Review: BREEDER Begs You to Succumb to Its Disturbing Thrills

YouTuber-turned-filmmaker Alex Goyette (aka “JOULETHIEF”) has mastered the art of going viral; take Breeder. The concept is buzzworthy: Eugenics. The approach doesn’t hold back in treating humans like livestock; Goyette strips civilization down to its naked animalism. Enter the imposing ex-athlete Dot-Marie Jones as a towering villain you cannot deny. Goyette assembles pieces that make you gawk, and he knows how to punch a shock-value moment—but something about the film’s ending underachieves. It’s skeevy, perverse, and deeply unsettling, yet Breeder's climax slinks off with little fanfare after edging us with discomfort for so long.

Daniel Doheny stars as Russell, an anxiety-suffering researcher who quit his doctoral program at MIT to focus on an environmental project involving genetics and beehives. His partner, Haley (Tanaya Beatty), supports Russell’s non-profit ambitions, but without a degree, grants will not invest. That’s when Russell receives a letter from Patti (Dot-Marie Jones), a mysterious dog breeder who invites Russell over for dinner with possible funding teases. Russell obliges, hypnotized by the dollar signs that could keep his bee obsession afloat, but finds Patti’s hospitality hides nastier motives, and he may not be leaving anytime soon.

At the outset, Breeders hints at Christian and Justin Long’s V/H/S/Beyond segment “Fur Babies,” stoking suspenseful intrigue. An introductory scene reveals Patti as a breeder, but it can’t be poodles or pitties, right? Goyette dares to compare Westminster breeding ideologies about only producing the purest litters to humankind, and the existential nightmare of even suggesting that only an elite percentage of society should procreate. But Daniel is clearly walking into a nightmare, and Goyette revels in holding audiences hostage while they wait for an answer. That’s his strongest directorial instinct: lingering, stuck-in-your-throat dread.

Once Jones loudly lumbers onto camera, filling doorways with her championship arm-wrestling physique, it’s clear that she’s made for the part. Patti oversees a stable of blonde-haired young women led by Maddie Phillips’ Ainsley, and she establishes eerie quirks, like demanding to be called “Chief” when she’s on the clock. Jones has such a stone-cold bruteness that threatens to turn any altercation violent, while her offbeat line deliveries are exquisite, like how she casually offers a “little box of porn” like it’s normal. Pattie presents as devoted to her craft of raising canines worthy of first-place pedestals, but something about her personality always feels off—a powder keg waiting to explode. Jones relishes the intensity Pattie harbors inside and brings down a ferocious hammer that leaves jaws agape.

But Breeders struggles the longer it develops into a one-to-one take on black market nefariousness and the ruthlessness of “supreme race” mentalities. Doheny plays Russell as the wimpy brainiac who can’t see trouble afoot until it’s too late, blinded by his unending quest to fully fund his honey-sticky experiments. It’s a fearless portrayal that requires full-frontal nudity, and he’s game for the kidnapping tortures Russell endures, yet certain elements feel undercooked. It’s clear how Patti views humanity: she abuses her only brunette “daughter,” talks about natural insemination preferences, and equates life to the blue-eyed Aryan type where only the best genetics should survive. It’s all obvious, and yet somehow, the concept wears thin. Russell tries to escape a scenario he’s been chosen to uphold, ending with a head-scratching finale.

Patti’s science-first bluntness is scathing and disgusting, but that’s what makes her matter-of-factness so disturbing. Jaryl Lim’s cinematography accentuates the darkness of the actions, filming Patti’s compound with A24-style artfulness that’s terrified of her freakish plans. And Phillips generates a hefty amount of sexual tension with Doheny, as Russell fends off gunpoint orders to betray his lover left behind. Breeder isn’t without deplorable behavior and a vile atmosphere that keeps scenes ticking forward like a time bomb, yet its cynical ending doesn’t quite land. Everyone’s selfish desires are fulfilled at an oddly lopsided cost. The who’s and whys of survivors left to deal with endured trauma, and why a certain character might reenter the picture, unravel what an hour-plus has accomplished to keep us squirming in our seats.

Breeder showcases tonal command that holds strong until it trips over the finish line. Goyette has a keen eye for slow-burn antagonism, and isn’t afraid to challenge viewers with properly messed-up material. The problem is the dismount; Goyette doesn’t feel confident in the themes he’s most furious about, or in how much he wants his messages to sting. It doesn’t retroactively torpedo the entire film, but it does raise questions that damage its foundation. Breeders spotlights strong technical chops and puts Goyette’s name on our radars, but feels far more confident in its first two acts than in a payoff and farewell that fail to stay consistent.

Movie Score: 3/5