"Dark Breed" is a middle-of-the-road creature feature.
**SPOILERS**
Upon returning to Earth early, the astronauts of the Space Shuttle Aquarius, Joseph Shay, (Jonathan Banks) Zimmerman, (Sal Landi) Rice, (Josh Clark) Jackson, (Leon W. Grant) Powell, (Felton Perry) and Deborah Saxon, (Donna W. Scott) are feared to be infected and manage to escape. Ordered to find them and bring them back, officers Nick Saxon, (Jack Scalia) Lt. Burgess, (Cindy Ambuehl) and Fox, (Carlos Carrasco) go out to search and begin to track them down. After managing to find several of them, they soon discover that the aliens have a spy amongst them to divert them away from their target. That leads them to learn of an alien parasite that has infested the astronauts to take over the planet for their own race of beings, and they race against time to stop their diabolical plan to eliminate the planet.
The Good News: This was a pretty surprisingly good film. One of it's best features is it's action-packed narrative. It plays out much more like an action film than it really should. This is mostly evident in the beginning, where it features several really impressive action stunts. The truck's charge through the exploding battlefield is a pretty good scene, and the highway sequence is nothing shot of brilliant. From the acquisition of the vehicles to the brawl through the trailer and the ensuing chases, this is a great scene that does a whole lot right. That it concludes with a spectacular car crash and explosion is a lot better. The gunfight at the motel is also pretty good, and there's a really great hospital massacre scene gets some great moments in. There's also the film's highlight, the final confrontation in the alien's headquarters. The massive structure, the creepy interior and the fantastic way of lighting the entire area makes it a lot more suspenseful and give it an eerie look to it. The action in the scene is quite intense and gets some great mileage out of it. Along with other action scenes spread throughout the film, they make the film seem incredibly fast-paced and manages to stay entertaining quite easily, a great feat for a simple creature feature. The pretty high body count also works for the film's favor, giving it lots of kills and some great gore. There's a plethora of gunshots, a broken neck, several bashed against the surroundings, along with more graphic ones including having a hand punched through the stomach and coming out the back, being ripped apart from a creature underneath the skin, a special device tearing a victim to pieces and more, leaving this one pretty bloody. There's also a really graphic autopsy to add, along with all the non-fatal wounds acquired during the fights. These here make this a really entertaining creature feature.
The Bad News: There isn't a whole lot here that doesn't work. The main one is the aliens themselves. They're rarely on-screen, and the few times they are on make them look incredibly fake. The appearance is way too rubbery and covered with obviously fake goo that just makes them look like any generic alien out there. The fact that they transform in two of the single cheesiest-looking scenes ever doesn't do any favors, looking like third-rate bloopers for any creature feature made. Making them look even cheesier is that in human form they simply decide to make their eyes yellow-ish, cat-like eyes and it takes all their suspense away when they look like that. Also not helping is that the film is really clichéd and plays out like any normal film in this genre. It's quite easy to see where everything's going from the very beginning, giving it no real surprises to play on. These make it a little less than perfect, though it's still quite good.
The Final Verdict: Though this one did have some problems, all-together this was a nicely action-packed film that does manage to entertain. This one's mostly for the lovers of cheesy creature features or of the more action-packed variety, though those of more serious fare seek caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity
**SPOILERS**
Upon returning to Earth early, the astronauts of the Space Shuttle Aquarius, Joseph Shay, (Jonathan Banks) Zimmerman, (Sal Landi) Rice, (Josh Clark) Jackson, (Leon W. Grant) Powell, (Felton Perry) and Deborah Saxon, (Donna W. Scott) are feared to be infected and manage to escape. Ordered to find them and bring them back, officers Nick Saxon, (Jack Scalia) Lt. Burgess, (Cindy Ambuehl) and Fox, (Carlos Carrasco) go out to search and begin to track them down. After managing to find several of them, they soon discover that the aliens have a spy amongst them to divert them away from their target. That leads them to learn of an alien parasite that has infested the astronauts to take over the planet for their own race of beings, and they race against time to stop their diabolical plan to eliminate the planet.
The Good News: This was a pretty surprisingly good film. One of it's best features is it's action-packed narrative. It plays out much more like an action film than it really should. This is mostly evident in the beginning, where it features several really impressive action stunts. The truck's charge through the exploding battlefield is a pretty good scene, and the highway sequence is nothing shot of brilliant. From the acquisition of the vehicles to the brawl through the trailer and the ensuing chases, this is a great scene that does a whole lot right. That it concludes with a spectacular car crash and explosion is a lot better. The gunfight at the motel is also pretty good, and there's a really great hospital massacre scene gets some great moments in. There's also the film's highlight, the final confrontation in the alien's headquarters. The massive structure, the creepy interior and the fantastic way of lighting the entire area makes it a lot more suspenseful and give it an eerie look to it. The action in the scene is quite intense and gets some great mileage out of it. Along with other action scenes spread throughout the film, they make the film seem incredibly fast-paced and manages to stay entertaining quite easily, a great feat for a simple creature feature. The pretty high body count also works for the film's favor, giving it lots of kills and some great gore. There's a plethora of gunshots, a broken neck, several bashed against the surroundings, along with more graphic ones including having a hand punched through the stomach and coming out the back, being ripped apart from a creature underneath the skin, a special device tearing a victim to pieces and more, leaving this one pretty bloody. There's also a really graphic autopsy to add, along with all the non-fatal wounds acquired during the fights. These here make this a really entertaining creature feature.
The Bad News: There isn't a whole lot here that doesn't work. The main one is the aliens themselves. They're rarely on-screen, and the few times they are on make them look incredibly fake. The appearance is way too rubbery and covered with obviously fake goo that just makes them look like any generic alien out there. The fact that they transform in two of the single cheesiest-looking scenes ever doesn't do any favors, looking like third-rate bloopers for any creature feature made. Making them look even cheesier is that in human form they simply decide to make their eyes yellow-ish, cat-like eyes and it takes all their suspense away when they look like that. Also not helping is that the film is really clichéd and plays out like any normal film in this genre. It's quite easy to see where everything's going from the very beginning, giving it no real surprises to play on. These make it a little less than perfect, though it's still quite good.
The Final Verdict: Though this one did have some problems, all-together this was a nicely action-packed film that does manage to entertain. This one's mostly for the lovers of cheesy creature features or of the more action-packed variety, though those of more serious fare seek caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity