Product Details

• Actors: Leigh Whannell, Nathan Phillips, Bille Brown, Ken Radley, Elaine Hudson
• Directors: Jody Dwyer
• Writers: Rod Morris, Michael Boughen
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: March 31, 2009
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001P9N99E
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,811 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

On their quest to find a rare tiger, four hikers venture deep into isolated territory of Tasmania and into the small township of "Sarah”. Nestled within the impenetrable forests of Western Tasmania, "Sarah" was the hideout of the infamous cannibal nicknamed "The Pieman” in the 1800s. The township lives on passionately upholding its heritage in honour of the convict patriarch that gave birth to it. It needs to stay hidden to survive...but it also needs fresh "stock" to breed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Australian for Terror, January 9, 2009

By 

Chris Pandolfi (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Dying Breed (DVD)

I always laugh when a horror movie begins and ends with facts to read. Even if the filmmakers are alluding to actual events, do they honestly expect that the plot itself is deserving of a history lesson? At the start of "Dying Breed," we learn about Alexander Pearce, an Irish convict who in 1822 escaped from a penal colony on the Australian island of Tasmania; in 1824, he was caught, tried, and hanged for murder and cannibalism. In the film, he's given the nickname The Pieman, although we now know that this is actually a reference to pastry chef Thomas Kent, another Tasmanian inmate who also escaped imprisonment in 1822. I can understand why writers Michael Boughen, Jody Dwyer, and Rod Morris gave that name to Pearce--students of "Sweeney Todd" know that cannibalism is a lot more fun when it's coupled with the skill and artistry of a baker.

This movie also tells us about the Tasmanian Tiger, a carnivorous marsupial that was once common throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea. As of today, some believe early European settlers hunted this animal to extinction, the last one dying in captivity in 1936. Others believe that a select few survived and continue to exist in isolated groups within the bushland of Tasmania. Sightings have been reported, although there's no actual proof of anything. There is, however, the ominous fact that many hikers have gone into Tasmania, never to be seen or heard from again.

What exactly do these two bits of information have to do with one another? "Dying Breed" attempts to make a connection, although it's weak, probably because there's no chemistry between them. Yes, there is that fact that both are part of the fabric of Australian legend. And then there's one of the film's most crucial subplots, in which the creepy townsfolk of an isolated Tasmanian village show just how far they will go to keep certain traditions alive; the obvious symbolism is that the townsfolk are struggling to survive, just like the Tiger. But that doesn't amount to very much in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, two very different ideas are at work in just one story, and that's bad because they don't really belong together.

The plot focuses on an Irish zoologist named Nina (Mirrah Foulkes). She has now made it her mission to find a Tasmanian Tiger, which she believes still exists. The proof is in a photo of a paw print taken by her sister, who was also in search of a Tiger before dying mysteriously eight years ago. Nina's superiors refuse to fund a new expedition, so she has to rely on her Australian boyfriend, Matt (Leigh Whannell), who relies on an old friend named Jack (Nathan Phillips). Once Nina and Matt arrive in Tasmania, they travel with Jack and his girlfriend, Rebecca (Melanie Vallejo), into the frighteningly isolated village of Sarah, where it's always gray and rainy and the locals all have a distrustful, psychotic glint in their eyes.

The first three-quarters of this film could have worked as a character study, but alas, everyone is so broadly drawn that they come dangerously close to turning into cardboard. Nina, for example, is no more nor less than what the screenplay requires her to be at any given moment; when she doesn't need to be persistent, then she's curious, and when she's not curious, she's scared, and when she's not scared, she's lost somewhere between driven and confused. In other words, I didn't really know who she was. Matt, on the other hand, is so passive and even-tempered that he's just shy of completely boring. Rebecca is just an extra character, serving no real purpose other than being a companion for Jack. And as for Jack, he's probably the most developed character, which is annoying since (a) he isn't the main character, and (b) he's unlikable. He seems to lack the ability to keep his mouth shut when it's most necessary, creating tension between him and Nina, which in turn creates tension between Nina and Matt.

The horror element is there, but it's not much of a saving grace since so many of the clichés I grew tired of a long time ago are still being used. Only in this kind of film would anyone even consider exploring a shack located miles from anywhere. And not run when they discover that it's a House of Horrors. And actually investigate a stove when it appears that the contents of an abandoned pot are about to boil over. The only thing that prevented this story from bottoming out: A lack of sex-crazed teens stupidly wandering off alone while calling, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Still, clichés are better than back-stories that don't make a whole lot of sense. I watched the Tasmanian townsfolk in various scenes, and I got that they were driven to keep to tradition, but somehow, I couldn't make sense of the tradition itself, which involves both feeding and breeding. What exactly is director Jody Dwyer trying to tell us here? That one deadly species has gone extinct, only to be replaced by another deadly species? If that's the case, then why even bother bringing up the Tasmanian Tiger? Why not focus on just the townsfolk? I would have liked "Dying Breed" a lot more had it known which story it wanted to tell. The Pieman or the Tiger--make up your mind. I'd go for The Pieman, because God knows that, in a horror movie, watching someone eat a meat pie is better than reading the history of an elusive animal.

1.0 out of 5 stars Had High Hopes for this one., July 11, 2011

By 

Kaelan "**~#1 Avril Lavigne Fan!~**" (Calii :)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dying Breed (DVD)

the After Dark Movies, have an ability to be either Terrible, or Amazing. This movie, Sucks. After Reading some reviews, and reading the plot, i thought i would love this movie, Boy, was i surprised. This is second On the list for worst for me. The worst is Dark Ride. dont even get me Started! This movie could have been so much better, if they had of spent a little more time working on it. The acting was terrible, All of the Characters, were Extremely Unlikable. usually, Good or Bad, there are likable characters in every film, but not in this one. I hated the Characters, and people who played them. It's ashame that they wasted a film, that could have been really great.All the plot talks about, is Finding an extict tiger, but the movie doesn't even follow that Plot, I Mean, it mentions the tiger a couple times, but that is it. Awful Movie, dont waste your time, or money.

4.0 out of 5 stars Creepy as hell!, July 2, 2010

By 

Touch of Class - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dying Breed (DVD)

This review is for Dying Breed NOT the entire horrorfest as i've seen below...Dying Breed was very creepy and very gory! Picture Deliverance but with blood thirsty psycho cannibals! Nathan Phillips of Wolf Creek and the Main Girl were both very good. They set out on a trip where the main Girl's Sister had previously died searching for an animal thought to be extinct...Things go very bad from there. The whole scenery was excellent and rain and such made this more scary in my opinion. Hunted and terrified they try to get back to civilization but at there every turn...Will they make it? I thought this was well made not as a horrorfest film but in general. This is a creepy thriller! Thanks for reading :)