What actually happens
A therapist who prescribes a hallucinogen
Aaron Boone keeps dreaming about a place called Midian. His girlfriend Lori encourages him to go back to therapy with Dr. Decker. At the same time a serial killer is going through the town massacring entire families. Boone goes back to Decker's office and is horrified to find out that his dreams line up with the ritual murders. Decker advises him to give himself up to the police and begin taking lithium, and then gives him LSD instead.
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A patient peels off his face and Boone gets directions
The LSD sends Boone to the hospital. This is the scene to brace for, and it comes early. Another patient is raving about Midian and explains where it is, and then he peels his own face off. Boone takes advantage of the chaos to get out of the hospital and goes straight to Midian. All he finds is a graveyard, and he falls asleep there. At night monstrous beings find him and argue about whether he belongs. Boone announces that he is a murderer, and they can tell he is lying. One of them tries to eat him, and he escapes.
A cemetery with a membership process
Police who were led to the graveyard by Decker confront Boone outside it, and Decker tricks them into shooting him. In the morgue, Boone comes back to life because of the bite he got in the graveyard. He heads back to Midian, learns what the Nightbreed are, and is initiated into their society with blood from their deity, Baphomet. Lori follows Boone to Midian and Decker follows her, because Decker is the killer. He pinned the murders on Boone as a way to locate the Nightbreed, and he tries to use Lori to lure Boone out. Boone gets her out. The Nightbreed then explain that they are creatures from folklore who lived in peace until humans tried to wipe them out, and then they banish Boone and Lori from Midian.
A motel room with an unpleasant neighbor
Boone and Lori check into a motel, where Decker has already been and slaughtered the people in the next room. Boone is arrested for Decker's murders, and Decker persuades the police to storm Midian, because what he is really after is the destruction of the Nightbreed. As the police drive toward Midian, several Nightbreed spring Boone from jail and recruit him. The Nightbreed and the police fight a chaotic battle. Decker faces Boone and ends up dead. Boone finds Baphomet, who says Boone has caused Midian's downfall, an event that was prophesied. Baphomet assigns Boone the task of locating somewhere else for the Nightbreed to live, and gives him the new name Cabal. Lori, determined to stay with Boone, kills herself, and Boone brings her back with a bite. He promises the Nightbreed he will follow Baphomet's orders.
The ending, explained
In the ruins of Midian, Ashberry stands over Decker's corpse and says he wants revenge on Baphomet and the Breed. He presses Baphomet's blood to Decker's wound and Decker jumps back to life screaming, while Ashberry keeps yelling "Hallelujah!" In The Cabal Cut and the Director's Cut, Decker kills Narcisse sooner in the battle, and the Nightbreed wait in a barn while Boone says goodbye to Lori. Lori stabs herself so that Boone has to resurrect her as a Nightbreed, and they leave together. Ashberry, transformed, kills Captain Eigerman and starts hunting the Nightbreed.
The post-credits ruling
There is a post-credits scene in The Cabal Cut, where Decker's resurrection plays after the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Nightbreed scary?
Somewhat. Nightbreed is a 4 out of 10: the monsters are mostly friendly, and the serial killer is the part that frightens. The dread fades quickly.
How does Nightbreed end?
Decker is killed in the battle at Midian, Boone is renamed Cabal and sent to find the Nightbreed a new home, and Lori is resurrected as one of them. Ashberry then brings Decker back to life.
Does the dog die in Nightbreed?
No, no dog dies in Nightbreed. A man carries a dog around for most of the movie, and nothing bad is shown happening to it, though a creature is shown eating a dead animal.
Is there a post-credits scene in Nightbreed?
In The Cabal Cut of Nightbreed, Decker's resurrection plays as a post-credits scene.
Who is the serial killer in Nightbreed?
The serial killer in Nightbreed is Dr. Decker, Boone's psychotherapist. He framed Boone for the murders so that he could find the Nightbreed and destroy them.
