Dying Breed (2009)
Sub-Genre- Survival
In Attendance- Me
Cast Members of Note- Leigh Whannell (The creator of Saw), Mirrah Foulkes (Hot), Nathan Phillips (The guy from Wolf Creek), and Melanie Vallejo (Hot.)
What's it about?- This movie is Tasmania's version of Wrong Turn; and it's proof that inbred cannibal families do indeed inhabit about 85% of the Earth. A group of dumb 20-somethings head into the deep brush looking for dogs, and instead find rape, incest, inbreeding, torture, cannibalism, and lots of ceramic cats.
When the "kids" stop in over at the local Tasmanian tavern to 'ave a beer, the sweaty old locals take an instant shining to them; keying their car, pulling out their false teeth, rubbing creepily on the women, and all joining in a stirring rendition of their local song "The Rape Dance." After actually remaining to spend the night, they awake to see a woman crushing puppy skulls with a wooden mallet. Honestly.
After leaving "Creepyville", the travelers soon wish they were back amongst the retarded molesters, as one by one they become victims of Grizzly Adams (a.k.a. The Pieman) gone cannibal. The Blue Mystic Power Ranger chick gets it the worst, but you know the hot & wild ones always do. I won't say anymore here so as not to spoil anything, but suffice it to say that I will never go to Tasmania. Ever.
The Good- This movie is loosely based on the legend of Alexander Pearce, also called The Pieman in this, an escaped convict and cannibal that roamed the Tasmanian coast eating the flesh of his friends... here it's spun into an inbred ancestry tale, which works on most levels.
Many of the visuals in this movie are quite striking, and the setting is perfect for the kind of film this is. Dying Breed does a good job of holding our attention and maintaining tension throughout, though from time to time the stupid actions of the characters did make me wish death on some of them.
I really like Leigh Whannell as an actor. He's already proven himself a solid writer and producer, and it's fun to see the guy have a good screen presence.
The Bad- Yet another movie with a bunch of morons just begging to be killed; movies like this absolutely prove that stupid people are alive and well in the world. Once, just once, I'd like to see a horror movie where people don't do the absolute dumbest things ever. Just one example: Trying to start a jeep, then just sitting there griping that it won't start, when your girlfriend is alone and helpless? Lame.
The Downright Horrendous- It's bad enough to imagine puppies being smashed with a hammer, and worse still to see it being implied, even if off screen; but to hear the thud of the hammer, the squish of their heads, and the helpless yelps... It's just wrong.
The Gory- Dog violence, throat biting, barbed wire violence, puppy smashing violence! (WTF?!?), multiple acts of rabbit violence, and tons of horrible cannibal violence... good times!
The Naked- A bath/sex scene with some male and female ass, and a naked corpse.
Best Line- "Did you find your tiger?" or " I can feel the family resemblance."
What did we learn?- Never camp, explore, hike or mess with deep country locals. Also, screw Tasmania.
Rating- C+ this was a good, grizzly and at times disturbing movie, but the "stupid people doing stupid things" plot device prevents me from giving it a higher grade. It's well made, and is definitely worth a watch.
Final Thoughts- There is only one true Pieman!
