Film Reviews

The Breed

• Rating:
• Director: Nicholas Mastandrea
• Starring: Michelle Rodriguez
• Details: US / 87mins (15A).

Here's a theory you can totally disregard: low-budget horror movies only exist so first-time directors can prove they're capable of delivering some kind of movie, any kind of movie, on time and under budget. It's only a theory but it seems to be the only reason why this horror exists, because it's so tediously formulaic, it feels like all the tried-and-tested elements of horror were punched into a computer and came out a script called The Breed. Anyone want to play story-by-numbers? Here we go: (1) a prelude that sees a couple ravaged by a pack of dangerous dogs on a deserted island. (2) Some time later, five twenty-somethings - including (3) a veterinary student, (4) a rock-climbing champion and (5) a pilot who's good with a bow and arrow - land on the island for a weekend break in (6) an old abandoned house where (7) there's no phone and (8) no mobile signal. (9) The fuse box in (10) the cellar is (11) on the blink, but the guys don't mind - they're here for a party. However, when one of the group is (12) bitten by a vicious dog while roaming around outside, she (13) begins to experience changes in her personality. It's around this time that one of the guys, (14) who used to summer on the island as a child, remembers that there was a compound on the other side of the island where (15) they trained dogs for the blind, but they were put down because (16) they all turned rabid. Panicking, they decide to get off the island but (17) before they can, they are set upon by the whole pack. Will they get off alive? There's nothing to really say about The Breed apart from it's a bad movie with no redeeming features whatsoever and will fail to satisfy even the most forgiving of horror fans.

Review by Gavin Burke