After bringing his novella The Hellbound Heart to the screen as the 1987 classic Hellraiser, author Clive Barker decided his second feature directorial effort would be an adaptation of his novella Cabal… But while Hellraiser had been such a success that it spawned a franchise and gave the horror genre a new icon in the form of the Cenobite known as Pinhead, the Cabal adaptation Nightbreed (watch it HERE) was a critical and financial disappointment, and also ran into some trouble behind the scenes: Barker wasn’t happy with the theatrical cut, which is why we’ve seen two more cuts of the movie in the years since its initial release. The complicated history of Nightbreed is covered in the latest episode of our video series WTF Happened to This Horror Movie?, so to hear the full story check out the video embedded above!
Released in early 1990, Nightbreed has the following synopsis:
Aaron Boone is haunted by terrifying nightmares of a city of monsters. He goes to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Decker, for help. But what Boone doesn’t know is that Decker is really a serial killer. Decker frames Boone to take the fall for his murders, and Boone is killed by the police. But Boone is brought back to life by the monsters of his dreams, the Nightbreed, who in turn join Boone in his quest to stop Decker from killing again.
The film stars Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Doug Bradley, and Oliver Parker.
This is what the WTF Happened to This Horror Movie series is all about:
Hollywood has had its fair share of historically troubled productions. Whether it was casting changes, actor deaths, fired directors, in-production rewrites, constant delays, budget cuts or studio edits, these films had every intention to be a blockbuster, but were beset with unforeseen disasters. Sometimes huge hits, sometimes box office bombs. Either way, we have to ask: WTF Happened To This Horror Movie?
The Nightbreed episode of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie was Written, Narrated, and Edited by Tyler Nichols, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
A few of the previous episodes of the show can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!