A Breed Apart is one of those movies that likely would have played on the Syfy Channel during its heyday, a perfect feature for an all-day B movie marathon on a lazy Saturday. I don’t mean that as an insult, either. A Breed Apart is all kinds of goofy and absurd, featuring killer dogs on a remote island, but it knows that. It never tries to be more than it is.
Directed by brothers Griff Furst and Nathan Furst, the film opens on the set of a movie featuring several German Shepards. Suddenly, a bat bites one of the dogs, and well, they turn violent and deadly. They attack the animal trainers, dragging them off to the woods and mauling their flesh. This shuts down the film’s production, which stars Hayden Panettiere, best known as Kirby in the Scream franchise. Panettiere has about a two-minute cameo in the opening, and then we don’t see her again until much later.
After that grisly opening, the film jumps forward several years. A mega influencer, played by Joey Bragg, invites other influencers to the island. He has a proposition for them. He wants them to catch the dogs. Whomever catches the most dogs will be gifted the island and have their channel promoted. They also have to film the process. Of course, it goes horribly wrong. It doesn’t take long for the dogs to tear into flesh. The movie doesn’t skimp on the gore, either. Dogs bite arms and ankles. They tear open chests, and together, they’re an unrelenting force. The influencers don’t stand much of a chance.
In terms of the cast, there is a main character of sorts, Violet, played by Grace Caroline Currey. Though this is an incredibly cheesy movie, Violet does have a semi-interesting story. Though she has a popular channel with her brother, Collins (Zak Steiner), she’s critical of influencer culture and the constant need for likes and attention. In fact, if she didn’t work a string of low-paying jobs, it’s unlikely she’d be involved at all. She also makes for a decent enough final girl, assisted by some of the other survivors.
Though the filmmakers did use some real dogs on set, some of the effects are a bit too artificially generated. That’ll be noticeable to most viewers. They don’t always work, but again, maybe for a movie like this that’s best. They enhance the cheesiness and that’s likely to entertain some viewers who dig B movies.
A Breed Apart doesn’t strive to be high art. It’s a movie featuring killer dogs that transform into a brute force. This movie is Sharknado-level quality with canines thirsty for blood.
