself underground. Watched over by Rachel and Babette. As she begins to ask where she is, who they are, and Rachel tells her all she can. That they are underground, and she is with the Nightbreed. Shape shifters. That they are not immortal. But creatures, forced to hide. They can all be killed by different things, even if specific things. Lori is doing her best to cope with this but its too much for her to believe and take in. She says its all too weird, and Rachel gives one of the more sincere speeches in the film, “To be able to fly, to be smoke, or a wolf? To know the night and live in it forever? That’s not so bad. You call us ‘monsters’, but when you dream, you dream of flying, and changing, and living without death. You envy us.” And what we envy, we destroy.

Which is their unfortunate history. Always being hunted for being what they are, being different, and having gifts we never will. She has babette show her. Giving her a glimpse through touch into their past. Showing Lori what they’ve gone through. Witnesses ancient slaughters. Nightbreed being tortured, beheaded and impaled. Boiled alive and made into trophies. Lori breaks down at what she’s seeing, knowing a small piece of their pain. But even with that. She can’t believe Boone is one of them. Because she’s still only ever seen him in his human form. To her he’s still the love of her life and a man. To everyone else he is Nightbreed. With all respect to Rachel, she still can’t accept this truth and takes off to find him. To take him from this place and continue their life together. But Lylesberg tries to stop her. Telling her that she cannot see Boone, as he is with Baphomet. Answering for what he had done.

But Lori must have also had the same upbringing about ‘the law’ as she says fuck it and goes looking on her own anyway.

And as she does. We are given a beautiful look into the world of Midian, and its inhabitants. Various creatures of all shapes and sizes. Ranging from nearly human, to nightmarish. There’s even a cat like creature riding another beast. Large bellied men with giraffe like necks with their heads resting atop their bellies. It’s a playground of Clive Barkers imagination, all backed with the beautiful music of Danny Elfman.

Pretty soon Lori finds the place less and less of a wonder, and more a show of oddities and unpleasant images. All in her search for Boone. But all she finds instead, is Peloquin. He is all too happy to talk to her, and try to scare her. But he wont harm her. He learned from biting Boone and only wants to scare her a little. Keeping her busy while Boone has his meeting with Baphomet.

But she will be kept no longer! She is headed down for the one place she is not allowed, and told multiple times however is never stopped. Clearly the people here enforce the Wonka rules of security. She is told not to go down a tunnel leading to Baphomet, because that’s where the Berserkers are kept. So what does she find? BERSERKERS!

What are they? Imagine wrestlers who roided out and mutated into hulking slippery messes of mutated flesh and muscle resembling unholy nightmares versus people. Also a blood lust nothing can slow down. These are the crazies of Midian too violent to roam with the others, kept locked up below. But Lori has an ally. It seems Lylesberg has sent the dog boy Ohnaka(Simon Bamford) after her to keep her safe and possibly guide her along.  As Lori meets the absolutely unholy things that made up the 1980’s WWF roster, Ohnaka is there to save her, it appears they don’t like him much. Far more than they do a random natural like Lori wondering down below. So these two go further into the heart of Midian until Lori and the rest of us in tow, meet Baphomet and Boone. Boone is, not in the greatest of shapes. He’s weak and barely able to stand. What was said to him by Baphomet? No one can say yet, and if God talked to me I doubt I’d be that quick to want to tell anyone either. But Lori gives zero fucks. She has found her bae and they are getting outta Midian. It’s more than a little selfishish to be fair, But I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it. As she begins leading Boone outside. The sunshine stops him a moment and he tells her he can’t go out there, that he belongs here. She point blank is tired of his shit and tells him “You don’t belong here, you belong with me.” So with that she takes him to her car and the two are headed back to the hotel she’d checked into.

But what about the good doctor?

Oh he’s keeping busy. After escaping Boone and Midian he fled to his car and to the nearest gas station. He definitely is considering telling every last soul he can about what happened. He doesn’t care how crazy it sounds. Decker wants the world to know. So he uses the phone of the nearest gas station to contact the police. Telling them that Boone is alive and here, he isn’t sure how he survived but he has and his along with others are still an absolute threat. The old man running the gas station looks over Decker and chuckles politely as he tells him he looks like he’d just come from Midian. It was an innocent comment, and It is a huge ass cemetery, but its enough of a comment for Decker to put his attention on the man and enquire what else he knows about Midian, what he knows about what’s out there.

