This is a comparison between the Theatrical Version (which can be found on the US DVD) and the Director's Cut (which can be found on the US Blu-Ray)


81 differences, including
* 36 scenes with an alternative course of events
* 10 re-cuts
* 22 scenes where the Theatrical Version is longer
* 2 mirrored scenes

Difference in time: 19:14 min

Background

Besides Hellraiser, Nightbreed is probably one of the most famous movies directed by Clive Barker. Even though the movie was a financial flop, it gained a cult following which for years hoped to be able to see Barker's originally intened version of the movie. While his book Cabal - which the movie is based on - rather focuses on Boone's development as "Cabal", Barker consciously wanted to shift the focus on the world of the Nightbreed-Creatures. However, many obstacles were put in his way.

The studio was rather interested in a rather typical slasher movie and did not know how to effectively market the creative monster world (especially in contrast to the Cenobites from Barker's Hellraiser universe that were undoubtedly easier to connect to the horror genre). Not least because of the MPAA's interventions the trailer was released after priorly being rejected 12 times. Since the final version rarely ever showed shots of the monsters, it - again contrary to Hellraiser - not at all gave an impression of what the final movie might look like. Additionally, the original, roughly two and a half hour long version was cut down to about 100 minutes, resulting in original editor Richard Marden angrily leaving the project, and Barker furiously rejecting the radical alterations of his work. Here you can read all about this in more detail.

At Comic Con 2013 Shout Factory announced one of the greatest glimmers of hope by saying that they wanted to release a Director's Cut for hoe theatres (as we hald already reported). Years prior pieces of the original material which was believed to be lost were found (which first was talked about in 2009 at the bottom of this page) which resulted in a merge - called the "Cabal Cut" - of the Theatrical Version and the new-found scenes which - unfortunately - had a bad quality. It was shown on several festivals in 2012 (again, we had already reported this) and had a runtime of roughly 3 hours.

Since October 28th 2014 fans can buy a "Director's Cut" on Blu-Ray in the USA. However, this verion is a separate cut that is "only" 120 minutes long and thus at first looks like having 20 minutes of additional footage in regard to the Theatrical Version. However, this version in fact has a little more material of its own, since some of the scenes from the Theatrical Version were taken out or replaced. This was already forseeable since this was communicated by the producers who said that the "Cabal Cut" is rather a rough cut that includes all material that could be found. At this time, the - more thought-intensive - Director's Cut was already in process of planning. A positive thing that has to be noted is the fact that all additional footage now has a good quality, thus there are no longer extreme differences as in the 3 hour version.

OVerall, producer Mark Alan Miller stated that the Director's Cut includes roughly 45 minutes of additional footage which would also mean that about 25 minutes of footage from the Theatrical Version would be missing. This calculation is a little too generous. However, we did not try to make an exact recalculation which would be extremely time-intensive due to the (partially) very complex alterations and re-cuts. Still, the numbers are pretty close, which brings us to the actually interesting details.

The Director's Cut

Due to the extremely high expectations of the fans one could be slightly disappointed throughout the first half of the moive. Clive Barker and Mark Alan Miller promise it to be an "entirely different movie" which it honestly is not. The overall plot is pretty close to the old Theatrical Version and only has a few extensions here and there throughout the first half of the moive or includes a few cosmetic changes which will not always make sense to the viewers. While one can notice a few tendencies towards the beginning, the focus of the movie does in fact NOT change entirely. However, during the last third of the flick there are a few alterations and until this point at least enough new material that will make the viewers happy.

In terms of entirely new scenes the viewers will probably immediately notice a new block of scenes at the beginning of the movie, which - as was already mentioned - still does not influence the course of the movie too much, even though Barker enthusiastically says so in the audio commentary. Besides an interesting dream sequence of Boone, Lori-actress Anne Bobby has a pretty long scene where she shows her singing abilities by performing the 60s hit Johnny Get Angry by Joanie Sommers.

Most interestingly though is the alternative ending which offers an entirely different fate for many characters. Lori kills herself in order to stay separated from Boone who is now a part of the Nightbreed. Priest Ashberry at the end of his announcement to wreak revenge on the Nightbreed kills police chief Eigerman. Narcisse also does not survive; instead, she is killed by Decker.

Now, lets talk about the material that was cut out of the Theatrical Version. The ending where Decker wakes up through the help of the priest is gone. Another interesting and dark scene of him and Boone inside the cell was cut out, too. At the same time it is quite noticeable that quite a few rather dumb one-liners by the police officers - whose role was thankfully toned down for the Director's Cut - were taken out, yet they added a similar scene by including the presentation of the weapons.

There are also smaller differences such as several new shots of monsters since the first scene in Midian. Overall, there actually is a greater focus on the - in the end harmless - creatures that was slightly lost in the Theatrical Version. Also, Boone's escape from the hospital and his renuion with Lori in the cell were cut together a little better in the Director's Cut.

