The Story: You'd think that the movie viewing public would have developed a "been there, done that" attitude with vampire flicks, but I guess that ain't quite so. The recently reviewed "The Forsaken" was a decent movie, but it was pretty much an updated hip version of "Near Dark".  So anything new in the way of a vampire flick would be interesting.

I said interesting...that doesn't mean good.

The Breed has some interesting ideas in it. Its the "near future", you see and apparently the world is ruled by a sort of totalitarian big brother type regime. (Haven't we learned YET!? When you say "Near Future" in a movie it always seems kind of silly ten or so years down the line when nothing like the movie has happened.) Vampires exist and have formed communities! They've lived in secret among us, but now have decided to come out of hiding and seek a peaceful coexistence with normal humans. With an agreement between vampires and humans coming soon, a radical vampire and his friends decide to scuttle the peace process by doing what vampires do...kill people...and convince the humans that the vampires are too dangerous to trust. Steven Grant (Bokeem Woodbine), a human cop is teamed up with vampire cop, Aaron Gray (Adrian Paul)  to find out who is behind the murders and stop them.

Sounds almost like "Alien Nation", huh? I wish I could say it was as good. But this movie, well, it kind of sucked. Wherever this movie was supposed to be taking place, it was obviously Europe. (I believe it was filmed in Budapest, but I'm going by hearsay so correct me if I'm wrong) there's a pseudo 30's theme going on in this movie with old ass cars, cops wearing big ass trench coats, and old "Flash Gordon" high tech devices going on. That would be cool if it made any sense to me. I mean, what exactly happened to the world to make an obviously fascist government acceptable? I'm not objecting to the "big brother" government in the movie I just want to know what happened to make it. I don't need a history book on it....just gimme a throwaway line about the "Great Flash War" or something. Tell me exactly how the vampires in the world decided to form their own governmental structure ands why they fear humans so much! Its said in the film that vampires are an evolutionary offshoot of man...they live hundreds of years, have super duper strength and drink blood for food....though they've developed a blood substitute so they no longer have to prey on people. Oh, and there's vampire children in the movie...so I guess they procreate too. (Yet there's only 4000 of them in the world? Huh?)

I won't go into that right now....what I will go into is the awful performance by Bokeem Woodbine. Woodbine is the "hero" of the flick, Grant. Now, I remember seeing him in "Caught Up", a movie that has been screaming for Infernal Judgment, but I made no decisions on his *ahem* acting then. Well, I can safely say folks...he has one facial expression and voice. Trees aren't as wooden as this guy. Pinocchio would be envious. As hard as it is for me to believe it seemed his acting got worse as the movie went on! Was he an athlete or something before appearing in films? I can't believe he does this for a living and people think he's good at it.....

Oh, God, and Adrian Paul...TV's Highlander....Paul can act, but I would never say he's a GREAT actor. (Hell, he's better at it than me, and I'm probably as good as Woodbine, which ain't sayin' much.) My whole problem with Paul as the vampire Aaron Gray is that his character seemed too much like a vampire rip-off of his Highlander character, Duncan MacCleod...all moody because of things he went through in the far past and all. Maybe Mr. Paul is trying out different roles than what he used to do, but I think he should stick to action hero type stuff.

There are other characters that I don't even want to mention...including the villain. None of them were interesting, really. Yeah, there's the vampire chick/ love interest for Grant, played by Bai Ling...and it was nowhere near as interesting as the relationship between a cop and a vampire in the movie "Innocent Blood". There's also Dr. Orlock and Dr. Bathory...two characters that have names that grate on my nerves. I guess the writer thought it was cool to have names from vampire lore given to the characters but the only thing it did for me was remind me of how cool the script is trying to act by dropping names.

I can give this movie an "A" for effort. It seemed like a pilot for TV show at some points....but it was ultimately disappointing, too long and sort of lame. "The Breed" had some good ideas going in it, but at some point those ideas were put to film and went horribly, horribly wrong.

Best Lines:  “Puerto Ricans don't bench press trucks....or drink blood!” - Grant tells his boss the difference between Puerto Ricans and vampires.

Are you kidding me?

1.) Grant is a lousy shot. At one point he's firing at someone running from him directly ahead....in a narrow hall....straight in front of him. The guy ain't ziggin' and zaggin'. He's just running. Yet Grant can't hit him. This guy is a crack detective?

2.) The biggest problem I have with buying this movies premise is that knowing there's only 4000 vampires worldwide the human totalitarian government wants to coexist with them. I can't swallow it. The vampires themselves are fearful of what humanity might do to them if they're discovered. With good reason, because I believe in real life people would demand that they be exterminated! Well, that's really just my opinion, but I still don't buy it in the movie!

3.) If the vampires have a government of sorts...and settlements like the one we see in the movie...how did they keep their presence unknown? I mean, the movie is supposedly taking place in America...(which you can tell that its not filmed in the US easily). I mean I'd think I'd notice if I was pulling of the highway at night for a hotel and a snack and saw that everyone in the little town had [unwrite]ing fangs and the people were all pasty and all.

4.) Of course....why is it that every recent vampire flick has to change the freaking rules of vampires? Why!? In this flick vampires are bothered by sunlight but its no real danger to them! I guess crosses, garlic and all the other stuff doesn't work either. Now that kind of takes the fun out of vampires! I mean, without all of the supernatural/religious stuff they're basically a bunch of really strong guys that like to drink blood! Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there a TV series awhile back called "Prey" where a new genetic strain of humans were posing a threat to us regular shmucks? (I never watched the show but I remember hearing about it.) I'm betting it was more interesting than this movie.

5.) So how exactly does Lucy pay for her big freakin' house and all of the crazy clothes?

Nudity and Sex: There are tits seen. And Grant has sex with Lucy.

Huh?:

Yepper, you read that right. Grant has sex with Lucy. Ummmm....I thought vampires were like dead and all....isn't her body all cold and clammy. Ugh. I don't care how hot a chick is, if she ain't got a heartbeat I don't want to be in the same bed with her.

I'm a little sick of movies where the characters make a remark about an super duper inescapable cell...because we all know that the hero will manage to escape from it somehow. This movie doesn't even try to make a decent excuse for it. Gray is locked in a vampire proof cell, but at the crucial moment he busts through it like the Hulk. *Yawn*. Saw that one coming from the git go.

A lot of the vampires in this movie are real wussies. Serious wussies. I'm talking vampires that are such punks they make Anne Rice's crybaby woe-is-me vampires look like Tough Guys.

The Final Judgment: Well, I'd like to be kind to this film, but its hard....'cuz while it had some interesting parts, its fell short. It seemed like a good idea that just didn't get fleshed out. Also Woodbine is annoying. The guy talks through his teeth all of the time...I guess in an effort to seem like a hard as nails cop....but it was really grating on my nerves. While this movie may be the right cup of tea for some folks....(really weird folks that like watching crappy movies...like, well, me and anyone reading this....) its better left alone for any person with higher tastes. The Inferno grants it an "A" for effort and one devil for my trouble. (and money! I bought the damned thing!)