The old man seems to know just what he’s asking about, and gets a bit upset. Realizing he may have slipped up a bit. He shuts down Decker and tells him the only thing in Midian is the corpses buried there. Decker knows he hit a nerve, so what else can he do but what he does best! Slip into his killer attire and torture the old man until he tells him everything he can. Which he does. Unfortunately. He tells him the different ways some of them can be killed, about their vast city. What they are, how he himself wanted to be one of them. But now that’s not happening, as Decker kills the poor old man.

But Decker is just getting started. He’s meeting with the local police, and the sheriff. Anyone who’ll listen and knew about Boones vanishing from the hospital morgue. He’s telling them all that there are people in Midian, Dangerous people like Boone there and they need to get out there and destroy them. That’s Deckers whole mission.

He knew about Midian and used Boone and his stories to learn more about it. He doesn’t want to join them and become like them. He wants to irradicate them. Burn out the Nightbreed and destroy them as he does all the families he’s killed. Boone was just his way in.

But he’s not done yet. This man has not come this far to get shot down and beat out of Midian. He’s returned to the hotel he checked into as well when he followed Lori earlier on, which yes is her hotel. He’s got a plan now and this is stage two of that plan.

As Boone and Lori make it back to the hotel, Boone can immediately tell something isn’t right. His Nightbreed senses are tingling and he can sense murder. He worries Lori and makes her even ‘mildly’ consider she was wrong about bringing him there, when he tells her he smells blood. But Lori is shutting those thoughts out and never minding her undead boyfriends abilities. It’s just a phase he’s going through. So she gets changed and while doing so, notices a bullet hole in her wall that wasn’t there before. She peeks in naturally, expecting a violent threeway I suppose. But instead finds the scene of a grizzly murder. She tells Boone and he is headed over to the murder room. The site and scent of the blood is too much for him. He begs her to leave the room and shut the door, not wanting her to see him like he will become. She surveys the room of 4 dead bodies, blood covering most of the room, some of their body parts missing. She decides its best to leave and let Boone do Boone things.

So he breeds out and goes beast mode. Nomming blood left and right as happy as can be. At least until he sees himself how he is. Immediately full of regret and changing himself back.

But it’s already too late. Outside Decker watches from his car and calls up the police on his fancy new fangled car phone. That’s what we used to have before cellphones. If you really want to laugh? Cell phones used to require huge power supplies, like briefcases, and they would have to be installed in cars to power them up. When they ditched the power packs they were nearly the size of army walkie talkies. What a time to be alive.

Decker contacts the police telling them he has found Boone, that he murdered the owners and several guest in the hotel, to get there as quick as they can. So faster than you can say white girl in trouble, the police are there in full force. Arresting Boone as Lori cries in her car realizing she may have made an oopie in having brought Boone with her.

As Boone is introduced to local law enforcement officials, and their fist introduce themselves to him in his new cell. The Sheriff is told some troubling news by their doctor who examined Boone. Apparently Boone, the man who was shot over 30 times, taken to a morgue, pronounced dead, then was taken from them, and now was arrested again for murder. Has no heart beat. He’s a walking corpse. Who knew!

This rightfully freaks out the sheriff and he demands answers from Decker. Who lays it out just as plainly as he can. Midian is full of monsters like Boone. They need to go there and they need to flush them out. The sheriff and the police are not entirely willing to believe this. But they send out a scouting party anyway to Midian. Just in case.

This of course, will not look favorably on Boone as you can imagine. While all of the Nighbreed under Midian listen to the voices above them while the police patrol the area. They had so far found only one thing, that Midian is large enough you could hide an army in there. But not soon after realizing this, they do unfortunately find one loan soul prone to wondering. Not Babette thankfully. But poor Ohnaka. Who is dragged out of his hiding spot on the surface and thrown to the ground. They begin interrogating him but their chief investigator stops them as he notices the mans skin is reacting to the sunlight, bubbling up and smoking. Ohnaka begins to cry in pain and reach out to the officers. But they begin instead beating him to the floor and off of them. None of them want to be touched by him fearing whatever it is, is dangerous or worse contagious. The detective in charge watches in pity as Ohnaka crumbles into a ball of pain and reaches out a hand to the shoe of the detective begging for help. But the detective pulls his foot back, and moments later Ohnaka succumbs and burst into chunks of burnt ash. Freaking out every officer present.

Every one of them has no explanation for what they just saw, Just that Decker was right that monsters do live here. So of course that can only go well.

To add to their day of what the fuckness, they all hear a loud explosion outside the gates of the cemetery. Soon discovering someone has exploded and burnt to a crisp one of their squad cars. But who could have done such a thing? Narcisse’s. It was Narcisse’s. He just rolls like that.

