Nightbreed
Twentieth Century Fox | Release Date: February 16, 1990 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
8
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireWilliam Thomas
The background is more intriguing than the stumbling up-front story, and monster watchers will get full use of the freeze-frame facility. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Barker spins grisly fantasy out of sexual obsession, yet his style here couldn’t be less obsessive. It’s cluttered and rather incoherent, as though the trailers to four different horror movies had been spliced together. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneJohanna Steinmetz
Barker unleashes the full force of his special effects crew and the movie implodes in a cataclysm of jelly-fleshed creepy-crawlies. It simply loses its grip. [17 Feb 1990, p.3C]
50
Los Angeles TimesMichael Wilmington
In Nightbreed neither the coyly horrible killers nor the horribly coy monsters register strongly enough. It's a dark beast with a flabby hide. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldJuan Carlos Coto
The movie is all visuals and atmosphere without an effective structure. It doesn't move you, it's on display. [24 Feb 1990, p.E5]
40
The New York TimesCaryn James
Surrounded by Mr. Barker's visual clutter and lack of narrative energy, Mr. Cronenberg's presence only highlights the difference between a gruesome but first-rate psychological horror story like Dead Ringers and a mediocrity like Nightbreed. Read full review
40
Washington PostRichard Harrington
Barker the filmmaker resorts to most of the horror cliches he chillingly sidesteps in his writing. Read full review
40
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Writer-director Clive Barker's Nightbreed is a mess. Self-indulgent horror pic [from his novel Cabal] could be the Heaven's Gate of its genre, of obvious interest to diehard monster fans but a turnoff for mainstream audiences. Read full review
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