Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut – An Underground Sensation
When it comes to horror, it is impossible not to know the name of Clive Barker.
His most famous cinematic creation, Hellraiser, brought us the nightmarish Cenobites, led by the iconic Pinhead. Candyman almost single-handedly gave birth to the use of urban legends in horror. To this day, many teenagers will not say Candyman 5 times while staring in a mirror. More than anything else, Barker has a talent for bringing the grotesque to life in some of the most creative monstrosities ever seen on the silver screen.
However, not many people know about about a little film of his called Nightbreed, or indeed, the story behind the film. Based on his book ‘Cabal’, Nightbreed featured a community of monsters living underground, where they remain safe from the oppression of humans and the world of light. It highlighted the evil of the everyday and the often unseen beauty in the physically grotesque. Or at least, that was Clive Barker’s intention.
Sadly, when the film was put together in 1990, the studios weren’t happy with the finished result. After Hellraiser , they felt that they were not getting a Clive Barker film. Thus, it was edited. To oblivion, in the opinion of many die-hard Barker fans. The entire plot was retold, with a greater emphasis on the dark nature of the monstrous community. Thus was the narrow-mindedness of Hollywood.
In the past year, Russel Cherrington, a lecturer in film and video production, has reconstructed Nightbreed in a cut that more accurately represents Clive Barkers original vision. He has been touring across the globe, screening this rough cut at film festivals and, on the 26th of October, the film was screened in Dublin for the IFI horrorthon.
While the quality of the footage seesaws constantly (the footage is compiled from 3 separate sources, including rough footage, and the entire cut is funded independently), the new Cabal cut is a fascinating story and a visual treat. It has currently been edited a total of 6 times (and Cherrington has stated that it will probably be edited again, in accordance to audience feedback). Ultimately, the plan is to release Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut on DVD, but only once it has garnered enough positive feedback. While it may be some time before it is screened in Ireland again, you can speed the process up by showing your enthusiasm online.
“I would love to see the Cabal Cut of Nightbreed!”
A comment of this nature can in fact make a difference. If you love horror, and if you love monsters, then you’ll surely make the right choice.
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