He’s driving off in his own tinted car and is taking Rachel with him, they’re on a rogue one mission for Boone.

At the sheriff’s station, The sheriff is getting together every moron with a gun, and every redneck without one. Why without? Because they’ve got an armory full of assault weapons, shot guns and grenades. So they’re arming the rednecks.

Who are literally shooting off guns cheering and drinking.

Never before on screen has a scene been shot with so many trucks and drunken rednecks with guns. The Sheriff isn’t taking any chances. He’s freeing the local drunk preacher from his sell and demanding the man grab every crucifix, bible, vile of holy water he can get his hands on and bring them. If they’re going to have the lord of firearms on their side, they may as well have the lord creator on their side too.

Just as they all pack up and head out for the monster mash party at Midian. Lori runs into Rachel and Narcisse’s outside the station. They inform her of their plan and she’s all in. But why save Boone when he was effectively tossed out? Because he is the only one of their kind to have met their prophet Baphomet and walked away. So they feel he must’ve been told something by them, something that could save all of them and Midian. There had to be a reason for it so they’re putting their faith in Boone, bringing him back to Midian to help protect them.

The escape from the police station is. As clumsy as it is amazing. They enter the station knives drawn, taking down the last few cops left behind. One of whom locks himself in the back with Boone, not exactly ready to face whatever is out there. But thankfully he won’t have to wonder, as Rachel turns herself into mist and enters the room. Immediately appearing in front of the man. Nude.  And sweaty. Not gonna lie. Rachel was, and is a very lovely woman. She enchants the guard and the man decides sure he could shoot her. But she’s showing him her breast. That’s an international sign of I come in peace.

Only not in Midian. She smooches him and fills his lungs with poison mist. Killing the man who Narcisse rightfully calls naughty. He does have a point and it is a fair lesson for a lot of us to learn. Don’t go kissing strange naked women. Especially during an escape attempt. It’s just not a good idea. I mean I get it. But, yeah. You know.

Moving along.

We are entering our final stages of the films battle. Drunk bible thumping heavily armed rednecks headed to the once peaceful city of Midian below the cemetery. They’re even doing so at night. Losing their ally the sun sure. But it’s the only way to draw them out into the open.

As Boone returns to Midian all hell is literally about to break loose, and the humans have fired the first shots. Literally. The crazy sheriff has gone completely over the edge now. The man enjoys beating his inmates and his own self image. The idea of fighting what he calls literal evil and saving the town from it, is just too much not for him to embrace and go hog wild with. His people have set up grenade traps, claymores, and bombs, on top of the arsenal they already have. And they are kicking this game off hard and without mercy. Bombs go off shaking and in some instances sinking the ground and collapsing on the tunnels of Midian’s underground city.

Dirk is trying to calm everyone down, which is not really easy given their homes are crashing down on top of them all, But he does his best with what’s worked in the past. Don’t run, hide. Stay safe and in the shadows. If you run to the surface, you die. Boone walks into the conversation and flat out says No bro, that aint gonna work. He tells everyone they have to stand and fight. Otherwise they lose their home, their lives. They have strength, they can defend themselves instead of being cattle for humans. “Fight back, if not for yourselves, for your children”, well shit. That makes sense so they decide plan Boone is a better option than praying and hiding.

Meanwhile Decker is fully embracing manifest destiny. He’s pulled out his murder mask and tools, he’s going to slaughter all the Nightbreed he can, and humans too. Because everyone is equal to his blade. Unfortunately a police chief notices him messing around with the kill mask in his briefcase, so Decker decides if we’re starting the killing, I might as well start here. So off he goes killing the detective.

It is now game time. What happens here on out is just mass destruction and endless fighting on both sides. Nightbreed are discovering they can in fact fight. They may not have wished to do so or harm on anyone. But they will do what they must now, forced to defend themselves. Lori finds Babette trapped in the tunnels under debris and moves to save her. Only for a redneck with a rifle to show up all too happy to kill both Lori and the girl. But Mama don’t run. Rachel shows up and thrust her arm through the mans chest, ripping out his heart and saving her daughter and Lori. I love Rachel, but my favorite fight is still the hedgehog lady. Who is able to fire off single quills from her body, poisoning people, and uses her charm and the fact most men can’t resist staring at naked breast, to distract a group of policemen long enough to twerk her back and bury cops in a blanket of poisoned quills.