There is a rather curious alteration during almost all scenes with Dirk Lylesberg, the Nightbreed's leader who is portrayed by Doug "Pinhead" Bradley. The scenes are identical, yet the man himself re-dubbed all of his dialog. The documentary "Tribes of the Moon: The Making of Nightbreed" (which is included on the Blu-Ray) shows Bradley who disappointedly mentions that during post-production the studio told him that some of his dialog had to be reworked which was done by a different person in order to keep the costs down. His German accent in the Theatrical Verison thus was not his own idea and - in the Director's Cut - now is a thing of the past.
There are a few more, yet less interesting alterations of the audio. Since most of these alterations are just minor differences in the score, the report will not talk about it in detal. Still, we want to mention a scream by Narcisse during the first third of the flick.


All in all it is hard to tell whether or the Director's Cut is clearly the preferable version. After all, many scenes that fans love were taken out because Barker was unhappy with them. Still it is nice to see that he was able to finally release the version he wanted to do and the new version without a doubt has quite a few advantages. Fans who want to get everything in high quality have to buy the Limited Edition which also includes the Theatrical Version in HD as well as a few more Deleted Scenes; however, this version is much more expensive. For this report we used the regular version of the Director's Cut. The Theatrical Version is represented by the old US DVD.



Time designations are given as follows:
Theatrical Version US-DVD [NTSC] / Director's Cut Blu-ray

Some more black screen at the beginning of the Director's Cut.

1.1 sec


05:12 / 05:13-06:23

After the scene with Lori, the Director's shows a phone conversation between Boone and Decker and the latter can be seen for the first time- Decker mysteriously hints at the fact that they have to see each other again since it has been four months since their last meeting. He says that he will wait for Boone in his office.

The phone rings and Boone answers the phone: "Boone."
Decker: "Aaron? It's Dr. Decker."
Boone: "Hey... long time, no speak."
Decker: "Four months."
Boone: "So you miss me?"
Decker: "I need to see you."
Boone: "Why? I'm healthy. I'm feeling good."
Decker: "I'd like to believe that, I really would."
Boone: "So believe it, it's true."
Decker: "I'm still in my office, I'll wait for you."
Boone: "Oh, I uh, can't. I'm on my way out."
Decker: "Tomorrow then."
Boone: "Okay... Is something wrong?"
Decker: "Don't let me down again."
Boone: "I'll be there."
He hangs up. Decker opens the suitcase.
Decker: "God help us both."

69.5 sec (= 1:10 min)

07:08 / 08:19-09:25

After the murderyou can see Lori visiting Boone at work where both kiss passionately. We get a first indication of the later singing sequence. Boone and Lori arrange to meet in the club.

A colleague: "Boone! You've got a visitor."
Lori appears, wearing a tight skirt.
Boone: "Wow... you look great. If I wasn't so dirty..."
They kiss.
Lori: "I've gotta get to rehearsal."
Boone (while they continue to kiss): "I don't need to see my baby sing, you know. Get one more car done and we'll see."
Lori: "I'm not going to be at home, so...why don't you meet me at the club, and we'll go to my place from there? OK?"
Boone: "Yeah."
She leaves.

66.8 sec (= 1:07 min)

09:31 / 11:48-16:01

Along with the pills he got from Decker we see Boone arrive at home. He drops the can, burns some papers and then has a panicky dream. He sees himself coming down the stairs and having sex with Lori.
In between we can hear Lori from off-screen asking "Boone?". Suddenly, Boone apparently wakes up and goes to the bathroom.

Then follows another additional sequence which was met with mixed fan responses: We see Lori singing. Boone comes in Die in der vorigen Erweiterung angekündigte musikalische Einlage von Lori. Boone – bathed in sweat – comes in and in the end leaves in confusion after the audience had to go through the entire gig. In the end, Lori cluelessly searches for Boone in her changing room.

insgesamt 252,9 sec (= 4:13 min)



Alternative Scene
10:22 / 16:52

Before the truck comes closer, one of the few flashback moments was changed.
In the Theatrical Version we see another picture of the corpses, while the Director's Cut shows Shuna Sassi.

No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

Alternative Scene
10:25 / 16:55

When Boone is standing right in front of the truck, the exact same picture of the corpse is shown (yet a little shorter) followed by a few blurred frames (maybe from the truck driver's point of view?).

No difference in time.

Alternative Scene
10:27 / 16:57

Again, the Theatrical Version shows the picture of the corpse (not illustrated again), while the Director's Cut instead shows a quick tracking shot through Boone's dream world.

No difference in time.

Alternative Scene
10:29-10:30 / 16:59-17:00

The truck brakes. The Theatrical Version fades to white, while the Director's Cut shows a shot of Boone.

No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

Altered Audio
13:55-14:03 / 20:25-20:31

We will not list all changes of the audio in detail, however, this passage (which is also talked about in the audio commentary) deserves to be mentioned: When Decker and the others are shown in the hallway and Narcisse pulls his scalp off, the Theatrical Version incongruously includes female screams. For the Director's Cut we now hear correct screams from a source with slightly worse audio quality.

