9 Under-rated Horror Masterpieces By Directors You Love

Clive Barker’s gothic monster movie Nightbreed was much maligned at the time of its release, considered too weird and far less coherent than his debut hit Hellraiser. Where the satanic misadventures of the Cenobites were rightly celebrated as bold, original, and creatively terrifying, the grand vision that Nightbreed offered up was dismissed as corny and overcomplicated.

Wrong! Nightbreed is among Barker's best films. Its many virtues include a secret society of monsters who live in a fully realised underworld, Barker’s trademark interweaving of the erotic and the horrifying, and a star turn from David Cronenberg.

Its uniqueness lies in the way that Barker's monsters, the deformed and savage occupants of underground city Midian, are shown as sympathetic. Rather than a cold collection of twisted murderers, the monsters are the tragic outcasts of a violent society, persecuted by conservative religion and police brutality. This has led to it being reassessed in recent years as an early entry in the canon of LGBT-themed horror movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Sreet 2 and The Babadook.

The apocalyptic climax of the movie, in which the monsters face off against a raiding party composed of cops, racists, and the protagonist's murderous psychologist, is a particularly hellish highlight. 100% worth your time.