In the making-of documentary for Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, director Jeff Burr stated that if you cut a film enough times, it starts to bleed. That can be applied to many films that have had their story and integrity compromised through studio interference, and Clive Barker’s Nightbreed is no exception. Woefully inept marketing had this film advertised as a slasher, while studio execs forced the film to be shoehorned into that slasher mold via cuts and reshoots, when it couldn’t be any farther from that. Finally, after two decades and a dedicated fanbase, Scream Factory is finally giving Barker’s film the version he intended, replacing old footage with 40 minutes of new footage, and increasing the film’s length by 20 minutes. Does it finally do the film justice?

Boone (Craig Sheffer) is a man haunted by dreams of a place called Midian. His girlfriend Lori (Anne Bobby) stands by him, but despite her support and seeing Dr. Decker (David Cronenberg) for psychological help, Boone’s visions keep getting worse. Unbeknownst to Boone, Decker is actually a serial killer, who pins the murders on Boone by convincing him that the visions are a symptom of a psychosis, and that Boone committed the murders while in these psychotic episodes. Boone tries to run away to Midian, only to be bitten by one of the denizens and shot dead by police. Thing is, Boone isn’t dead. And his discovery of Midian threatens to expose the secrets of Midian to a human world that doesn’t take kindly to monsters.

It’s been a long while since I last saw Nightbreed. Back when I did see it, I thought that the film had some awesome ingredients for a great film, but instead were never really capitalized on and the whole film felt like a speeding car with it’s pacing. What a difference the Director’s Cut makes. The obvious highlight for the new cut is fleshing out characters and their relationships. Hugh Ross still delivers a memorable performance as the mischievous Narcisse, and the Director’s Cut certainly makes you love the character all the more. Boone and Lori are given more attention as well, including a much-needed expansion of their relationship. Decker is still here, but he’s been pushed into the background to take the focus off of him. He’s still menacing, especially with that awesome mask. The most important thing about the Director’s Cut is the establishment of the citizens of Midian as being the good guys, something the studio just didn’t get. You sort of get the sense in the theatrical version, but this new cut fully establishes humans as being the real monsters.

The big highlight in either version of the film are the monster designs. The effects team did a fantastic job with the design of the monsters, especially given the low budget. From the fantastic design of Narcisse’s exposed facial muscles, to Peloquin’s fearsome dreadlock-tentacled head, to Shuna Sassi’s seductive, quill-covered body, all of the designs are amazing as they are otherworldly. To go along with the monsters, the sets, specifically Midian, are equally amazing in their design. Granted, much of Midian is lit only by candles, but it creates such an intimate and mysterious atmosphere.

Despite the much-needed and welcomed additions to the film, there are still some problems that have been carried over. Plot holes, such as Boone’s insistence on hanging around Midian even after he’s been kicked out and how Narcisse escaped the hospital to make it to Midian himself, still remain. It leaves the film still feeling like the studio’s interference still lingered in spots. Also, Cronenberg’s performance is still kind of suspect. On one hand, his flat delivery can be seen as an aspect of the character, or it’s just a sign that Cronenberg should’ve stuck to being behind the camera.

While it took 25 years, Nightbreed has been resurrected into a film that’s far more in line with what Barker envisioned. The new additions undo the studio’s interference and cuts, giving us more development and restoring the plot to what was originally intended. Fans of the film will no doubt be delighted in seeing the film in Barker’s original intentions, and those who didn’t get to see the film the first time around will have a much more coherent film to watch. While it doesn’t fix all of the problems that the original cut contained, the Director’s Cut certainly smooths things out and makes Nightbreed much more interesting, as well as elevating it in terms of one of the better horror films of the time.

Video/Audio:

Scream Factory does it again. The AVC-encoded 1080p 1.78:1 transfer sports fantastic consistency (given the various sources of material), with wonderful detail. The colours are subdued overall, with the film being mainly shot in low-lit conditions. There are some scenes that are brighter, and do sport much more vivid colour, so it’s not a problem with the transfer itself. Some might be turned off by the heavier film grain in certain scenes (the scene where Decker visits the gas station in particular), as at times it’s very noticeable. However, it doesn’t interfere with the details and isn’t distracting. As for the differences in image quality between the Theatrical and Director’s Cuts? Not a heck of a lot. There’s some minute differences, but nothing you’d feel detracts from the overall experience.

The Director’s Cut sports both a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and a DTS- HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, while the Theatrical Cut only has the 2.0 mix. Danny Elfman’s score is given the boost it needed here, and for purists, the Director’s Cut has restored Doug Bradley’s voice to Lylesberg after it was dubbed over in the Theatrical Cut. Speaking of dialogue, it’s clean and comes through without any problems. Although there’s a slight variance in quality due to the sources used, the tracks overall are excellent. The surrounds serve to immerse the viewer in the action, and pack a punch when needed.

Extras:

As is usual in the Scream Factory line, they’ve loaded this set up with goodies (and then some for the Limited Edition). However, there’s a rather glaring issue that needs to be addressed.