No difference in time.

Alternative Scene
18:04-18:13 / 24:34-24:48

When Boone looks out from behind the wall, both versions use different takes. The Director's Cut shows him noticeably earlier and there is an additional shot from the front. The Theatrical Version instead shows the ending a little longer.
Additionally, only the Director's Cut constantly includes a menacing score.

Overall, the Director's Cut is 5.3 sec longer

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

Theatrical Version Longer
18:14-18:16 / 24:50

The Theatrical Version offers an additional shot of Boone from behind.

+ 1.9 sec

Alternative Scene
20:22-20:26 / 26:56-27:00

A different shot of the female creature while Boon runs away from Peloquin.

No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

Alternative Scene
20:30-20:31 / 27:04-27:05

Ditto.

No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

Theatrical Version Longer
22:37 / 29:11

The Theatrical Version shows 5 additional frames of Decker walking next to Boone. The following shot (where somebody fires a shot at Boone) starts a little earlier.

+ 0.6 sec

26:05 / 32:38-32:40

After Boone apparently came back from the dead we can shortly see Lori walking to the front.

2.5 sec

Alternative Scene
26:05-26:17 / 32:40-33:21

Both versions show the window, however, the Theatrical Version shows it longer towards the beginning and the end.

In the Director's Cut we instead also see the doctor coming back and saying "Someone's taken the body!"
Then we see Lori mourning, while Boone is shown behind the window.

Overall, the Director's Cut is 28.4 sec longer



Alternative Scene
27:31-27:35 / 34:35-34:39

For no apparent reason both versions use a different take (or just a different moment of a longer shot) of the bar from outside.

No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

28:50 / 35:54-37:33

The Director's Cut shows yet another exterior shot of the bar, followed by Lori talking to Sheryl whom she just met in the restrooms. After listening to her problems for a while, Sheryl invites Lori to visit her the next day. In the end Lori leaves and Sheryl starts looking for a lover for the night.

Sheryl: "You know, I've seen men go to a lot of trouble to get rid of a girl, but uh... I've gotta say this is the first time I've heard of a guy doing it when he was dead."
Lori: "They think some sick bastard stole the body."
Sheryl: "So, what, you want to go check out the place where he...checked out?"
Lori: "I guess it's just a way to say goodbye. I loved him, but you know, I don't think I ever really understood him."
Sheryl: "Well listen, I'm not doing anything really important tomorrow. In fact, I'm not doing anything tomorrow. Why don't I drive up to this place with you and check it out?"
Lori: "You don't have to do that."
Sheryl: "I know I don't have to do it but I want to."
Lori: "OK. Thanks. I guess I'm gonna have to go."
Sheryl: "Yeah, you go get some rest. I'm gonna stay down here and see if I can find me a good time. Who knows, maybe one of these jerks will win the lottery."
Lori verabschiedet sich; "Good luck."
The waiter gives Sheryl a drink.
Waiter: "Compliments of the gent in the corner by the door."
Sheryl (looking at the man): "Well, isn't he just the picture of sophistication."

98,9 sec (= 1:39 min)

When Dirk welcomes Boone, all sentences were redubbed. The shots as well as the dialog are identical. However, some of the intonations are slightly different.



Alternative Scene
41:39-41:40 / 50:22-50:23

While Lori's gang walks through the cemetary we can in between see a few other Midian residents.

No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

Alternative Scene
43:28-43:29 / 52:11-52:13

Just before Decker walks away, both versions have a slightly different course.

In the Theatrical Version we can see Narcisse, while the Director's Cut instead shows a close-up of Decker and Boon pushing the arm away.
In the Director's Cut, Narcisse adds: "Now, is that a nice thing for a doctor to do?"

Overall, the Director's Cut is 1.4 sec longer

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

Alternative Scene
44:31-44:47 / 53:15-53:49

Dirk's speech is shown with an alternative take. In the Theatrical Version his dialog is a little more energetic and only in the Director's Cut the dialog continues after Dirk said "Then take the girl, that is the law" noch weiter.
Boone: "And who made this law?"
Dirk: "Baphomet made Midian."

Then we can see Boone lookingat Baphoment – this part of the scene is also included in the Theatrical Version, yet shown 10 minutes later (see 55:14-55:27 / 64:55) and slightly altered. The order of the cuts to the creature was altered. The close-up of Baphomet at the end of the scene is only shown in the Director's Cut.

Overall, the Director's Cut is 17.8 sec longer

Theatrical Version	Director's Cut

51:16 / 60:18-60:57

Lori walks through Midian and braves Dirk who wants to stop her.

Dirk: "You may go no further.
Lori: "Where's Boone?"
Dirk: "Boone is with Baphomet. He is beyond recall."
Lori: "Just tell me where the tabernacle is. I'll go get him myself. OK... I'm gonna go find Boone and I don't think you're gonna try and stop me. Excuse me."

In the Theatrical Version the previous shot is shown slightly longer (not illustrated below).

Overall, the Director's Cut is 38.8 sec longer