The Breed - Blutige Meute

When I went to the cinema I was supposed to see Almodovar's "Volver" and now I regret not to have done it. "The Breed" begins and ends like the typical horror film that we're used to see: some college friends go to a desert place where strange creatures haunt and kill them one by one. Here there are super-angry dogs but we will never get to know what really happened to them. Poor dogs... Someone imagines to see a psychic doctor or something similar, but there's nothing, probably an experiment gone badly. There is also a little drama but just like the whole film it is something we have already seen. In the end it's not a boring film but it's dejà-vu without any kind of explanation.

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I actually quite enjoyed "The Breed" and I'm sure there's more people out there who won't admit it. It was fun right from the opening with the horrendously bad actors, "wood" and the awful direction. However, then five new kids come on the island and they're more competent actors and strangely likable as the film went on. I did actually feel sorry to see some of them die which is unusual in a film like this. The characters weren't flat, which was a lovely surprise. Of course it is extremely clichéd with the group going into a cabin with a creepy basement and so forth. This is the type of horror film "The Cabin in the Woods" was warning us of! The dogs are also quite funny as I do not find dogs scary in the slightest, especially when they're as cute as these ones! To see a bunch of cute panting dogs slowly gather and surround the young adults like "The Birds" was quite an unintentional hilarious sight. There was also a surprisingly good pace with the group always trying to make some innovative decisions. All in all I found it to be an entertaining and fun film. You shouldn't take it seriously and if you don't then you might actually find yourself enjoying it!

Movie concepts don't get much simpler than this: on a supposedly deserted island, genetically enhanced, rabid-like dogs attack five college kids who have gone there for a weekend of fun. It's kind of surprising that a movie like this, made in 2006, still gets theatrical release in some countries; this is usually direct-to-DVD stuff. With that said, however, "The Breed" is effective at what it sets out to do. What gives this movie an edge over other contemporary "creature features" is that the "creatures" are real, highly-trained dogs instead of fake CGI bats, crocodiles, snakes, spiders or whatever. This adds an element of realism to the proceedings, as does the fact that the characters behave rationally for the most part. Michelle Rodriguez looks great (what else is new?) and shows her physicality, and the rest of the cast may not be brilliant, but they're not bad, either. The movie does suffer from a terrible ending though - it was probably intended as a shock but it's so sudden that it looks as if the producers ran out of money or time or something. (**)

A bunch of undergrads (played by 30 and 40somethings--no joke!) take their jet to an abandoned island for a vacation. Because undergrads do that? They get attacked by wild dogs that turn out to be genetically engineered killers. Scary! History has taught me to stay away from anything labeled "Wes Craven Presents," but I decided to check this out because how bad could a movie starring Michelle Rodriguez vs Killer Dogs be? Rodriguez isn't the best actress, but I always enjoy seeing her one-note tough-girl shtick in movies or TV (long live Ana Lucia!) And she does her own stunts in this! There's no CGI, which is commendable, though I'm not entirely sure how I feel about a large number of dogs being trained to attack for the sake of a dumb horror movie. And this is, indeed, a dumb horror movie. All the clichés are intact, the writing is awful, and there's even a dumb subplot about brotherly love. Or something. Taryn Manning is cast as the "hottie" of the group, though she looks washed-up and talks like she smokes six packs a day. There's an interesting subplot with her character that would have made the movie more interesting had it been expanded upon. This is enjoyable for what it is, but it's nothing special.

Don't you just hate it when, in a movie, something seemingly trivial occurs or is introduced and you just know that it'll come into play later on?

I know I do, so when the characters in The Breed casually mention an old 'zip-ride' (or death slide, as we English call it), tinker with a car that hasn't been used in years, or break an old roundabout leaving a sharp wooden stake pointing upwards, I prayed that my cliché radar was on the fritz. But sure enough, each device played a major part later on in the film and I laughed at the film's predictability.

It's a shame really, since there are several scenes which are more than competent, actually managing to scare and excite—which is all you really want from a film about rabid, genetically enhanced dogs attacking a group of people stranded on a remote island! The five friends who come up against the vicious killer mutts are your standard assortment of attractive twenty-somethings of the type that seem to populate most popcorn horror flicks these days: a couple of bickering brothers—one reckless (Oliver Hudson) and one responsible (Eric Lively); a 'pretty' blonde (Taryn Manning—not my cup of tea but appealing to some, I guess); a wise-cracking smart-ass (Hill Harper); and a feisty babe (Michelle Rodriguez, playing her usual tough-but-tasty type). Of course, there are no prizes for guessing who is going to become dog food.

The most effective parts of The Breed are definitely the dog attacks, with the snarling, fanged beasts being suitably frightening and convincingly nasty. Surprisingly, however, given the current trend for graphic splatter, the film is rather 'dry', with only one or two moments to make you wince (highlight of the film: a poorly aimed arrow!) or turn away, and the gore-hounds amongst us will most likely be disappointed.

Still, kudos to director Nicholas Mastandrea for opting to use real dogs rather than CGI. And whilst I'm at it, I'll also thank him for getting Michelle Rodriguez into a bikini (although naked would've been better!).