First off, we get an Introduction to the Director’s Cut by Clive Barker and Mark Alan Miller, VP at Barker’s Seraphim Films, essentially stating why and how this version of the film exists. Following that is an Audio Commentary with director Cliver Barker and Mark Alan Miller. The duo cover a ton of info in this easy listening track, with Miller acting as the moderator with 100 questions. Topics include working with Cronenberg and the rest of the cast and crew, how the ideas for the various characters came about, the film’s effects, changes in the director’s cut of the film and the decisions that led to these changes, and much more. Extremely informative and entertaining. It’s also strange to hear Barker’s voice without the gravelly, raspy sound that we’re used to.

“Tribes of the Moon: Making Nightbreed” is a massive 72-minute documentary starting right from the beginning of the film’s origins and covering everything through pre-production all the way to the film’s eventual release. Mixing interviews with cast members (Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, Christine McCorkindale, Doug Bradley, Hugh Ross and Simon Bamford) are tons of behind-the-scenes footage and photos. The cast talk about their roles, their costumes and makeup, relationships with the other cast members, and come across as genuinely having had a blast working on the picture. This is the perfect compliment to the audio commentary.

Following that is “Making Monsters”, another massive documentary clocking in at 42 minutes. Featuring interviews with makeup effects artists Bob Keen, Martin Mercer, and Paul Jones, as well as Barker’s original sketches and make-up test footage. The trio talk about working with Barker, the challenges facing the artists in bringing Clive’s visions of the monsters to life, and their reactions to the changes made to the film in the theatrical cut. As an effects junkie, this was another great treat.

“Fire! Fights! Stunts!: 2nd Unit Shooting” is a 20-minute interview with assistant director Andy Armstrong. Armstrong goes over his group’s work on the film, particularly the battle in Midian, and how he had to deliver a rather intense action scene on such a limited budget. Also shared are some stories working with Barker on certain parts, as well as the technical aspects involved with the shoot.

The film’s theatrical trailer rounds out the extras for the first disc.

On the second disc, things start off with a collection of Deleted Scenes. Spliced from various sources (including the Cabal Cut), the scenes are a mix of alternate takes and extended scenes that were trimmed for time. Do note that for scenes involving the Cabal Cut footage, the audio is pretty rough and is hard to understand what’s said.

“Monster Prosthetics Masterclass” has Bob Keen going into detail covering how the prosthetics were created, how they were applied and removed, as well as showing off some more shots of the makeup from production photos.

“Cutting Compromise” is a 14-minute conversation with co-editor Mark Goldblatt, who offers up a frank discussion of a film that he felt “could’ve used a little extra work” in the editing room, though not as much as what eventually happened. Goldblatt talks about his work leading up to Nightbreed, his admiration for Barker’s work, and the trouble between kowtowing to Morgan Creek while attempting to honour Barker’s vision. A very honest and an interesting interview.

“The Painted Landscape: The Concept Art of Ralph McQuarrie” is a 5-minute look at Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art, including the giant 60-foot mural that decorates Midian, and the matte paintings used in the film. Really cool seeing the progression from concept to final footage.

Also included is footage of Matte Painting and Makeup tests, a segment discussing the famous lost stop motion footage, an extended look at the torture scene sequence seen in the film, rehearsal tests and a plethora of still galleries with sketches, deleted scenes, poster art, cast and crew, and on-set photos.

The third disc is the Theatrical Cut of Nightbreed, which also has the theatrical trailer. As mentioned before, unlike the Director’s Cut, this cut only sports a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 audio track (which is incorrectly stated as being 5.1 on the box).

Rounding everything up is a sturdy chipboard box sporting a sticker with the unit number of your Limited Edition, as well as a nice illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Mark Alan Miller, more production and character photos and poster art.

Now, while this is honestly one of the best releases of the year for a film and by Scream Factory, I do have some problems. The first is the omission of the Cabal Cut. Yes, the quality would be terrible, and it doesn’t make much sense when that cut basically has all of the footage that Barker had shot put into one giant film. Plus, the focus should be on the Director’s Cut. And even though some of the pieces of footage from the Cabal Cut are found on the bonus disc, it would’ve been nice to have had the cut as another comparison. Also, there’s a lack of discussion on Danny Elfman’s contribution to the film’s score, which definitely deserves praise.

The second issue I have is the Limited Edition itself. Specifically, the practice of having supplements exclusive to the set. It’s always a pain when companies do this, as those who want more info about the film are forced to pay for a set that should really be geared towards the hardcore fans in the form of a keepsake box or posters or whatnot, especially when you have only 10,000 units being produced. Now I know that Shout! Factory had to pay for licensing the Theatrical Cut from Warner Bros, but some of us couldn’t care less about that cut, and really could’ve done without it in this set. If the Cabal Cut was put in it’s place, then I could understand. But don’t put extras on a 2nd disc as a way to force people to buy the Limited Edition. Hardcore fans would gladly buy the set for the booklet, collector box, theatrical cut and poster. Everyone else would just want to hear the complete story of the film.

Now that I’m off of my soapbox, I can say that this set, Limited Edition or not, is definitely right up there with Scream Factory’s Halloween box set. With hours of content by people with an obvious love for the film and it’s fanbase, this is easily recommended. Unfortunately, with the Limited Edition being sold out, those fans desiring the complete package will have to do some scrounging and searching on eBay for the set. Everyone else will be pleasantly impressed with the regular edition.