I saw the trailer for Breeder before Resident Evil in theaters, and was immediately sold on the premise. I love Dot-Marie Jones, and seeing her play an Annie Wilkes-type villain sounded incredible. Another movie from a first-time director and former YouTuber, Alex Goyette, my expectations going into this one were high, particularly with its current 89% on Rotten Tomatoes (as of the time of writing).
Breeder follows Russell as he tries in vain to get his bee gene-editing project funded. An MIT dropout, he’s turned down left and right, and while his fiancé is supportive, her family is less than enthused. All seems lost when, out of nowhere, a dog breeder named Patti reaches out to him, offering to fund his entire project. A blank check with one exception: she needs him to breed with one of her daughters.
I feel comfortable laying out that premise because it’s pretty obvious by the title and the trailer, but I found myself genuinely surprised by the execution. This movie takes a lot of time setting up Jones’ Patti and her entire eugenics project before it even explores the horror of the situation. These first forty-five minutes or so are by far the weakest part of the movie, as it is hard to build tension when Russell spends the first day or so able to move mostly freely around the grounds of Patti’s house and dog breeding compound.
I was absolutely expecting to take advantage of its gross premise with scenes akin to the turkey baster scene from Don’t Breathe. Instead, the film is pretty tame, with almost no gore or violence at all. Still, once it gets going, it’s pretty great. Jones is believable as a stalking, ever-present villain, and Daniel Doheny is convincing as the scared and desperate Russell. I wish we got more time in the part of the story where he actually can’t leave, and that those moments of tension where he almost escapes or gets help had more room to breathe. The result feels much less like a true horror film and more like a PG-13 thriller, with all the good and bad that comes with that.
My biggest issue with Breeder is the lack of a consistent idea. This film didn’t need a capital P point per se, but they were clearly going down the “eugenics bad” route while still showing that eugenics both fully works and giving a little too much lip service to voices comparing it to animal breeding (e.g., What’s the difference?). It gets a little in the weeds about parenthood and parents viewing their children as possessions rather than people, but it goes nowhere. This messiness stands out, particularly as both Parsons’ Backrooms and Barker’s Obsession have very consistent themes throughout.
Overall, I did like this movie, but I wanted to love it. It’s a fun watch to turn your brain off and enjoy the horror thrills, but this isn’t a tightly written, memorable watch like Obsession or Backrooms. This feels like a first film, with many of the pitfalls that come with a lack of experience. Still worth watching, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets lost in the shuffle.
The official ScreenAge Newsletter has arrived! Subscribe to receive a semi-regular round-up of all our exclusive content, including reviews, editorials, Top 100 lists, and more! C'mon, we know you want to venture further into the Wasteland with us!