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The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it’s tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.
Shame
It starts off as brutal but arresting stuff, and the two lead performances are scorching, but disappointingly dissolves into a case of tragedy for the sake of tragedy.
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Dying Breed (Film)
Rating: MA
Running Time: 91
Country: Australia
Director: Jody Dwyer
Cast: Bille Brown, Peter Docker, Brendan Donaghue, Mirrah Foulkes
Distributor: Hoyts
Release Date: November 06, 2008
Film Worth: $10.50
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth“…intense viewing…”
Grisly and gripping, this masterfully made Aussie horror flick plays on both shocking and psychologically terrifying its audience. Right from the opening credits, with their strangely beautiful blown-up images of blood and the accompanying darkly rhythmic score, you're primed for something terrible to happen...
The film begins in the convict era, where we meet cannibalistic prison escapee Alexander Pearce (aka The Pieman) - an infamous real life Irish convict. Fast forward to the fictional present, and zoology student Nina (Mirrah Foulkes) is following up her late sister's discovery of a supposed Tasmanian tiger paw print. With boyfriend Matt (Saw co-creator/star Leigh Whannell), plus Rebecca (Melanie Vallejo) and her larrikin partner Jack (Nathan Phillips, Wolf Creek), along for the Tassie trip, the travellers from the mainland soon find themselves in, as Jack puts it, "Deliverance country". It's here where The Pieman's freaky descendents (including the obligatory creepy little girl) are found; around a shabby small town pub.
Old myths about Tasmanian inbreeding are at the forefront of Dying Breed, but what is new is the depiction of that beautiful island. Director Jody Dwyer's Tasmanian vision is far removed from the tourist brochures. Using murky green and blue-grey hues, his apple isle is a foreboding, eerie place with minimal sunlight shining on the misty forests. With its superb cinematography, the look and feel of this film gives Dying Breed much of its power. There's substantial gore, but some of it occurs in almost subliminal flashes, which just heightens the fear. The performances are also first rate, but unfortunately the interesting storyline isn't quite as developed as it could have been.
Dying Breed is tense and intense viewing - and definitely not recommended for the squeamish.