honp7@elroy.uh.edu (Eddie McCreary) (02/22/90)
NIGHTBREED
[minor spoilers]
A film review by Eddie McCreary
Copyright 1990 Eddie McCreary
Well, I saw NIGHTBREED just under twelve hours ago. Finally, a horror
movie worth being called a horror movie. *Excellent* special effects. They
must have spent most of the budget on the creature shop. A wide variety of
creatures, all of them quality work. Good acting, good directing, excellent
sets; are you getting the idea that I loved this movie?
A few comments (minor spoilers):
I felt they could have spent a little more time developing Boone's
character in the beginning of the movie. If you hadn't read CABAL, you might
not understand why he was so willing to believe Decker.
I thought Cronenberg did a good job, though not a great one. He was
believable as Decker, but I don't know if I'd like him in another movie. A
much better director than actor, but a better actor than some.
I also felt they should have made more use of the "Boone as a savior"
theme. The artwork depicting the prophesy is shown all during the opening
credits but is barely mentioned in movie.
Also, the ending was a bit obscure if you hadn't read the book. I could
barely understand what Baphomet was saying in the end.
I really like the actor who played Narcisse (Hugh something, not Ross but
the other one.) His character was much funnier than in the book and he played
it very well, even with most of his face missing. I loved the shots with him
wearing a cowboy hat and dark glasses. Rachel was also very good. Barker did
a good job expanding her character so the audience had a way of understanding a
little bit of the history of Midian.
Clive Barker, IMHO, is one of (if not the) best horror directors around.
He makes a visually stunning movie *and* characters I really care about. The
characters don't do exceptionally stupid things (oh, let's take our clothes off
and go have sex in the woods even though three people have been chopped to
pieces) and the movie has its own internal logic which it follows faithfully
(the sun can kill me only when it suits the plot and so forth.) I think he
could use a little improvement in directing 'slow' scenes, but hey, this is
only his second movie.
To sum up, an EXCELLENT MOVIE. I'll be seeing this many more times. Any
body else feel this way? I'd like to talk more about it with people who have
seen it.
BTW, Barker has said that if this one does well, he'll make more. YEAH!
Eddie McCreary
U. of Houston
honp7@elroy.uh.edu, cosc1028@elroy.uh.edu, honp7.uhnix1.uh.edu