#CliveBarker #Movies – Nightbreed (1990)

The second Clive Barker story I read was Cabal (I still have the 1^st Edition Hardcover I bought when I was in college), and to my delight in 1990 Nightbreed was released on the big screen. It is the first movie that I’m conscious of seeing that was adapted from a book; with Hellraiser, I saw it before I read it.

The creatures in Nightbreed are amazing in their own way, and they translated nicely from print to screen. The antagonist, while one would think are the creatures hiding in the catacombs below a cemetery, is unexpected to the characters but as a viewer/reader it isn’t as unexpected, which I don’t mind not having a big secret and I think that is why this was a such a popular book with many in the LGBT community at the time, and the fact that the author is gay probably contributed as well.

Nightbreed hits the top 5 of my favorite Clive Barker stories (it’s #3, Weaveworld is #1), and I give this movie adaptation 4.5 out of 5 Stars.