Dying Breed (2008)

50% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
27% of users liked it
(1,346 ratings)

The noble search for a dying breed leads an ambitious zoologist to the discovery of a far more sinister species in this brutal Australian shocker featuring Leigh Whannell (Saw) and Nathan Phillips (Wolf Creek). Eight years ago, Zoology student Nina (Mirrah Foulkes)'s sister was searching for… More The noble search for a dying breed leads an ambitious zoologist to the discovery of a far more sinister species in this brutal Australian shocker featuring Leigh Whannell (Saw) and Nathan Phillips (Wolf Creek). Eight years ago, Zoology student Nina (Mirrah Foulkes)'s sister was searching for evidence of the elusive Tasmanian Tiger when she suddenly vanished without a trace. Before disappearing, however, she did manage to send her sister a mysterious paw print that seemed to suggest that the species was still flourishing somewhere in the vast Australian wilderness. Much like the Sasquatch, the Tasmanian Tiger is a creature that modern scientists have dismissed as legend - but now that Nina has evidence, she's fully prepared to breach Tasmania's dense and dangerous forests in order to prove that the reclusive creature really exists. As Nina, her partner Matt (Whannell), his old friend Jack (Phillips), and his girlfriend Rebecca (Melanie Vallejo) make their way deep into the heart of Tasmania, it quickly becomes obvious that Nina is completely ignorant to one of the isolated island's darkest legends. Back in the 19th Century, when Australia was a barren penal colony, a dangerous convict named Alexander Pierce (aka "The Pieman"), staged a daring escape from the island's most heavily guarded prison. Later, in order to survive, Pierce resorted to eating his fellow escapees. Though Pierce would be hung for cannibalism in 1824, by the time he was captured it was already too late. Pierce had bred, passing on his insatiable appetite for human flesh the next generation. Nearly two centuries later the Tasmanian Tiger seems to have finally become extinct, though the Pieman's lineage is still going strong. Now, in a land where human meat is scarce, Nina's expedition will fall prey to species with a savage appetite, and a murderous motivation to keep their bloodline strong. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Jody Dwyer
Written By: Michael Boughen, Rod Morris, Jody Dwyer
Genres: Horror

In Theaters: Jan 9, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Mar 31, 2009
Studio: After Dark Films

Critic Reviews

Ruth Hessey, MovieTime, ABC Radio National
It's a textbook gorefest. Give it a miss if you don't like blood.
Alissa Simon, Variety
Even by the low standards of other horror-movie victims, the foursome here seem blithely clueless, always splitting up for no good reason and running headlong into ambushes.
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
If Geoffrey Hall's cinematography is eerily beautiful, capturing the isolation and subdued menace of the Tasmanian hinterlands, then there is little else in Dying Breed that, to quote protagonist Nina, "nobody's ever seen before".
Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique
The setting is the island of Tasmania rather than the Australian outback, but after WOLF CREEK and STORM WARNING, any city folk stupid enough to wander this far off the track deserve whatever they get - and boy, do they get it.
David Stratton, At the Movies (Australia)
It tries hard to be horrific and gruesome, even introducing a bit of fashionable torture near the end, but only the most credulous will find it genuinely scary.
Annette Basile, FILMINK (Australia)
Right from the opening credits, with their strangely beautiful blown-up images of blood and the accompanying darkly rhythmic score, you're primed for something terrible to happen.
Paul Byrnes, Sydney Morning Herald
There is no civic responsibility in horror. You can insult whomever you like, so long as you make it scary. This one has a few good moments but not enough to rattle one's bones.
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
Grisly as it needs to be, Dying Breed is nevertheless quite a sophisticated horror film, layered with elements and peopled with leading characters who are more than stereotypes, thanks also to top performances.
Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics
Aussie mayhem with cannibalistic inbred idiots and upper middle class whitebread victims fails to set this film apart. But great fun nonetheless.
Scott Weinberg, Cinematical
If you're looking for a horror flick that wants to give you a 'you are there -- and it's freaking miserable' vibe, this one should fit the bill quite nicely.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Steve K

Middling film with semi-tolerable characters doing various stupid things. There are hints of a better, more interesting film occasionally, but it never fully develops.
J P

