Dying Breed (film)

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This article is about the horror film. For the song by Five Finger Death Punch, see Dying Breed (song).

Dying Breed
Theatrical film poster
Directed byJody Dwyer[2]
Written byMichael Boughen
Rod Morris[3]
Produced byMichael Boughen
Rod Morris
StarringLeigh Whannell
Mirrah Foulkes
Nathan Phillips
Melanie Vallejo
CinematographyGeoffrey Hall
Edited byMark Perry
Music byNerida Tyson-Chew
Production
company
Ambience Entertainment
Distributed byHoyts Distribution[4]
Release date
Running time
91 minutes[5]
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Dying Breed is a 2008 Australian horror film that was directed by Jody Dwyer and stars Leigh Whannell and Nathan Phillips.[6]

Plot[edit]

The film opens in Tasmania, 1800s. Alexander Pearce, a convict known as "the Pieman", has escaped into the wilderness and he is being hunted by policemen with dogs. He is faced by a policeman who attempts to shoot Pearce, but his gun does not fire. Pearce then bites the policeman's neck, taking a large chunk from his throat, killing him, allowing Pearce to escape. In his escape he is confronted with a Tasmanian tiger, whom he sates by kicking a piece of the policeman over to for the predator to eat.

In the present day, Nina plans a trip with her boyfriend Matt to Tasmania to find the supposedly extinct Tasmanian tiger. Her endeavor is encouraged by a paw print that was discovered by her older sister in a remote area of the island before her body was mysteriously found in the Pieman River several years before. Matt's friend, Jack, and his girlfriend, Rebecca, help pay for the trip and accompany the fellow couple. When they arrive, Matt sees a small girl on the boat playing a game with yellow-tinted teeth. When Matt asks what she is doing, she recites a rhyme, then bites Matt's hand. They spend a night in a dingy motel located next to a meat pie factory, meeting the eccentric and creepy locals.

The next day, the group goes out on a boat in the river along the forest. They decide to camp in a cave out in the woods, and later that evening Matt and Nina discover one of the Tasmanian tigers creeping through the bush. Nina rushes to get her camera to take a picture of the marsupial, but it has run into the woods. The group goes into the dark after the animal using their cell phones as light because capturing proof of its existence is critical to Nina's research. Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Rebecca is captured and eaten by a cannibal. When the other three re-group, they realize that Rebecca is missing and that Nina has blood on her pant legs.

Desperate to find Rebecca, the group searches through the forest. The local ferryman tries to help them but is murdered by one of the cannibals. Reaching an old mining site, they find Rebecca's remains strung up on meat-hooks and Jack is killed by an animal trap. Matt flees underground and finds grisly evidence of the cannibal's past exploits. Nina reaches a railway bridge over a fast-flowing river but is cornered by a pair of cannibals. She deliberately throws herself off the high bridge. The ferryman's wife then kills one of the cannibals and then slits her own throat after apologizing to Matt. That night, the police arrive at the hotel but there is no sign of any of the missing people. As the police depart, a sad and weary Matt prepares to leave but is suddenly attacked.

He is later seen paralyzed in a chair while one of the cannibals explains that their settlement, much like the Tasmanian tiger, must stay hidden to survive. The cannibal then opens a door exposing a still-living Nina tied to a table, about to be raped for breeding purposes. While Matt watches, the young girl who was actually Nina's niece approaches him, removes a set of dentures, thus exposing a set of sharp deformed teeth. As the police drive away, Nina's mobile phone (which Matt had given them) displays a photo of the Tasmanian Tiger.

Cast[edit]

Release[edit]

Dying Breed premiered on 26 April 2008 at Tribeca Film Festival.[7] The cinema release was originally planned for 14 August, but was changed to 6 November 2008.[8] It is rated MA15+ for Strong Horror Violence and Sex Scene, Blood and Gore.[4] It was part of the third After Dark Horrorfest in 2009.[9]

In Australia, one of the posters was banned, due to the "gruesome" picture; however, the poster was still allowed to be shown in cinema foyers, and online.[10]

Box office[edit]

In its first weekend in Australia it was ranked #11 making A$220,878 across 113 cinemas.[11] The film did poorly in the Australian box office, and made $525,384.[12][13]

Home media[edit]

In Australia, the DVD was released during 8 April 2009. There are three different DVD covers that are available. The first features a meat pie, broken open with human organs inside.[14] The second features four characters on the top, and the bottom is a woman running through woods.[15] The third cover features a man being held by an elderly man.[16] Special Features on all editions include:

  • 40-minute behind the scenes featurette
  • Audio Commentary with Director, Producer, Writer
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • Deleted Scene
  • Cast Interviews

Reception[edit]

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 50% rotten rating based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10.[17] Dreadcentral.com gave the film 4/5 stars,[18] while Urbancinefile.com.au also gave it a positive review. Critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, however, gave the film negative reviews. On their show At the Movies, they rated Dying Breed at 2/5 stars and 1.5/5 stars respectively. Stratton said "It tries hard to be horrific and gruesome, even introducing a bit of fashionable torture near the end, but only the most credulous will find it genuinely scary."[19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Tribeca Horrors 2008: Dying Breed". DreadCentral. 10 April 2008.
  2. ^ "Dying Breed (2008) – Full cast and crew". IMDb. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  3. ^ "BD Horror News – Tribeca: 'Dying Breed' Writer Talks Aussie Horror". Archived from the original on 24 June 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Dying Breed". Village Cinemas. Archived from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  5. ^ "Australian Feature Film Dying Breed to Premiere at Tribeca". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  6. ^ "Tribeca Film – Film Guide Archive – Dying Breed". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Tribeca Review: Dying Breed – Monsters and Critics". Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  8. ^ "Dying Breed (2008) – Release dates". IMDb. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Urban Cinefile DYING BREED". Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  10. ^ Miska, Brad (25 September 2008). "'Dying Breed' Poster Banned in Australia". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  11. ^ "Box Office". Urban Cinefile. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  12. ^ "Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  13. ^ Pyramid Saimira Entertainment America: Australian horror film
  14. ^ "Dying Breed". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 28 April 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  15. ^ "Dying Breed". Video Ezy. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  16. ^ "Dying Breed". EzyDVD. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  17. ^ "Dying Breed (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  18. ^ Paul McCannibal (23 July 2008). "Dying Breed (2008)". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  19. ^ Stratton, David (12 November 2008). "Dying Breed Review". ABC TV. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2009.

External links[edit]

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