Dying Breed

I say 3, Dr K says 4. This was a stinker, we live in Tasmania and our relatives are far more bloody and disgusting than this tourist promo film. It starts poorly and continues in this vein. Although some early scenes are good the rest suffered from poor colour, story and direction. The ending was obviously tacked on to either extend or bring the rating up to some sort of "horror" level. The change from 18th century Tasmania to a shots of a 2007 bridge with all it's safety features just grated. Also, us Tasmanians are rather particular, the open scene in the Pub is obviously in Melbourne Victoria, and the end scene with the police wearing Vic police caps stood out like dog balls. If you want a silly movie you'll love this. When we saw it the audience of Tasmanians were sniggering. That Tas Tiger head was off the show, in reality they had small, very sleek heads, not some sort of Pit Bull head.

"Dying Breed" was pretty much everything that the promo and trailer suggested that it would be. Although it was predictable, as most horror movies of this type are these days, the actors did a decent job and the pacing of the film was such that it managed to keep me interested. The complaint that I have isn't specifically with this film, rather it's with the trend in horror movies over the past few years. Does every single person, in every single one of these movies have to die? How many times do we really need to see a man sit helplessly by while his wife, girlfriend, or daughter is raped, brutalized, or even cannibalized before his eyes? Do we really need it pounded into our brains over and over and over that darkness and evil reign supreme, and are utterly inescapable? I understand that people go to see horror movies for the novelty and fun of being frightened, but now, horror movies are unendingly bleak and utterly devoid of any hope for any of the protagonists in them. Who is there to root for when every character in the movie is doomed to die no matter what? I'm a horror movie geek, and I've been one since I was a little kid. Were I to pick a horror movie that I thought to be a success by most standards, I'd have to go with perhaps "Alien", or "Jaws". Both films were considered frightening in their day, both films featured plenty of guts and gore, and holy moley, a few folks even managed to survive their ordeals. I did enjoy "The Blair Witch Project" and other movies similar to it, but I'm finding myself bored by movies like "Dying Breed", rather then genuinely enjoying them.

While the movie doesn't win a prize for most original idea, it still has some nice touches to it. As another reviewer described it too, it's pretty decent. In other words, it's better if you copy a good idea, than come up with something that just doesn't work ... Of course this will only work if you like Horror movies and don't have a problem with gross scenes. The acting is pretty good for a horror movie, the plot moves along good enough and although there aren't many surprises left for you to see, it's still a nice movie. Nice shots (cinematography) and nicely edited too. There's one thing for sure though: Horror as a genre ain't a dying breed ...

