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YouTuber-turned-filmmaker Alex Goyet (aka “JOULETHIEF”) has mastered the art of going viral; to accept Breeder. The concept is loud: eugenics. The approach does not prevent people from being treated like cattle; Goyet breaks down civilization to its bare animality. Enter impressive ex-athlete Dot-Marie Jones as a powerful villain you can’t deny. Goyette sets up parts that will drive you crazy, and he knows how to hit a shocker moment, but the end of the film doesn’t quite deliver. It’s still sad, depraved and deeply disturbing breeder The climax goes down with little fanfare after making us uncomfortable for so long.
Daniel Dohen stars as Russell, an anxiety-ridden researcher who quit his PhD at MIT to focus on an environmental project involving genetics and beehives. His partner Hayley (Tanaia Beatty) supports Russell’s nonprofit ambitions, but grants without quality won’t invest. Just then, Russell receives a letter from Patty (Dot-Marie Jones), a mysterious dog breeder who invites Russell to dinner for possible funding. Russell obliges, hypnotized by the dollar signs that might keep his bee obsession at bay, but discovers that Patty’s hospitality hides more sinister motives, and he might not be leaving anytime soon.
from the beginning Breeders Cues Christian and Justin Long V/H/S/Beyond “Fur Babies” segment that leads to tense intrigue. The opening scene reveals Patty as a breeder, but it can’t be a poodle or a pug, can it? Goyet dares to draw comparisons with Westminster’s procreative ideologies of producing only the purest waste for humanity, and the existential nightmare of even suggesting that only an elite percentage of society should procreate. But Daniel clearly slips into a nightmare, and Goyette delights in holding the audience hostage while they wait for an answer. It’s his strongest directorial instinct: a lingering, gut-wrenching dread.
After Jones gets down loud on camera and fills the doors with his championship arm wrestling physique, it’s clear he’s cut out for the part. Patty oversees a stable of blonde-haired young women led by Maddie Phillips’ Ainsley, and she develops terrible antics, such as demanding to be called “Boss” when she’s working the clock. Jones has a cold ferocity that threatens to turn any fight into violence, while his off-kilter line delivery is subtle, like how he offers a “little porn box” as usual. Pat presents herself as a dedicated dog breeder who deserves first-place honors, but something about her personality always feels off-kilter—a powder keg waiting to explode. Jones revels in the intensity that Petty carries inside and lands a brutal hammerlock that leaves Jaws glistening.
But Breeders The longer he struggles, the more he turns into the ruthlessness of black market villains and “superior race” mentalities. Dohen plays Russell as a sly brain who doesn’t see the problems until it’s too late, blinded by his never-ending quest to fully fund his honey experiments. It’s a fearless portrait that calls for full-frontal nudity, and it’s game for the torture Russell endures, but some elements feel off. It is clear how Patti views humanity: she abuses her only dark-haired “daughter”, talks about the advantages of natural fertilization and equates life with the blue-eyed Aryan type, where only the best genetics should survive. All this is obvious, and yet for some reason, the concept wears thin. Russell tries to escape the script he was chosen to defend, which culminates in an epic finale.
The first roughness of Petty’s science is horrifying and disgusting, but that’s what makes his actual subject matter so disturbing. Jarryl Lim’s cinematography accentuates the darkness of the action, capturing Pat’s compound with A24-style mastery that terrifies him with his strange plans. And Phillips creates great sexual tension with Doheny as Russell avoids betraying his lover at gunpoint. Breeder It’s not without its pitiful behavior and nasty atmosphere that keeps the scenes ticking forward like a ticking time bomb, but its cynical ending doesn’t end there. Everyone’s selfish desires come at a strangely one-sided price. Who and why the survivors were left to deal with the trauma, and why a certain character might re-enter the picture, explains what the hour did more than to keep us squirming in our seats.
Breeder Shows tonal command that keeps the finish line strong. Goyette has a keen eye for slow-burn antagonism and isn’t afraid to challenge the audience with appropriately messy material. The problem is disintegration; Goyette doesn’t feel confident about the topics she’s most angry about, or how much she wants her messages to resonate. It doesn’t retroactively peddle the entire film, but it does raise questions that undermine its foundation. Breeders Focuses on strong technical changes and puts Goyet’s name on our radars, but feels much more confident in its first two acts than in Payback and Farewell, which is inconsistent.
Movie score: 3/5
