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A larval baby puppet from Clive Barker's Nightbreed. Larval babies were amongst the diverse group of otherworldly outcasts living in the hidden city of Midian and were also prominently featured in promotional images of Barker with star David Cronenberg.
Adapted from his own 1988 novella Cabal, writer and director Clive Barker famously clashed with studio executives to keep the film true to the novella's dark fantasy tone, but was ultimately overruled. Nightbreed was drastically cut down and marketed instead as slasher horror, which many blame for the film's initial critical and commercial failure, but Barker and his fans never gave up on restoring Barker's original vision.
In 2012, newly-discovered VHS workprints were used to piece together an extended cut dubbed The Cabal Cut, whose positive reception stirred up enough interest that, in 2014, Shout! Factory was able to secure the original film elements from the studio archives and work with Barker to create an official Director's Cut. Nightbreed has since been reassessed as a powerful examination of the societal marginalization, internal comradery, and activism of the queer community. Filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky lauded Nightbreed as "the first truly gay horror fantasy epic."
Created by legendary special effects artist Bob Keen's team, who also created makeup effects for Clive Barker's Hellraiser series, this foam creature puppet features a segmented larval body and a baby head, all painted green and brown with a glossy coating to make it look slimy. The larval baby has two holes cut into the back, which were likely for use in puppeteering it. The puppet has been mounted to a black wooden stand for display. The lot shows evidence of wear consistent with on-set use, handling, and age, including some cracking in the foam. Dimensions: 5" x 5" x 22" (12.75 cm x 12.75 cm x 56 cm)
Estimate: $1,500 - 3,000
View all lots from NIGHTBREED (1990)
This item comes with a Propstore Certificate of Authenticity.