I'm surprised, and also a bit upset, to notice that so many people gave a ridiculously low rating to "Breeder" and wrote incredibly dumb things in their reviews. This certainly isn't the greatest genre effort ever made, but - come on folks - at least this is REAL horror! Like rarely seen in recent years, "Breeder" features shocking images, loathsome villainous characters, extreme gore, and nasty scenery. I don't use this sentence very often, but this movie is NOT for the squeamish or the faint of heart!
The plot isn't exactly original, since in the fifties and sixties already, there were also horror flicks in which crazed scientists attempted to manipulate the natural ageing process by abducting young woman and performing nauseating experiments on them. But it's certainly better than the series of senseless torture-porn movies of recent years and, moreover, "Breeder" holds a truly disturbing and appalling twist in store. You might want to look away when the heroine opens a certain barrel in the final act of the film.
As for the often-read criticism that the women in this film are stupid, I disagree. They certainly aren't dumber or more naïve than in most films, and the lead heroine - Mia - is a strong and likeable character. The torture sequences are sadist and gratuitous? Perhaps, but certainly not any more or less than in the average "Saw" or "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" installment, and "Breeder" at least provides a bit more content and a morbidly tense atmosphere. Most impressive are the villains. Signe Egholm Olsen is insanely hateful as the relentless female scientist, and particularly Morten Holst catapulted himself straight in the top five of most evil cinematic psychopaths ever with his aptly nicknamed character The Dog. He kidnaps and guards the women, but he isn't in for the money or the scientific value. He's the right man for the job simply because he's a sick misogynic.
Of course, I'll be the first to admit "Breeder" also contains multiple shortcomings. The Thomas-character is weak and implausible, and considering the number of women gone missing, it's incredibly unlikely there isn't a massive police hunt going on. Especially in a country like Denmark. Still, every movie has defaults, but not nearly every movie can genuinely shock and petrify. "Breeder" does, hence I'm calling out to the real genre fanatics to seek this one out.
The plot isn't exactly original, since in the fifties and sixties already, there were also horror flicks in which crazed scientists attempted to manipulate the natural ageing process by abducting young woman and performing nauseating experiments on them. But it's certainly better than the series of senseless torture-porn movies of recent years and, moreover, "Breeder" holds a truly disturbing and appalling twist in store. You might want to look away when the heroine opens a certain barrel in the final act of the film.
As for the often-read criticism that the women in this film are stupid, I disagree. They certainly aren't dumber or more naïve than in most films, and the lead heroine - Mia - is a strong and likeable character. The torture sequences are sadist and gratuitous? Perhaps, but certainly not any more or less than in the average "Saw" or "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" installment, and "Breeder" at least provides a bit more content and a morbidly tense atmosphere. Most impressive are the villains. Signe Egholm Olsen is insanely hateful as the relentless female scientist, and particularly Morten Holst catapulted himself straight in the top five of most evil cinematic psychopaths ever with his aptly nicknamed character The Dog. He kidnaps and guards the women, but he isn't in for the money or the scientific value. He's the right man for the job simply because he's a sick misogynic.
Of course, I'll be the first to admit "Breeder" also contains multiple shortcomings. The Thomas-character is weak and implausible, and considering the number of women gone missing, it's incredibly unlikely there isn't a massive police hunt going on. Especially in a country like Denmark. Still, every movie has defaults, but not nearly every movie can genuinely shock and petrify. "Breeder" does, hence I'm calling out to the real genre fanatics to seek this one out.