I was lucky enough to catch the midnight showing of Dying Breed at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, and want to get my thoughts down immediately. In short, its a solid horror thriller movie that I would recommend you see, if you are fan of this genre. If I had to try to compare it to any of the more recent horror films, I'd say its 1 part Cabin Fever, 1 part Devil's Rejects, and 1 part Hostel. The film is based on two bits of historical fact. First there is Alexander "the Pieman" Pierce, who back when Tasmania was used as a prison island for Britain's worst lot, escaped from the prison and resorted to cannibalism to survive. The Pieman's cuisine of choice has spawned a slight tradition in the backwoods of Tasmania, where hikers have historically ventured into and never returned. The film's second historical basis lies with the mystery of the Tasmanian tiger, which most scientists deem extinct. Not our protagonist, Nina (Mirrah Foulkes), who is out to find the tiger and finish the work her sister began before she mysteriously drowned out in the bush. Enter our two couples, Nina and her boyfriend, Matt (Leigh Whannel), and Matt's old buddy (your standard obnoxious peripheral character in horror movies) and his girlfriend (your standard pretty and clueless body) who are along for the ride. I would say one of the movie's strengths is the great cinematography that takes you along with the foursome as they enter the beautiful but eventually spooky backwoods. They eventually end up in a town that hearkens you back to the West Virginians in Cabin Fever, serious backwoods nut jobs. From a strange girl, to a male only town, to a mysterious figure lurking in the woods you can tell that things are getting weird and that these 'tourists' are entering a sketchy situation. From the town, the foursome venture via boat deeper into the bush. This movie succeeds because you have good tension building elements; 1) the woods, caves, jungles, etc; 2) messed up locals with a tradition they need to keep alive; and 3) a good bit of blood, flesh flying around, and things called "man-traps", I mean you cant go wrong there. This is not a gore fest, and special effects are minimal. The ending takes you for a good ride, but ultimately this wasn't a crazy adrenaline pumping horror movie. The bad guys are bad, weird, and a bit grotesque but are basically people who act and look pretty weird, nothing that'll make you jump out of your seat. Its cool though, and it works. Like most movies in this genre you have the "god these people are stupid" moments, there are a bit too many "you stay here, I'll be right backs" and our audience laughed at the idiocy of some decisions, but the movie is not campy as campy horror movies go, it tries and largely succeeds at keeping to a dark, serious undertone. On top of that, the reality of their situation does not seem to ever dawn on the foursome. One brief non-spoiler example is that certain townies end up all the way out in the bush with the foursome, and the foursome never really seem to recognize just how strange it is that these bonified weirdos just happened upon them in the middle of the woods. This realization, the fear that occurs when the character is forced to contemplate how completely screwed/messed up their situation is, is what makes horror movies horrifying. The characters almost seem oblivious to the situation, and honestly I get more freaked out when I see the actors on film freaking out. There is a twist or two that doesn't jive with logic, but Im not complaining. Not a classic, but certainly worth your time if you want to see a horror movie based on cannibalism.

To quickly summarize this movie, you take "Wrong Turn" and put it together with "The Hills Have Eyes", and then you end up with "Dying Breed". Just change the scenery to the Tasmanian outdoors, and voilà, there you go. Although "Dying Breed" is nowhere near as interesting as either of the other movies. "Dying Breed" is basically about a group of people stuck in the deep woods, and something is out there stalking them. The movie sort of builds up some fairly good moments, but they are always toppled by an anti-climatic result. Toss in a supposedly Tasmanian tiger in the equation, and hope it would work. But it didn't, at least not for me... And had the movie been based on something fresh, it might actually have been interesting, but the story and plot was handpicked right out of movies like "Wrong Turn", "The Hills Have Eyes" and such similar movies. Now as for the cast, well they were actually well cast and they did good jobs with their roles. I especially liked the acting of Leigh Whannell towards the end, when he was in the chair. That was really cool. Although what happened following that scene was so predictable, that you could smell it a mile away. There was no frights in this movie, which was a total disappointment. There were moments when there could have been some suspense, but the movie failed to deliver on that part. As for the psychological aspect of the movie, well that was brilliant. Being trapped in the woods, scared, something stalking you, and weird hillbillies nearby, well that actually did work out well enough for the movie. Although, it has all be used before. "Dying Breed" was somewhat of a disappointing experience. I had expected more from this, as it is a part of the "After Dark Horrorfest" movies. But now I've seen it, and will chalk it up as a Tasmanian remake of "Wrong Turn" and "The Hills Have Eyes", nothing more... I don't recommend this movie to be a top priority to watch if you are into horror movies or psychologically freaky movies, this is slow-moving and takes forever to get nothing told. There are far better and far scarier movies out there in the woods...

Australia is a beautiful country, the people and the land, however it has a dark history and 'Dying breed' is a small piece of that nostalgic pie. Two couples head into the Tasmanian wilderness in search of the extinct Tasmanian tiger and soon find themselves in unforgiving country populated by unforgiving locals. The direction and acting is steady with no real stand out performance and the characters seem a bit flat at times but the shots of Tasmania's isolated country side are fantastic and set a haunting tale. This formula has been applied countless times so there's nothing new here but its done well serving up some good blood and guts and proves along with Wolf creek that Aussie film can do horror. If your Austalian make it tradition to go see Australian films!

