10 PERFECT Monster Movies You MUST Watch
2. Nightbreed
Clive Barker's Nightbreed is deeply refreshing since it reverses conventions, perceiving monsters as the heroes and humanity as the villains.
The dark fairy tale revolves around a troubled man, Aaron Boone, who seeks refuge underground, where he stumbles upon the monster-run city of Midian. Finding kinship with these so-called freaks, Aaron joins forces with the community to stop the humans who seek to annihilate them.
Midian is magnificently structured so it resembles an actual world that's lived in rather than a film set. Instead of being generically hideous, the subterranean humanoids are designed to look striking, baroque, and sometimes beautiful.
Though cynical and bitter, Midian's inhabitants don't come across as threatening. Instead, they're perceived as a persecuted community, filled with history, culture, and dignity. Despite their resentment towards mankind, it's easy to be on their side.
The fanaticism of humans is uncomfortably familiar, layering the fantastical plot with real-life prejudice. Nightbreed also highlights how messy war can be, since the story becomes less about defeating evil and more about surviving it.
The Midian people seem frightening at first, but it's increasingly obvious that humans can be far more monstrous.