2
(nothing substantial)
1
(graphic in virtually every way)
1
(so bad it's scary)
Why oh why did I rent "Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain??" It was a free rental and I still feel ripped off. Since I had been reading up a little on the Scottish legend of Sawney Bean at the time, I thought this one might be interesting. I took a chance. When you take chances sometimes you lose.
If the people that named "Snakes on a Plane" were working on this it would be called “A Bunch of Random Violent Death Scenes.” I used to enjoy horror movies that didn't care about plot, back when I was a teen. Now I want some kind of story. It doesn't have to be epic or anything, I mean, hey, look at how much I enjoy "The Boogens," but I need some minor measure of coherent plot with my horror.
"Evil Breed" has very little story to start, and what little flimsy premise it lays down it quickly contradicts. It's based on the legend of Sawney Bean, as I said, but instead of taking place in Scotland it migrates to Ireland. (For those that don't know, Bean and his clan supposedly lived in caves killing and eating unwary travelers and inbreeding with each other).
A teacher is taking students on an extended field trip only to fall prey to the cannibalistic killers in the forest. That's pretty much the entire story. From there it's just people randomly dying. The scares involve people popping out suddenly to unintentionally scare someone. This happens over and over and over. It happens so often with such utterly awful music cues that it could have been comical if it weren't so annoying. The other primary aspect of horror is the immense gore.
I had never heard of any of the actors except for Bobbie Phillips who I've seen in "X-Files" and "Stargate SG1" episodes. There's a reason for that. The cast stinks like skunk biscuits. I can't think of any movie I've seen in years with acting this terrible. There are grade school plays with acting better than this. One woman starts out with an Irish accent (not a very good one, by the way) then fluctuates between Irish and American here and there for ever after. Others just sound like they're reading directly off a script. From what I've read, after Bobbie was cast the producers decided to start hiring porn stars instead of actors which might explain the lack.
The only thing the movie does well is blood and guts so they get as much in there as they can. If you're this hung up on people's innards the surgery channel ought to be your favorite - oh, except they're trying to save lives rather than take them. I did read up on this movie later (too little too late) and have learned that the version I saw is evidently heavily edited and not at all what the director/writer wanted. However, even if that's true I don't see how better editing is going to save the pitiful acting. It sounds like he wanted more of a darkly humorous tone which got lost in the tangled mess that is the final product.
Morality
The violence is the big thing here. Buckets of blood and free swinging entrails abound. A man is choked with his own intestines and a woman has her breast implant cut out just to cite a couple of examples. Some of it is played more for the dark humor than the horror, but it's still messy, gory, and not for the weak of stomach.
There are a handful of nude scenes (mostly involving topless women) with a couple of those involving sex and a couple involving mutilation. There's a naked guy in one sex scene and full frontal male nudity of a mutilated corpse.
The deleted scenes on the DVD contain even more graphic violence and a long scene involving full frontal female nudity in a violent scene.
Strong language is prevalent throughout with some of that being religious slurs.
Spirituality
This movie isn't deep enough to generate any spiritual conversation. The only religion in it is the flippant use of the name of Jesus.
Final Thoughts
If all you need in a movie is boobs and blood then you might not hate this atrocity quite as intensely as I do. If you actually require something redeeming, even just a little, in your movie requirements your time is better spent elsewhere.
Buying Guide
Do yourself a favor, if you're reading this because you want to hunt down a copy of "Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain" for your DVD library, seek professional help immediately.
I've only been able to find one DVD version of this movie despite the rumors I've read that there are as many as 5 different edits of the movie existing out there somewhere. I guess to get them for yourself you're going to have to track down some bootlegs. I can't help you there.
Final Recommendation:
Even if you're excited to hear this is available on DVD, don't get your hopes up. The DVD offerings are pitiful. Don't waste your money.
The DVD is a single disc.
Video
2.35 widescreen:
The quality seems lacking to me with a picture that's tolerable but not anything approaching impressive.
Audio
5.1 Dolby:
I'm not at all impressed by the sound, either, but part of that has to do with the mix itself which is pretty horrendous.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic.
The interface is simple and unimpressive.
I don't know exactly which cut this is compared to the others available, but judging from content in the deleted scenes this is a relatively toned-down version.
Extras
I don't currently have access to the DVD so my extras list is going to be less precise than usual.
-Deleted Scenes: There are two deleted scenes which are uncensored versions of a couple of the murders. They involve some graphic, over the top violence, and some graphic nudity.
-Previews: Yes, there some previews if anyone cares.