I decided to watch this movie because I saw Leigh Whannell was in it. I'm glad he's still alive, I was sad after I watched Saw. The movie definitely wasn't as bad as some of the FearNet movies I've seen. I did have some problems with it though, like the amount… More
I decided to watch this movie because I saw Leigh Whannell was in it. I'm glad he's still alive, I was sad after I watched Saw. The movie definitely wasn't as bad as some of the FearNet movies I've seen. I did have some problems with it though, like the amount of unnecessary characters. Only a handful of characters seemed important and contributed something to the plot. I wasn't really feeling the plot either. I was more interested in the sister's story to be honest. She seemed like she went through hell, and it looked awesome. Sadly, there was not too much focus on that part, only the occasional flashbacks. I think if the sister's story had been the main plot, the movie would've been more enjoyable. ....I liked the twist. I didn't see that coming. It was a pretty okay movie. I actually watched the whole thing and didn't fall asleep. That says something.
Bruce B

This is a real freaky movie. It will keep you on the edge most of the movie, great slasher type film, seems like a group in the wild woods have taken to inbreeding and are looking for new mates. Mean while a group of young people go exploring for a rare animal only to get caught up in… More
This is a real freaky movie. It will keep you on the edge most of the movie, great slasher type film, seems like a group in the wild woods have taken to inbreeding and are looking for new mates. Mean while a group of young people go exploring for a rare animal only to get caught up in this groups web. Some neat killing scenes, Worth 4 stars
Dean M

Bloody shocking in this Aussie horror-ride that recalls films like The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn. How director-writer Jody Dwyer gets all these elements in place isn't terribly convincing - the gang of four twentysomethings might as well… More
Bloody shocking in this Aussie horror-ride that recalls films like The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn. How director-writer Jody Dwyer gets all these elements in place isn't terribly convincing - the gang of four twentysomethings might as well be sleepaway camp teens as supposedly serious Thylacine fanciers, and the backstory of a missing sister is as filmsy - but the wilderness and backwoods inbreds are satisfyingly creepy. I felt so disappointed at the finale is not over.
vieras e

That they went on a zoological expedition and not just camping was refreshing and the ending wasn't entirely predictable. Unfortunately everything else in between pretty much was. The little girl was cool.
Panta O

[b][size=5][color=darkblue]DYING BREED (2008)[/color][/size][/b] [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/custom/70/10009870.jpg[/img] [color=blue][b]Horor filmovi nisu èesti na ovim stranama, ali ovog puta sam rešio da pogledam i nešto strašno, posebno što se radnja… More
[b][size=5][color=darkblue]DYING BREED (2008)[/color][/size][/b] [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/custom/70/10009870.jpg[/img] [color=blue][b]Horor filmovi nisu èesti na ovim stranama, ali ovog puta sam rešio da pogledam i nešto strašno, posebno što se radnja odvija u Tasmaniji i što glavni junaci traže tasmanijskog tigra, o kojem sam ja nekada davno pisao u Zov-u i kojeg sam uporno tražio ni na tren ne pomišljajuæi da je stvarno izumrla vrsta od pre 50'tak godina. Student yoologije Nina (Mirrah Foulkes), je sigurna da tasmanijski tigrovi još postoje u šumama gde retko koja ljudska noga kroèi, a dokay ya to je otisak koji joj je u "amanet" ostavila roðena sestra koja je kasnije išèezla u tim istim šumama. Tragajuæi sa svojim prijateljima je i njen momak koji pokušava da usaglasi razlièite temperamente i oèiglednu kulturnu razliku koja je u vozilu dok putuju vijugavim putevima. Ono što Nina i društvo ne znaju je da je u tim krajevima nekada davno u vreme kolonijalne Australije, ubica Alexander 'The Pieman' Pearce (Peter Docker) pobegao iz zatvora i preživeo uz pomoæ kanibalizma! Njegovi naslednici su još uvek u tim krajevima... Film u kome ima svega, dobre fotografije, osrednje glume, dosta krvi, muèenja ali i realistiènih scena koje vas toliko uvuku u film da na kraju pomislite da ste stvarno tamo prisutni (bili)... [img]http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/res/images/d/dyingbreed3.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/res/images/d/dyingbreed2.jpg[/img] Ako ste zainteresovani da skaèete sa stolice u bioskopu, ako volite prirodu, ako se ne plašite krvavih scena, nemojte propustiti ovaj film. [img]http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/res/images/d/dyingbreed_large.jpg[/img] Ne želim da vas ohrabrim da postavite svoja oèekivanja previsoko, ali za mene je ovaj film opravdao ocenu od 6 (od moguæih 10). [img]http://www.cineplex.com.au/movie/images/movies/large/dyingbreed.jpg[/img][/b][/color]
August S

Nothing new about people going in a secluded place where there's no phone signal and unknowingly to the characters, there lives a serial murderer and the fun begins! However, Dying Breed delivers something a little more of the cliches and thats just how far it goes.