Saturday, January 24, 2015

Nightbreed - Restored love scene

 Nightbreed - Restored love scene

Just the other day on the Facebook group Occupy Midian, a fellow member of the Tribes Of The Moon restored one of the most famous lost scenes out of Clive Barker's 1990 classic Nightbreed. I'll be the first to admit, I was a little shocked that this scene never made it into the final cut of the re-stored director's cut that Scream Factory restored this past autumn. I think it's clear to anyone who's friends with me, or follows this blog that there's a special little place in my heart for the monster Peloquin played by the ever so dashing Oliver Parker. Peloquin is by far one of the most underrated creatures in this movie and steals the entire show. The fact he didn't get more screen time blows my mind. Still, many fans were wondering what happened to two certain scenes that flashed across the the main titles scrolled over the screen. These were little glimpses into Barker's original vision. There was Peloquin transforming, jaw opening wide as flashlights shine on him, and little clips of Peloquin and Shuna Sassi having a twisted romp involving snakes, and dancing. These scenes weren't restored for the director's cut and many people asked why?


I for one was a little disappointed, but after hearing the facts behind why both scenes didn't make the final film made sense. First off, they were originally just shot for the titles. Second, the scene of Peloquin transforming with his jaw opening was a failed effects shot that just didn't seem to look right on camera. I've seen the heads used for this shot, as well as on the extras on the blu-ray of Mr. Parker wearing the massive head and turning towards the camera. If you notice Peloquin sorta disappears in the final act of the movie after talking to Lori down below. You have to look closely to see him badly wounded in the barn at the end. I think the only reason we see him is because Barker truly believed there would be a sequel and this character would have carried on. Still, I feel much cooler way since this is after all the only film that maybe if Peloquin shape shifted into this final massive form he couldn't change back resulting in his death. I mean how awesome would it have been to see him go into a blaze of glory. Still, the scene that so many people couldn't believe was...

The love scene.


The reason why this ended up not making the final cut was because they would of had to go back and re-record the sound getting the original actors back. Due to time and money, the scene was left out much to the disappointment of the fans. I met the actress who plays Shuna Sassi at Rock & Shock and expressed how bummed I was that it didn't make it into the blu-ray. She agreed and even tho her memory wasn't the best on filming the movie, she told me it was simply because she was so exhausted making this movie due to long hours in makeup. She did express to me, and in other interviews that she did remember filming this scene, on a hard platform that served as the bed, and how quickly her and Parker learned how to work with the snaked and chase after them as they slithered away. Only brief clips of this lost scene were shown in the extras of the blu-ray and finally a hardcore fan decided to restore it. The only thing missing of course was the dialog. Still, it's mind blowing to see the scene complete.

So here it is in all it's glory...


Ah, romance is in the air...

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