Boone is helping the others to fight, but its not enough. He returns to their falling city and comes across  Dirk, who is praying and watching the city fall around him. Boone tells him to help fight, but it’s too late. Dirk tells him he has seen through Baphomet the future, and tells Boone to look for himself. He peers off into a ceremonial bowl bubbling with fluid and sees what Dirk was talking about. The entire city will be destroyed. Blown up and they will all die. But Boone isn’t ready to accept defeat, he has one last idea. “Lets release the berserkers, they’re like us, part of the tribes of the moon, let them fight!”, Dirk may not like this, but Boone is right. The most dangerous and feared of their people may be their only salvation now. Dirk goes down into the tunnels of Baphomet and uses his key to unlock their cells.

As he does so, an unfortunate human finds him, and kills him before Boone can stop him. Boone finishes the job of opening the cells and is immediately greeted by a defensive line of a dozen berserkers. Who all stop long enough to glare at Boone, he stares back and tells them finally to go do, that voodoo, that they do, so well. Or you know. Kill them all.

SO THEY DO!

And oh man do they. They go full hyper beast mode, taking out cops left and right. Ripping off ther arms right and left. Balls and dicks are also being snapped off like a slim jim. It’s beautiful chaos and for once the creatures are winning.

I mean honestly, even if you are a drunken redneck with an assault rifle. Would you rather take your chances killing screaming men and women, or fight 8 foot tall 400lb mutant linebacker monsters. The answer is you run like hell and forget you were even there. Which they do!

The humans are losing their fight against the breed, and it’s about damn time. But Midian is still crumbling around them. Lori is racing around the tunnels looking for Boone. Always looking for Boone. She doesn’t find him, but manages to run into Peloquin. Who is badly injured. Telling her how he never believed this would happen, but he should have. He tells her about a prophecy on their walls. That he would be the one to bite Boone. That Boone’s coming was foretold, and he would be the one to lead them, and, to destroy Midian. It seems Dirk knew this as well, but never let on to the others, he would test Boone to see if he could be a leader, or a false prophet. Well he didn’t believe as well as he should have in his peoples faith, but he sure as hell does now. Even if he feels responsible for having brought the destruction to his friends.

Boone is doing his best to get his people to safety and find Lori. What he finds instead however, is Decker. Who greets Boone in full murder mask, holding the severed head of Boones friend and our favorite local mad man, Narcisse’s. The two begin an epic battle of mostly Boone beating the ever loving shit out of Decker, but Decker also trying to do the near impossible of fighting Beast Mode Boone. But to be fair, Decker has learned since last time, and he did take out Narcisse.

 He finds an advantage and stabs Bone through the heart, Only it isn’t enough to kill him. Lucky for Boone.

It’s also an unfortunate move on Decker’s part, as Boone when standing back up, now with a knife blade sticking out of his chest. He grabs a hold of Decker and brings the man in for an intimate hug. Hugging him in tightly, like a man.  Only how a man can hug another man. While also using the knife blade to pierce through his chest and into his heart.

It’s a hug stabbing. Stab hug. You pick. Regardless, Decker has become the first man to die by hug. But Boone isn’t done yet. He wants to make sure its enough to kill Decker. So he tosses his ass over a large pitfall and Decker is impaled on a collapsed post. Farewell Mr. Cronenberg.

But hey! Hope shines on us all, soon after the encounter Boone finds Lori, and ask his girlfriend the one thing all girlfriends wait to hear from their man. “Pull the knife out”, She’s a keeper, any woman who is willing to hang out with and put up with your mutated friends, their religion, and pull a knife out of your chest is honestly marriage material. Not gonna lie.

But Boone has a responsibility. He must answer the call of Baphomet. Curiously along his way, he ran into the drunken preacher from earlier. The preacher? He did as the sheriff asked. He gathered every holy icon and relic he could to bless everyone with. Only he did not fight, he told the Sheriff earlier in the battle that there was no evil here. It was religious ground. But the sheriff obviously did not care. So the priest instead of fighting chose to explore Midian. He wanted to meet their god. Boone see’s him and tells him as politely as he can that the Nightbreed do not care much for priest down there. But he begs Boone that he had to come, because he needs to see it for himself, to know. And be judged by their god. Boone is just at a point of not caring about anything right now. He just wants to talk to Baphomet and get on with his life.

