Vampires are one of the most enduring horror villains in the entire history of the horror genre. There is clearly something about them that fixates us as viewers/readers and makes them fertile ground for new stories. Well you would think so anyway, the truth is that there are very few new films made or books written that have anything interesting to do with the good old vampire. Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles gave them a new twist with great success (at least until Stuart Townsend came along with Aliyah to ruin the party) and the Blade movies made them fun in a comic book actiony way but that’s about it. Except for this odd little movie…

The Breed is a complicated fusion of lots of different ideas, all of which jostle and vie for dominance of the film. At first look the grim urban setting and hard boiled cop characters appear to be straight from a crime thriller but then the lighting seems to suggest aspects of Noir while the overt horror leanings clearly point to something more visceral. And this is all in the first few minutes! After the opening sequence the real world that the film is set in is shown. As Detective Grant returns to his headquarters we see that this world is some sort of Orwellian communist dystopia where stern officials stride emotionlessly through stark and empty hallways as cold propaganda is piped through speakers, “Informing on your enemy makes them your friend”. Interestingly, this extreme divergence to the world the viewer most likely expected is never mentioned or even referred to, it is just the way things are in this world. It is a very individual and memorable twist though the main protagonist, Grant a wisecracking hard-ass cop (yeah, you know the cliché) seems very out of place in this society and it is hard to believe that his individualism would have allowed him to progress very far in the police force.

Later still, the film morphs into an action movie complete with wire stunts and elaborate twirling gun battles. Unfortunately these are not done well but it is hard to dislike something which is so determined to not be pigeon holed into any particular category. This attitude spills over into the script which has a very strong subtext about racial tolerance. The vampires do not want to be simply labelled as freaks or monsters. They only want to be accepted by human society but are outcasts, feared and hated in equal measure. The parallels to racism in modern society and the need for integration are heavy-handed and about as subtle as a brick to the face but relevant nonetheless.

The main plot follows traditional buddy cop movie guidelines with Detective Grant being partnered with a vampire cop in order to tack down the vampire serial killer. As they investigate they uncover all the usual corruption and cover-ups with all the usual plot twists and turns that these stories seem to require. This story structure actually works well for this film and keeps a sense of drive to the proceedings as more about this world is revealed.

By attempting so much with relatively little The Breed obviously falls down in many places along the way. The tone is inconsistent, the mix of genres and influences is sometimes bewildering and the wonderfully named Bokeem Woodbine as Detective Grant is forced and uncomfortable. Add to this the dodgy sub-Matrix action sequences and clumsy preachiness and you might think that what is left should be a train wreck. You’d be wrong though. It may believe it is something (or several things) it is not and it may be too un-vampire for some vampire fans (these vampires walk in the light – oh no!, well it’s better than fucking sun block Blade) but it is a great piece of distinctive and entertaining cross-genre filmmaking.

7/10

Review By Matt Compton