I bought this movie solely for the Adrian Paul factor. If I had a blog on syndicated action programs, Adrian Paul would be a first ballot hall of famer. In terms of the DTV market, he still has some work to do, and unfortunately movies like this don't help.
The Breed is a vampire flick that for some unknown reason seems to take place in the same world as Terry Gillium's Brazil. Adrian Paul plays a vampire detective, who's paired up with human cop Bokeem Woodbine to try and track a vampire serial killer. You may remember Bokeem from films like The Big Hit and Caught Up, which were essentially DTV movies, except someone made a mistake at the top, and tried to make money with these duds in movie theaters.
The Breed has the perfunctory vampire raves, but tries to meld them with this old Eastern European aesthetic. It's like Blade meets Werner Herzog. Also, Bai Ling is in it, and she wears a bunch of outfits that don't make any sense. There's a plot somewhere in there, and Bokeem and Adrian don't know who to trust. That leads to a shoot out on the docks and a lot of vampires flying around on cables. The director must've liked the effect in Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" video.
One thing I totally dug about this film was Bokeem Woodbine's lines. Early on he enters a room announcing "Come out with your hands raised" in the best voice ever. He tops this later when he says "I don't care" in this whiny, crying voice that is just fantastic.
That being said, there's a lot not to like. Adrian Paul's Eastern European accent. Bai Ling's outfits. The whodunit/conspiracy/who-do-you-trust plot. When I watch a DTV vampire flick, I'm not looking for Film Noir, I'm looking for either bad action or bad horror. Blade 2 is probably my standard for a good vampire flick, and I'm not too sure that that's too much to ask from any production.
Overall, I wouldn't spend any money on this. Even if you're a big Highlander: The Series guy like I am, it's not worth it. I spent $4.88 on it, and I'm not sure I got my money's worth. I showed it to my other DTV friends, and we laughed and made fun of it all right, but there was other stuff we'd rather have been doing that with. Like Blade 2. If you see it on your program guide, TiVo it only if you have enough room. I wouldn't erase any episodes of Laguna or Days for it, though.
For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265104/Looking for more action? Check out my short action novel, Bainbridge, and all my other novels, over at my author's page! Click on the image below, go to https://www.matthewpoirierauthor.com/
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