Only Baphomet has other plans. Boone approaches and the large statue like being lifts up Boone and holds him a few feet from his face, “You have destroyed our refuge. This was inevitable. No home is forever. You must rebuild what you’ve destroyed…you must find me, heal me. Save me from my enemies. You are no longer Boone…You are Cabal! Save me, from my enemies.” With that light strikes from the statue like being into Boone, and with that. Baphomets followers and guardians begin to transfer what is left of him. The priest watching this display is in awe. He notices the ceremonial bowl the had used in Boones earlier blessing, and to see into their future. Figuring it for the same vessel as they’d use in his church for Holy Water. He moves to touch it, hoping to anoint himself. Baphomet see’s this and glares out angrily at the priest. With the last of his powers he flips the vessel over, pouring its contents over the priest. Immediately deforming the man. Melting his scalp clean of hair. Transforming the man. With that the Nightbreed depart and Boone leads the way, hand in hand with Lori.

This is the biggest change from the films original ending, and it is a huge change. The couple set off for a hillside and Boone tells Lori that he must part from her now. That she will not be safe with him, that he is now their leader, Cabal, and must protect them. He can’t return to the mortal world, as much as he’d wish to he can’t. She believes otherwise. She wants him to make her into a Nightbreed too. He’s the leader now he can do that, right? But he tells her no. He’d never do that to her. She grows angry and hurt. Knowing she is losing him, and all she had done to get him back, after thinking she already lost him when he was shot down days back. So she does exactly as a kid does in the movie when they have to say goodbye to their pet BigFoot. She pushes him away and shouts at him to go ahead and leave. Making him feel even more like shit. But he does as she ask.

Only for her to call out to him, and tell him she lied. She doesn’t accept this. She pulls out a knife and stabs herself through the chest.

This bi…this devoted loving woman is not going to easily depart from her mans side.

She is forcing Boone to turn her into a Nightbreed if he doesn’t wish to see her die. I am getting a real sense here this couple got a long mostly for their love of saying fuck the law. Here he is not even hour one into being Cabal, and he’s having to make a human into one of them.

So he bites her on the neck and within moments she goes from dead. To Breathing once more and making out with him. Sure she could’ve left and had a few nights of crying, maybe dated again eventually. But why do that, when you can be the ruling figure beside the new leader of a clan of shapeshifters?

But our end isn’t over yet. Oh-ho-ho no. We are back at the ruins of Midian. Somehow. SOME WAY, the sheriff survived, even if barely. He’s found the priest, who now is praying at a new alter he has formed. . Looking more like Breed than human. “I saw their god. I saw him, I can still smell him. He’s out there. Oh yes”, he’s lost it, yes. The Sheriff as well. He ask the preacher if he knows where to find him. He tells him he will. So now. The powerful Sheriff is weak and now the follower. Begging the priest to take him with him. But the priest says no. He wants to be the one to find them, and burn them as he was burned. He wants to burn all of the Nighbreed down, and their god. With that, he chokes and kills the sheriff, leaving him for dead as he wonders off and begins his pilgrimage of vengeance.

Meanwhile. Back at an abandoned farm house and barn. The Nightbreed wait in darkness. Babette looks out into the open field and ask “Who will come for us?” and  our Moon man, Kinski standing beside Rachel tells her “His name is Cabal, he unmade Midian.” When she ask when Cabal will come for them. Rachel comforts her daughter and tells her “on the next wind. If not tonight, then tomorrow”, with that they all stare up at Boone and Lori, as the two stand arm in arm staring back down at the group. Ready to begin their journey to a new home.

The End.

For years I loved this movie, and still do. Its one of my favorite Barker films and stories. I always hated that it never seemed as known or popular as his other works. Sort of in the same way that John Carpenter doesn’t get a lot of love for Prince of Darkness or Starman. Both incredible films, but not as popular as his others.

It’s a unique film, with a beautiful concept on traditional monster movies. I love the lore behind them, and the story. The music was a perfect pairing with the film and the new “Cabal” cut of the film, managed to change my love for the film. I adore the original and hold it in my top 8 films. But the changes made to it in this director’s cut. It elevated the story and made me love the film to a point I now carry it in my top 5. Easily.

It's a shame the film never got its full story told upon release. Even more a shame the hell Barker and company went through with crooked financing and losing his joy of filmmaking. Barker is an amazing storyteller and he always manages to create sympathy for villains and creatures in a way that most can’t. His book The Thief of Always remains one I still reread and hold hopes for a faithful adaptation some day. It’s a great creepy kids fable.

But that’s not what we’re here for oh no. It’s time for the gem in Baphomet’s eye .

The Music.

