Nightbreed (1990) Review: WTF Why Didn't I Watch This Sooner?!

Excuse me, why didn't any of you guys tell me about Nightbreed? It's okay, I forgive you.
I'd heard of it in passing, but in my true fashion, I was the last to watch it. I'm sure this movie is huge, because it's directed by the beautiful Mr. Clive Barker (he also wrote the book that inspired the film), and I somehow just never watched it. It's on Netflix, Taylor. WHAT have you been doing?

As a Hellraiser fan, you would think that I would go ahead and try to find all of the works by Mr. Barker, but I don't necessarily work that way. I probably should, considering it seems like his works are all very similar, it just depends on the date. Take Midnight Meat Train for example. I adored it, and found out it was Clive after the fact. (If you haven't seen it, the story is wonderful, Bradley Cooper is wonderful (and not bad to look at), the antagonist is thrilling. But I'll save my love for that one for another time.)
This one reminds me a lot of Hellraiser in the sense that there are a group of crazy-looking fools running around wanting to kill humans, that kind of look like they would be Cenobites, but they are in fact Nightbreeds. What does this mean, you ask? Here's a synopsis:

***SPOILER ALERT, IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO RUIN IT STOP READING...I'll still love you.***

Aaron Boone is slightly mentally unstable, seeing a psychotherapist to help with his crazy dreams he's been having about a place called Midian. He's never been there, but he sees it vividly when he's dreaming, so he knows exactly what it looks like and who the creatures are that live there. His therapist is a huge jerk, and convinces him he's a serial killer. He gives him what Aaron believes is Lithium to calm him down, but it turns out his (SUPER HUGE JERK) of a therapist gave him a hallucinogen. He ends up in the hospital, meets a patient who also knows of Midian, and he gives Boone directions to get there. He then promptly rips the skin off of his face (hooray!).
Since he was in the hospital (after jumping in front of a truck while tripping out of his mind), he escapes when the doctors come to help his roommate. This sets off a police chase to go find him, but he's at Midian (because why wouldn't you go to a crazy-looking graveyard while you're high?!). He meets a few of the Nightbreeds there, tries to join them, and they tell him no, but not without trying to attack and eat him. He does get bitten, though, and that's when all the fun starts.

I don't want to give away too much, although the synopsis in itself is probably pretty confusing. I guess you'll just have to watch. But here's my review:
The film itself is really entertaining. I'm normally very picky, I like to find things wrong with films, but this one was great. They brought two (or three if you also want to count the love story smooshed in between a serial killer and a "mental patient"-turned-Nightbreed. Honestly, it's a great story about tolerance between social groups, if you want to get really deep.
I loved the makeup, I loved the personalities of the characters, and I loved that half of the Hellraiser cast was in it. Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vince, and Simon Bamford were all prevalent in this film. The only Cenobite missing was Miss Barbie Wilde.
The music was also a big factor in my love for this film. It was so, so awesome to listen to. That's something I don't typically look too closely at, but this time it stood out to me as a really important part of the story. It pulled everything together.
If this film was out of 5 stars, I would give it a 4.5, taking away that .5 only because I was never really scared, but it was graphic enough to cover that up.
If you haven't seen this one already, I absolutely recommend it! Leave me a comment to tell me if you love it as much as I do. Until next time!

My Favorite Horror Films

Well, this is going to be a fun post! I really have 3 films that have changed my view on horror forever. These films have shaped my love for the genre, and have taught me that loving horror isn't weird, because other people love them too! Instead of only giving you guys 3 films that I love, I'm going to do a list of my top 5, accompanied by mini-stories about why I love them so much.
Let's start with number 5...

5) The Exorcist

If this film didn't scare you at least a little when you first saw it, please reconsider your life choices. It's one of the scariest films of all time for a reason. Yes, I understand that the effects are slightly outdated. But is it still terrifying? Absolutely.
I got into this one because when I was in 5th grade we had library time, and I found a book that was literally just called Horror Movies. I checked it out of the school library and brought it home with me to read. I flipped through it, coming across classics like Dracula and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, then I flipped the page and found a picture of Regan's face. It was just her face, completely transformed. It was terrifying and disturbing, but I couldn't look away. So I begged and begged my mom to let me watch it and she told me no, because I was "too young". Thank you, mom, for not exposing me to this horror when I was so little. I watched it at my friend's house at a slumber party, and I didn't sleep that night. Come to think of it, I thought my sleeping bag was vibrating. I also thought the devil was going to possess me and I was going to curse at my parents and get in trouble. This one's always had a special place in my heart.

4) Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge

Don't get me wrong, I am completely aware that this entire series is so, so cheesy. However, there is something about those creepy puppets that I found so enticing. I would have put the original on the list, but I truly enjoyed the story of Toulon's Revenge much more than all the others. It's the only one that I found completely cohesive and understandable. Also, I didn't get bored halfway through like I did with the others.
How did I get into this one, you ask? Well, it started when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I had rented one of my weekly movies from Blockbuster, and there was a coming attraction for toys from the Puppet Master films. (You bet your ass I have all of them now) I wanted little Blade SO badly. I thought he was the sweetest little thing in the whole world. The movie was old, so the odds of finding the toys was slim to none, but my dad (who passed away when I was 16) saw how in love with Blade I was, and drove me to the closest collectibles store to see if maybe, just maybe, they had him. They didn't, but they did have Leech Woman! She wasn't my favorite, but out of sheer appreciation, I accepted the gift from my dad, and I had little Leech Woman for about 5 years before she went missing. I'm sure my mom threw her out because she thought she was creepy. Fast forward a few years, my other half and I watched through the entire series, and I loved this one. It reminded me of my childhood, and it made me realize I have a seriously weird love for creepy-looking dolls. We've collected the whole set of the action figures, and I even met Charles Band (the creator) and he signed my Blade for me!

That's me and Charles Band. My other half is on the right, but I feel like he wouldn't appreciate me throwing him on my blog. Also, this was before I had my nose fixed, so pardon the inaccuracy. This was about 2 years ago. :)

3) Trick 'r Treat

This film is just plain fun. I can't say enough good things about this one. This is the film I recommend to everyone that isn't sure what kind of horror they like. The only thing I dislike is really the werewolf story, and even that one is good. Sam is the cutest, and the story is wonderful. It's essentially "believe in Halloween or, you know, this adorable little pumpkinhead in a onesie is gonna come kill you."
I only saw this one recently, but I catch myself saying "wrong way" like the kid on the bus all of the time when I drive in the wrong direction. I always check my candy. I also don't take home strangers, but I've never done that anyway. And since I've seen it, I've probably watched it about 10 times. It's so well-done, and so classic.

2) IT

This is another cheesy one, but it's so classic. First of all, what's better than Tim Curry as a crazy clown killer who ISN'T actually a clown?! Second, nothing is more terrifying than the idea of something playing on exactly what you're afraid of to break you down?
I've always had a love for killer clowns. I don't know what it is, something about the fact that they're supposed to be so friendly and sweet, but it turns out they're actually awful and evil and maniacal and they'll eat your soul.
(But Pennywise's eyebrows are on point, see photo above.)
But I love Pennywise's voice, his mannerisms, his dry humor laced with evil threats, just everything about him. I find myself rooting for him to catch them more than the kids (and adults) getting away. While this one is brutally long, it's the perfect amount of frightening, entertaining, and funny to keep you fixed on the screen for the full 3 hours. Yes, 3 hours. It's worth it, I promise.
"You want a balloon, Georgie?"

1) This is it. My holy grail. The film that made its way on to my body permanently. I have a decal of this guy on my car. I have a life-sized bust of him in my room.
You guessed it.......

My man Pinhead in Hellraiser! I've tried to think long and hard about why I adore this one so much. Could it be because it's gory? Probably. Could it be because there's a group of badasses walking around looking like a death metal band? Also probably. But most likely: I feel like I can relate to so many of the characters from this one. Mostly the cenobites. Crazy, right?
There's something about their show-no-mercy attitude that reminds me of myself. I'm the type of person that won't take anyone's BS. These guys don't either. I also think that there's really something so appealing in having a horror villain you can plead to and have them sort of listen. I don't really think Jason or Michael really feel bad when they're bludgeoning you to death. Pinhead at least gives you the time of day to say your peace, looks like he's contemplating letting you go, then says "hey, you know what? Not good enough for me. Let's chain you up and rip your face off."
It also helps that the costumes and makeup are incredible. I wish I was talented enough to put all that on someone.
But I love the story of this one so much that it's become the staple of my room. I have an entire shelf dedicated to my love for this one. I've also met all 4 cenobites, and they're all sweet as hell...no pun intended. I actually shared coffee with Butterball (Simon Bamford) and got his view on what it was like being a cenobite, he told me he hated it because he and Chatterer (Nicholas Vince) had no eye or ear holes, so most takes while filming were them walking into each other or the walls.
Here, have a picture of me with them.

Simon Bamford (Butterball) on the far left, Barbie Wilde (Female) middle left, Doug Bradley (Pinhead) middle right, and Nicholas Vince (Chatterer) far right. Far, far right is my other half. He couldn't escape this one. :)

I would love to know all of your favorite films, my horror lovers! Please let me know in the comments what your favorites are!