“Nightbreed,” the new horror offering from “Hellraiser” director and novelist Clive Barker, is a disturbing look at the nature of good and evil.

Whether this is a great horror film is another question. The problem with “Nightbreed” is similar to the problem with “Hellraiser”—the special effects are great, but there are poorly handled aspects of the story that make it less effective.

The film combines elements of both slasher and hideous monster movies. The slasher elements are brought in right at the start as a series of brutal murders terrorize the city of Calgary.

Boone, played by Craig Sheffer, is under the psychiatric care of Dr. Decker. Decker convinces Boone that he has commited the crimes.

Decker, played by acclaimed director David Cronenberg (“Videodrome,” “Scanners”), then supplies Boone with some psychedelic drugs and tells Boone it is Lithium.

In a drug stupor, Boone is nearly run over by a truck and winds up in a hospital. There he meets Narcisse, who is mentally unbalanced. Narcisse tells him the location of the legendary city of Midian, a sanctuary for outcasts, monsters and wrongdoers.

Boone hops in his truck and drives right up to the front gate of Midian. Luckily, this ancient hidden city is located right off the freeway.

After the obligatory walking-around-the-spooky-graveyard-with-the-girl scene, Boone is attacked and bitten by one of Midian’s monster inhabitants. As if that is not enough, Boone then flees Midian only to be gunned down by a SWAT team.

Fortunately, the bite Boone received has made him immortal. The only place on Earth where he is welcome is, you guessed it, Midian.

Boone is made a member of Midian’s society. The scenes inside Midian are great. A fantastic assortment of creatures populate the city. The premise is that all the surviving monsters from history have taken refuge in Midian.

The monsters seem pretty happy for the most part. They smoke, play cards, and raise pets just like humans. The film does a great job of making the creatures seem believable, even likable.

What movie is complete without the BIG FINISH? With the monsters defending their sanctuary against the humans, there are plenty of rippings, gougings, stabbings, shootings, explosions, and poison darts to satisfy gore lovers.

The ending is cheesy and leaves an obvious door wide open for “Nightbreed 2.”

By making the monsters the “heroes,” defending their home against barbaric invaders, Barker has basically reversed the traditional horror formula.

The monsters do not seem particularly evil, and the humans act like savages. This is a fairly disturbing element of the film.

Fans of “Hellraiser” will definitely want to check out “Nightbreed.” It should probably appeal to other horror fans as well.