Films seem to gain momentum and succeed in a straight greenlit path while others have many twists and turns and end-up either shelved, or languish in turmoil hell, this movie had the latter done to it, by the distributor. Often a filmmaker wants their movie going out to the masses to get the fame, and more exposure yet it comes with risk versus reward basis, therefore let’s first examine the backstory of this Canadian horror flick, before proceeding forward about this strange movie. The film directed by Christin Veil and assisted in the story along with William R. Mariani, wrapped production in 2002, and hoped for a release by Halloween in the UK, loaded with a lot of graphic gore and plenty of blood splatter, however it missed that targeted date, planned for a proper showing in October of 2003 under the original title of Samhain gained some notoriety as included adult film performers Ginger Lynn Allen, Chasey Lain, Taylor Hayes, and Jenna Jameson. Nevertheless, then came the involvement from Lionsgate Films Home Entertainment who acquired the rights, consequentially shortened, and retitled the film, thereby creating a few plot holes and far less actual horror on the screen with a DVD release in 2005/2006.

The film starts at night with two American tourists, who are camping and fulfilling their carnal desires Amy (Chasey Lain (Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight [1995])) hears something or someone lurking out in the woods, insists Mark (Richard Grieco (Minutes to Midnight [2018])) investigates while she is snatched suddenly about six feet away without him seeing anything. (Uh yeah ok… of course the woods are well-lit for this goofy opening sequence). Although quickly enough he too is attacked, we all know how that will end, so onto the main story a group of students arrive in Ireland with their professor Karen (Bobbie Phillips) just in time for the ancient festival of Samhain while researching Celtic legends and druid folklore, and achieve two luxuries a very nice home to stay in and a vehicle with the driver’s seat on the left (wow, what a hot score especially since cars in Ireland have the driver’s seat on the right. Meanwhile, lurking in the woods and occupying an abandoned mine is a clan of cannibals who seek fresh food and new ‘breeders’ as their inbreeding has led to disastrous results. This portion attempts to connect to the legend of the Scottish Sawney Bean family (still debated by historians, but used for the basis in Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes [1977]) while still having no connect to Samhain, yes, it is confusing. Evil Breed pours all sorts of clichés into the mix and could make for a dangerous drinking game of how many exist, including a doomsayer, this time as a caretaker named Gary (Simon Peacock) who constantly warns don’t go in the woods and stay on the path (which reminds one of An American Werewolf in London [1981], concerning to stay off the moors). In addition, spoiler warning, Gary’s insides pulled out through his backdoor the sickest kill well-before the release of Sodomaniac [2015]; which then top it. Of course, as common then we have the jerk of the pack as Steve (Phil Price), who states if you say hello you die in a horror movie, he’s basically a lame version of Randy from Scream [1996] and is accompanied by his cousin Pandora (Ginger Lynn (31 [2016])). The final 20-minutes a slaughterfest with numerous killings including Jenny (Jenna Jameson (Zombie Strippers! [2008])) death scene of her getting torn apart and one of the cannibals finding her breast implant unappealing. Well, even cannibals have their dislikes, yet Shae (Brandi-Ann Milbradt) finds the ultimate horror when she discovers ‘the breeder’ (Taylor Hayes) and a stillborn baby.

So, there’s limited positive aspects, and that could be found on the cutting room floor all thanks to Lionsgate butchering and cannibalizing of the original film makes for a badly edited movie. While the special effects from Adrien Morot does an impressive job, the over lighting in some scenes especially those at night ruin the atmosphere and sour some of the makeup work. Then the film is filled with excessive talking, the dialogue is often awkward, especially with the character Steve and the constant horror movie references which were quite passé by 2003 as well as nod to the creepy situation at one point to a Ted Raimi movie, yep, a bit tiresome. While included both quality deaths and gross-out sequences to satisfied gorehounds, execution does lack quality points with too quick of a set-up and dispatched haphazardly. Oh, for the fans of the razor wire slice (aka Razor Floss trope) if you enjoyed the opening scene in Ghost Ship [2002] then you’ll enjoy Steve’s downfall.

Horror fans be forewarned with this flick, yes it has plenty of T&A, violence, some gore, and cannibals, hideous in appearance as if crossbreed with the Wrong Turn [2003] mutants and Matango [1963], but in the end it devolves into a slasher of sorts with terrible dialogue. The core target audience is simple to define, teenage males especially in last one-third of the film, as two-thirds works to build some of the visuals of the actual physical background of twisted trees, and isolationism for the endless woods surrounding the characters. Therefore, if you are fond of low-brow horror, cannibals, then fest your eyes on this and devour the entire cast of characters.

TAGLINE: Evil roams the woods of Ireland…

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318040/

IMDb Rating: 3.2/10

Baron’s Rating: 3.0/10