Growing up in California, and having a cousin who was into rock, punk, and the 80’s weirdness of music. Me and my sister grew up with the music of Oingo Boingo, More appropriately the Mystical Knights of the Oingo Boingo. My sister has become a super fan of Danny Elfman, I recently gave her a special gift she absolutely fell in love with, Danny’s latest album he made during the pandemic. It came in a collectors set with a freaking mold of his hand that doubles as a desk light, a signed photo and artwork along with the album and bonus tracks. It earned me a hug which from her. Is sadly a rarity but one I do enjoy when I get.

Between growing up with The Simpsons, Edward Scissorhands, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Batman and Nightbreed. We couldn’t escape his greatness and embraced it fully. Proudly. Seeing him in concert during the Oingo Boingo Farewell tour remains a highlight for me. Seriously the man is made for live performances only. He’s Jack Goddamn Skellington for crying outloud.

He has a specific sound that’s just entirely him. Its his soul note and you know your listening to his score the moment you pick up on it. His scores always seem to create a fantasy world, something larger than life and carry this sound with it that turns anything into a march into something fantastical, or an emotional waltz. The score he created for Nightbreed was right at the height of his work. It had enough familiarity that when you listen to it now, you can pick up on it in certain tracks. But largely the whole of this score is somehow both so totally him, but also completely the opposite. There’s just this really beautiful tone he hits, starting with the main theme of the films opening. It just sounds so romantically tribal. Gentle and ancient. It’s a beautiful start for what is to come and as the score opens up the tracks evolve but still come back to that tribal sound that just so perfectly fits this.

It really is perfect for the film and Like I’ve said of a few other films so far, the score for the film is its own journey worth listening too.

ESPECIALLY when you get to hear a slowed down country version of his song “Skin”, appropriately retitled “Country Skin”, It was something used in the background twice. Once in the bar scene with Lori and her bar friend Sheryl. Later it pops up again over the radio of Sheryl’s car while she waits for Lori outside of the cemetery. I never picked up on it as a kid, I was too engrossed in the story. Honestly it wasn’t until I bought the album and played it, that I heard it. Then rewatching the film it just hit me. I called my sister and told her. She’d never heard it before either in the film, she just new he did the music for it. She immediately watched it and boom. More joy for the film was discovered. I also bought the score for my sister on one of her birthdays. Which sadly is now out of print. But man alive is it worth hunting down.

If you are looking for that familiar Danny Elfman tone, look no further than one of his wonderful tracks from the film “Carnaval Underground”. It offers exactly as the title would suggest. Starting with the films familiar theme, and landing itself right at the carnival barkers feet for a macabre Carnaval of curios nightmares.

Then you get more extreme measures with “Mayhem in Midian”, It’s another one of those where trying to name just one track over any other, or picking my favorites is difficult because it’s all so unique. Which is both beautiful and sad. Because really even fans of elfman, not many of them know of the score or find it in his collections. Even some of the worst reviews I’d read over the years FOR this film, all praise the music as being the thing they all universally loved.

Knowing that it is that much harder now to get a hold of, after being gone for so long once again. Well yeah. It’s sad. Because the music is just so beautiful.

It’s another album I can put on while I’m working on projects and just immediately improves my mood, it also reminds me how long its been since the last time I’d watched the film and usually I end up watching it shortly after.

When film scores can prompt that in you. Make you remember why you love the film, and give you those feelings in the music, making you want to put the film on and watch it again. That’s special, and sign of a well done, well fitted score. It’s something any fan of Danny’s should absolutely have in their library and listen too. It’s more than worth hunting down and hoping they’ll put it out again and soon! It’s not out digitally that I am aware of. Which is unfortunate. But there are still CD’s roaming the net and a few, if highly over priced vinyl copies.

For the love of all that is holy Waxworks, put out more of these damnit!

As my sister would say and absolutely support. Any Elfman is good man. And more is always welcome.

If you manage to find yourself a copy of this soundtrack. Please give it a listen, or better yet discover the film, in its original or Cabal cut, and enjoy the story and music.

My internet is currently crapping itself so I unfortunately can’t get to more of my notes as I would’ve enjoyed sharing more about this album, so my apologies. It really is something that deserves further discussion, and maybe I can do so on a podcast with other fans some day. On the next wind perhaps.

Until that time. Enjoy the movie, discover the music, and no matter how tempting, never. Ever kiss a naked person you just met. No matter how attractive they are. It can only ever end badly, or if you live it can likely give you something not as pleasant as a memory to always remember it.

Herpies. I’m talkin about herpies….TILL TOMORROW!