Some people don't like this movie already, what's not to like? Shot for 3 million, more than Wolf Creek (1 million), shot with the same cameras as Wolf Creek and unique story for an Australian movie. Basically the movie's about 4 people, presumably science geeks, as they try to find the extinct Tasmanian Tiger and the lead girl's sister, who presumably drowned 8 years ago. What i did like about this film, not the sex scene, but the build up to the on and off screen violence but the lack of music is what doesn't make this film come to life like many others. Nerida Tyson Chew, who we have heard from the "Twisted" series one and two, tries more subtly to put his music through noises, like Francois Tetaz did in Wolf Creek. Jody Dwyer shot the movie a bit too stylish, with the camera looming in on more close up shots, feeling a little too claustrophobic. Leigh Whannell's character (Matt) was the most quiet character out of the lot, which i didn't like at all, Nathan Philips character (Jack) was the most offensive but the most funny of the pack, the Ruth and Bec characters who go with them, they do alright, but Bec dies too quickly. The cannibals of the town give a good performance across the board, enjoying some good raw meat, courtesy of Justin Dix, who did some nice makeup effects on this show, if put into the right direction, could be the next John Carl Buechler. The ending of Dying Breed is a strange one but nonetheless a shocker, which it felt like it had a few too many endings, but once it did end i felt better because the little girl in the film was creepy. Not everyone will like this film, but i'm a supporter of good Aussie films and this one goes on my shelf in 6 months time, good work. Rated MA15+ for Violence, Gore, Language and a Sex Scene.

Yes this movie has beautiful location. Some of the acting is quite good! I have come to expect after dark to give some good movies. Usually good stories, but well predictable endings most of the time, but 99% of the time the ride is worth the ending. This one has a decent beginning, good acting. Then about 1/2 way through the whole premise... or what looked like a premise starts to fall apart and it's like they are just going off on a bad improve of another bad backwoods inbred movie where people took a wrong turn.... This time is was in Tasmania... Sigh.. Pieman yeah nice slant on an Aussie urban legend at first or so it seems, but once it was all said and done I felt as violated as the main "heroine" of the story at the end. *no pun intended* Movie starts out to look something like the first Howling with an added I want to find my sister twist then ends up in inbred Redneckville. Parts are good, but I seriously almost gave this 1 star just because after even the parts that draw you in.... The bad ruined the good time and time again... I think the writer was on a tight deadline and ran out of good ideas or didn't know where he was really going with the whole Tasmanian tiger thing... End rant... A movie I actually deleted after viewing. That should tell you everything. Watch it if you have patience and expect to be disappointed. Once you are starting to be disappointed, turn it off about 5 minutes before the end. You'd be glad you did...

Saw fans will see a familiar face here in a tale of what happens when you go traipsing in the woods. You all know about that if you've watched more than a couple of horror movies. In this one a couple of legends - the Tasmanian Tiger and a cannibalistic killer - are woven together. Nina (Mirrah Foulkes) goes looking for her sister, who was tracking the Tasmanian Tiger in the Tasmanian forest. Leigh Whannell from the Saw franchise is along as Matt. They run into the usual inbred threat. One (Melanie Vallejo) finds their kiss not to be pleasant. Of course, there is nothing else pleasant about these people, either. Too bad the film was so poorly lit. It would have been much better.

I have just finished watching this so here is my simple review. The good points - love the location filmed in austrailia,has that islolated feel about it, yet another warning not to go backpacking or hiking in Austrailia a bit like Wolf Creek, the killings were quite gruesome and some good use of make up. The bad points - Acting wasn't the best even though it does star Nathan Phillips from Wolf Creek who i think is a decent actor. All in all i quite enjoyed this and could possibly watch this again, it's sort of a cross between the hills have eyes and wrong turn. Enjoy