Nightbreed

Nightbreed. Clive Barker. 1990.

David Cronenberg! I didn’t know that he was in this…

But… perhaps I haven’t seen this before? I thought I had seen all horror movies from this era, but I must have missed this one for some reason or other.

It’s scary!

OK, I’m gonna go ahead and guess that the creepy psychologist is the serial killer, and not the hunky lead.

Oh! I read the comics adaptation of this less than a year ago? Oops. And that was probably why I got this blu ray in the first place.

OK, then I’m not so clever after all for guessing who the killer is. Darn!

This is the worst music ever. Did Barker write it himself?

Perhaps? Perhaps not?

That’s certainly a facial design.

The performances are almost fascinatingly bad. I don’t just mean this guy, whose previous credits are (on Hellraiser and Hallraiser II):

and

but even the professionals — I mean, I’ve never seen Cronenberg this… well, awkward.

So I guess it’s Barker’s fault.

Such shoulder.

So is this all a metaphor for finding a gay bar? Clive!

Is that the guy from Hill Street Blues?

Yes!

I thought his name was Sicking or something, but that’s somebody else.

Right, this was a troubled shoot:

Barker previewed the first cut of Nightbreed with a temporary soundtrack that did not go well, as people were confused by the characters’ motives. He made some changes and the second test screening was much more successful. However, the ending with Decker’s death was not well received and Barker changed it.

It had a pretty high budget (at the time) of $11M, but only made $16M at the box office, so… it didn’t exactly bomb, but didn’t make back the money.

What does this even mean:

He was given a budget of $11 million, which was a considerable increase from the $2 million he had to work with on Hellraiser. His goal was to make the Star Wars of horror films.

Barker had signed a contract for a followup movie, but that never happened, naturally.

The performances are so hokey!

Is this Princess Leia?

Who’s that then? Is that Cronenberg? Weird.

Une chambre en ville

Une chambre en ville. Jacques Demy. 1982.

That’s a very odd… er… what is that even? It can’t really be a bridge?

A pedestrian bridge? With elevators?

What! Black and white! But Demy is all about the colours! How odd.

And… his 60s movies were oddly out of step with what was going on at the time: All dreamy and non-political. But now, in 1982, it’s all revolutionary?

*phew* Demy colours.

And it’s a musical. Yay.

Colours and mirrors.

That’s what I want my flat to look like! *eyedrops all the colours*

Anyway, I’m really enjoying this. Sure, it’s no Umbrellas of etc, but it’s kinda riveting. Kinda riveting? Loosely riveting? Not completely riveted? Intermittently riveting?

Yes.

Peau d’Ane

Donkey Skin. Jacques Demy. 1970.

Well, Demy’s earlier movies were pretty quirky… but this is beyond quirky!

No shoulder padding at all.

SWIPE LEFT SWIPE LEFT

*Schwing*

Uh-oh.

It gets more WTF every second. I have no idea where Demy is going with all this… is this some kind of super-political take on something? Is the king really Charles de Gaulle? Is this a satire? What. WHAT IS THIS EVEN

WHAT IS THIS

OK, this suddenly snapped into focus for me.

It’s funny! And kinda sad? But mostly funny!

And it’s gorgeous. The shots are so… Demy. And, of course, both Deneuve and Seyrig are fantastic.

I do feel a bit sorry for the poor horses. I hope the dye they’re using is non toxic.

The colours!

The mime!

The mirrors!

It’s a delightfully strange movie.