A Breed Apart Review: A Complete Disaster
This film had all the ingredients for a fun time, but directors Griff and Nathan Furst’s new action-horror flick completely misses the mark. Despite strong performances from Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner, “A Breed Apart” is a total hot mess that’s more laughable than scary.
- “A Breed Apart” (2025)
- Directors: Griff and Nathan Furst
- Genre: Action, Horror
- Run Time: 100 minutes
- Release Date: May 16, 2025
From the very beginning, “A Breed Apart” wants you to know that you shouldn’t take it seriously. Inspired by the 2006 cult classic The Breed, which was produced by the late, great Wes Craven, this new film from the Furst Brothers seems desperate to achieve a similar status. Unfortunately, their end result is essentially Sharknado with dogs. It’s a comparison I suspect they’d wear with pride, but it’s an accurate one.
I’m sure the cast and crew had a blast making this movie. The behind-the-scenes footage and bloopers shown during the end credits are a fun little treat and prove they were all in on the joke. The film’s humor, however, didn’t land with me, and that’s a shame given how much I adore its two leads, Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner.
Gardner and Currey—who previously collaborated on the far superior Fall (2022)—are the film’s only bright spots. Currey gives an earnest and dramatic performance, while Gardner leans into the comedy without being too over the top. Without their efforts, I would’ve tuned out entirely. Page Kennedy also deserves a shoutout for his work as Big Farmer Jay, whose comedic timing and energy were among the few things in the script that made me laugh.
An Unfocused and Ridiculous Story
The plot of “A Breed Apart” is utter nonsense. There are no real character arcs, and the narrative is so scattered that it’s almost impossible to get invested. Violet (Currey) has the closest thing to a character journey, but it’s so all over the place that you forget what she’s even trying to accomplish. Most of the characters are so thinly written that I struggled to connect with them or even remember their names. For example, I didn’t realize Violet and her brother Collins (Zak Steiner) were related until late in the movie, which speaks volumes about the weak writing.
The Furst Brothers seem to think all you need to know about these characters is that they’re internet famous and have been invited to an island by a MrBeast-inspired vlogger named Vince Ventura (Joey Bragg). From there, the advice seems to be “just turn your brain off.” While I enjoy a simple horror movie, I at least need someone to root for. Instead, I found myself cheering for Violet and Thalia simply because they were played by Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner.
Mismatched Humor and Laughably Bad CGI
While Gardner and Kennedy deliver some genuine laughs, much of the intended humor in “A Breed Apart” falls flat. The jokes often miss their mark, and the biggest laughs are at the film’s expense, not with it. I found myself cringing and laughing simultaneously at some of the dialogue, especially a certain line from Hayden Panettiere’s character, an actress named Hayden Hearst.
The biggest issue, however, is the terrible CGI used for the killer dogs. Not once did I believe these monstrous canines were actually on screen. They look so fake that the kills, which should have been tense and scary, become unintentionally hilarious. The visual effects are so unconvincing that it feels like something from a bygone era of B-movies. While I’m not suggesting they use real dogs, a film whose plot revolves around killer animals needs to invest in convincing visual effects. The money spent on the CGI here was clearly not enough.
Adding to the list of technical flaws is the frantic editing. The number of cuts is relentless and distracting, making a relatively short film feel exhausting. It’s as if the editor spent too much time trying to make something look fast-paced when it simply wasn’t. While cinematographer Jon Keng does manage to capture one cool shot involving Currey, it’s a small victory in an otherwise chaotic film.
Ultimately, “A Breed Apart” is a bottom-of-the-barrel affair despite the commendable efforts of Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, and Page Kennedy. It’s a horror movie that desperately wants to be a cult classic without putting in the work. With poor CGI, a laughably thin script, and a total lack of genuine scares or humor, it’s hard to recommend. Maybe it will find a midnight movie audience, but I won’t be watching it again.
Do you think a movie can be so bad it’s good, or does the humor need to be intentional?