3,800th Post Celebration!!!: Fiction vs. Fiction- Clive Barker's 'Cabal' (aka Nightbreed)

After around a Year and not actually finishing the work for the way I planned this AND skipping the 3,700th Post Celebration, we can still enjoy Plan B on *this* numbered Celebration.

After a long time, I finally finished another Book to cover and it's a bit of a cult sensation.  Let's see what happens in this battle...

 VS.

What's the Same?

The Core of the Story is the same.  It plays out in the same order and with the same basic beats.

All of the really interesting stuff- the creatures, the Doctor and the mysticism- is still there.

So yeah, this is the least interesting part to talk about.

What's Different?

So here we go...

- Decker (Cronenberg) has all of his motivation removed.  He doesn't talk to his Mask and see it as his 'true self.'  He's just a killer.
- The Film is less gory in parts, cutting stuff like a Nightbreed being disemboweled, but also more Action-packed in other parts.
- A whole subplot about 'Berserkers' was added to the Story to 'spice up' the 3rd Act.

- One major Character dies, but is saved by the choppy Editing and simply reappears.
- Father Ashbury is a sad, complex Character in the Book.  His blackmailing and change of heart is excised from the Film and he's just a drunken Priest.
- Speaking of Ashbury, he's burned to a crisp as a limbless body in the Book.  In the Film, he loses his scalp (kind of).

- One last thing with Ashbury, he is last seen guiding the Sheriff to hunt the Nightbreed in the Book.  In the Film, he uses Baphomet's magic water to revive Decker...for some reason.
- The Character of the Detective is made way more important...before abruptly-being killed.
- Many other random things are changed.  For instance. Lori's friend is killed in a burnt-out Diner by Decker and she's chased to Midian in the Book.  In the Film, she is killed outside Midian and Lori runs far less.  So much for Decker's ploy then!
- On the plus side, the Monsters are vaguely-described in the Book and made complete here.

Which is Better?

Do you want spectacle or quality?

If you don't know the Book at all, Nightbreed is a good Film that is just oddly-edited at times.
If you do know the Book, however, you'll see all of the stuff changed for unclear reasons and all of the subtext/motivation removed for the Film.

Nightbreed is still good, but it could have been better...like the Book.

Now that I've somewhat-spoiled a Cult Classic, here's to the next 100 Posts.  Oh and I should probably talk about 'The Cabal Cut' too, huh?