Presented by Wes Craven and directed by one of his longtime
assistant directors, Nick Mastandrea, The
Breed is a killer canine flick with just a pinch of the same sort of
exotic-travelogue-gone-wrong found in Turistas. Inspired by animalistic horror
classics like Cujo and The Birds, the movie is an exercise of the expected in its
plotting, but generally solid in its execution; it’s powered by familiar jump
cuts, yet also avoids CGI work in favor of practical stunts and thrills, making
for a pleasingly low-fi genre experience.
who hydroplane in for a weekend on a deserted island once favored by the
deceased uncle of two of the characters. Making up the main troika are Nikki (Michelle
Rodriguez) and her studious, responsible boyfriend Matt (Eric Lively), but
their relationship is complicated by the fact that Nikki used to also date
Matt’s older brother, the alternately brash and withdrawn John (Black Christmas’ Oliver Hudson, somehow married
to this).
Also along for the ride are blonde and flirty Sara (Hustle and Flow’s Taryn Manning) and Noah (In Too Deep’s Hill Harper). The alcohol flows freely, and the group
settles in for a good time. Strangely, a puppy shows up the next morning, and
later Sara gets nicked by its protective parent while walking the perimeter of
the house.
where seeing-eye dogs were supposedly trained; only later does Matt mention
hearing about it being briefly shut down, allegedly for a rabies outbreak.
Turns out it was a special canine research unit, and the experiment gone wrong
has produced a flesh-eating pack of more than two dozen now-wild dogs, all genetically
engineered to hunt and kill. Trapped and outnumbered, the friends must stick
together as they struggle to survive and escape.
screen stretching, and though she’s not the only — or even principal — athletic
ass-kicker here, she does get to negotiate a zip-line during an ill-fated
escape attempt, and have her leg shot
through with an arrow. That leaves most of the heroic lifting to
(above left), who actually shows a bit more personality than for which I had
him pegged. No top-shelf leading man is he, but in the right ensemble, he
serves quite capably. The entertainment value of The Breed ultimately, though, comes down to how much one wants to
see snarling dogs nip at the heels of its relatively well-toned cast members.
It makes sufficiently good on its conceit — nothing more, nothing less. The cast showcases a generally nice rapport, but the script isn’t exactly crackling with insight or very memorable dialogue.
5.1 Dolby digital mix that disproportionately favors soundtrack tunes over
source audio, The Breed comes with
optional English and Spanish subtitles, and packaged in a standard Amray case
with slightly holographic cover insert art. Its special features consist of a
making-of featurette and preview trailers for the movie and a trio of other
First Look titles, including The Dead
Girl, Kovak Box and Disappeared. The aforementioned
behind-the-scenes bit clocks in at 24 minutes, and seems to be a special
installment of a regular stand-alone program entitled Eye on Movie Magic. Detailing a very specialized portion of the
movie’s six-week South African shoot, this segment focuses on the film’s animal
stunt work, and as such includes interviews with Mastandrea, producer David
Lancaster, dog trainer Paul “Sled” Reynolds and, briefly, actress Rodriguez. If
one can get past the Afrikaner-accented narration, it’s actually pretty
interesting to see how some of the action beats are choreographed and achieved
in practical fashion. It’s nothing grandly illuminating, really, but a nice
inclusion. C (Movie) C+ (Disc)