A Breed Apart (2025) Review: A Total Hot Mess

Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner are the bright spots of A Breed Apart (2025), which misses the mark on so many levels.

They were probably hoping that this could achieve cult status as well. Too bad for everyone involved, then, that their end result is basically Sharknado (2013) with dogs. However, I get the feeling that Griff and Nathan Furst will wear this comparison like a badge of honor. 

Obviously the Furst Brothers did not set out to make a bad movie and I am sure they found this to be much funnier than I did during development. The same goes for this cast, who clearly had a blast making it based on the bloopers and videos of behind the scenes shenanigans, which are actually a nice little treat during the end credits. It is also not impossible that this finds an audience who can appreciate what it is going for. I understand what the end goal was, but this just failed to connect with me, which is a shame considering how much I adore the two leads, Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner. 

Those two do manage to give A Breed Apart some shine as Violet (Currey) and Thalia (Gardner), even if this does not come close to matching the highs of their previous collaboration Fall (2022). Currey tries to provide some dramatic weight with her performance and mostly succeeds, while Gardner leans into the comedy aspect of the film without being too over the top. Without these two, I would not have given this the time of day, and at least they helped create a memorable watch. I also have to give a shoutout to Page Kennedy as Big Farmer Jay, whose work stuck out to me in a good way. Like Gardner, he makes this comedy work as much as he can and their respective acting choices made me laugh more than anything in the script. 

When it comes to the story, A Breed Apart is utter nonsense. There are no real character arcs, no matter how well Grace Caroline Currey delivers during this film’s somewhat serious moments. The characters either end up kind of where they started or die. Violet has the closest thing to an actual arc, but even that is all over the place to the point where you kind of forget what her character’s journey was supposed to be. Audiences are not able to connect with these characters at all minus Violet and her brother, Collins (Zak Steiner), before they are thrown into danger. Violet and Collins being related did not even register with me until Violet said it late in the movie. There is a chance I just missed that detail, but the fact it went unnoticed for so long should tell you all you need to know about how these characters are written. I also struggle to recall if Killer Queen (Riele Downs), who plays a major part, is even given an actual name, or if she is just referred to by her online moniker. 

Little things like that could have added even the slightest bit of depth, but the Furst Brothers do not bother. All you need to know in their minds about these people is that they are internet famous and have been invited to an island by a vlogger clearly inspired by MrBeast named Vince Ventura (Joey Bragg). From there, just turn your brain off and enjoy the ridiculous things you are about to see. While I am all for some simple horror where you do not have to think, the least these brothers could have done is give me someone to root for with a logical arc. Instead of that, I just found myself rooting for Violet and Thalia solely because they were portrayed by Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner. 

As far as comedy, there are moments that are meant to be funny but for the most part miss the mark. I found myself laughing at Gardner and Kennedy because these two just went for it, giving Thalia and Big Farmer Jay the right amounts of energy and charm. They, along with Currey, are the only ones who seem aware that A Breed Apart is one giant goofy time. The film’s funniest joke could have been improved by Currey and Gardner because it is a reference to Fall. Other than that, if Currey, Gardner, or Kennedy had not been involved, I would genuinely not have laughed much. 

There are laughs to be had though, but you will be laughing at the movie rather than with it. Did I mention that Hayden Panettiere is also in this as actress Hayden Hearst, who starred in a film on the island that was never finished due to the disappearance of the onset dog trainers? Well, she has a line that made me cringe and laugh at the same time. These kills are not in the least bit believable because of some pretty bad CGI on the dogs. Not once did I believe these monstrous versions of man’s best friend were actually there, much less ripping people to pieces. 

They look so bad at certain points that I might as well have been watching something from a bygone era with the way they unconvincingly slung these dogs around. I am not asking for them to use real dogs or anything, what kind of monster do you take me for? However, when your plot revolves around animals doing something that they do not normally do, you better be willing to pony up some dough for some four legged actors or solid visual effects. The minds behind this film might have shelled out as much as they could, but the results are not worth whatever they paid. 

Another thing that really bugged me is the amount of cuts in A Breed Apart. Normally, I would not notice that sort of thing but this movie made it impossible not to. They were never ending and honestly reeked of someone spending a bit too much time in the editing room for something that is not all that long or serious. Cinematographer Jon Keng does provide one cool looking shot involving Currey as Violet though, so things are not all bad behind the camera. 

A Breed Apart is a bottom of the barrel affair all the way around, despite Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, and Page Kennedy giving solid acting efforts. This horror film seems so desperate to be a cult classic without bringing much to the table. It has kills that are ruined by poor CGI, a script with no depth whatsoever, and worst of all, it is not really genuinely funny or scary. Maybe this will find its midnight movie audience that goes wild for it, but I will never watch this movie again. 

A Breed Apart (2025) will be released in theatres, on digital and on demand on May 16, 2025.