DVD Review: "The Breed"

If you look at the cover art for "The Breed" and assume it's simply 100 cujos stuck on an island-- well, you'd be right. And as campy and derivative as that sounds, director Nick Mastandrea was able to make a rather entertaining survival horror flick out of this simple premise.

The story is about a group of friends who are vacationing at a cabin on a supposedly deserted island. Little do they know that this particular island was home to a research project that turned the island's dogs into aggressive, rabid, killing machines. Did I mention they're smart? The dogs, that is. Yeah, they are smart enough to unhitch the group's plane from it's dock, effectively trapping the teens on the island. But you know what-- if you sign on to watch this film, you might as well go all out and throw believability to the wind-- I did. Your viewing experience will be the better for it.

One of the greatest elements of this film is the fact that the filmmakers took the road less travelled, in terms of special effects, and used real, honest-to-goodness animals throughout the film. This pays off greatly in the realism of the attacks and the overall entertainment value of the film. Who wants to watch a bunch of poorly rendered CG animals, anyway? ("Deep Blue Sea", anyone?) And the acting was okay-- not that this type of movie calls for award winning performances or anything.

Overall, the film was entertaining-- nothing ground breaking, but a worthwhile rental if you're into this type of film. Just don't watch it with your cat-- mine did not appreciate it very much.

Score: 2.5 out of 5