A young man named Boone has been dreaming about monsters chasing him through a field near a mythical city called Midian, and about mass murders that are occurring in real life. Boone's psychotherapist, played by David Cronenberg in a rare acting role, gives him some little pills that will "calm him down." It turns out that these pills are a strong hallucinogenic, another mass murder has occurred, and Boone is arrested for it. Prior to ripping off his face, a patient reveals to Boone that the mythical city does exist and that it's not too far away from Calgary.

Clive barker truly delivers with this film. I first saw this movie back when it first appeared on cable and loved it. I found it really creepy back then and, after watching it many years later, I'm proud to say that the creepiness is still there, especially at the very end.

The performances are all excellent. Everyone does a fine job at their role, and David Cronenberg does exceptionally well as the deranged doctor.

We also get a cameo from Pinhead himself, Doug Bradley. On top of the performances, the creatures are almost beyond comparison. Clive Barker wanted to make this a "Star Wars of Monster Movies" and wanted over 200 monster effects in the film. The makeup in the film should have been oscar worthy, but the award went to Dick Tracy while this was shit on.

As I mentioned above, it's very creepy and captures the atmosphere perfectly. On top of the creepiness, we get some amazing creature effects. For instance, when Lori first comes to Midian, she sees a grotesque figure lying helplessly in the corner in broad daylight. One of the creatures asks her to help and it turns out that the creature is just a little girl who was out playing later than she should have been. The effects used for the little girl in the sunlight are outstanding and this is just an example of what's in this film.

This brings me to the gore, which coming from Clive Barker is done very well. As stated above, we get to see a man rip his own face off. There's also ample bloodshed whenever we see the murderer, and during the battle at the end of the movie. To top it off, we also get a lynch mob.

Set up for a sequel, Clive continued the story in a 25-issue comic book know as Cabal. A movie sequel would be welcome as well. Ultimately unhappy with the edits made to the movie, Clive Barker promises a Director's Cut with 25 extra minutes of footage if he can find the missing reels. Hopefully he'll find the reels soon.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, it's definitely worth checking out.

8 out of 10 creepy psychotherapists