Review: The Breach

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

The Breach
Directed by Rodrigo Gudiño
Hanger 18 Media; Lightbulb Distribution;
Raven Banner Entertainment; Strike Media
93 minutes, 2022 / 2023
www.strike-media
https://lightbulbfilmdistribution.com/

This film is so Canadian, it should come with maple cookies (they are so good, eh). It takes place in the small town of Lone Crow, in Northern Ontario (filmed in lovely Parry Sound, Ontario).

Based on the novel by Nick Cutter and screenplay written by Cutter and Ian Weir, the main protagonist is the Chief of Police, John “Hawk” Hawkins (Allan Hawco, main character in the series “Republic of Doyle,” 2010-2014), who is one week from retirement (of course). Was his last name derived from the original version of the Canadian group, The Band, known as The Hawks?

Allan Hawco, Mary Antonini

Speaking of bands, the executive producer this film was Slash from Guns 'N Roses who also supervised the score. And there is more relative to the music world, but I will get to that later.

In a well-done pre-credit epilogue, much like a television show, it takes place on the same day as the post-credit film starts, rather than years before. This is actually refreshing for a film. In this way we are introduced to officer Connie Parks (underutilized Mary Antonini) and appropriately named coroner Jacob Redgrave (Wesley French). The coroner is there to check out the body of physics professor Cole Parsons (Adam Kenneth Wilson) that is found, but I will not give out the gruesome details, though we get to see it pretty up-close.

Emily Alatalo

This leads Hawk, Jacob, and guide/tracker/ex-girlfriend of Hawk and previously Jake (no tension there, right?) Meg Fullbright (Emily Alatalo) to head north into the bush to Links Creek on the Porcupine River to find out what happened to Parsons. This leads, naturally in these days of technology, to the overhead drone shot of the lone car on roads surrounded by forest or a boat on a narrow river, with a somber music soundtrack.

While the trio are off on their adventures, Parks (as in parks her butt in the station) holds down the fort, garnishing information on Zoom from a conspiracy-minded friend, Alex (Alex Lifeson; yes, the guitarist from Canadian musical juggernauts, Rush).

Wesley French

The house is abandoned and looks great for those of us who like deserted buildings that are on their last legs; they are fun to photograph. But there is something going on in this house: doors seem to close or unlock by themselves. The soundtrack does well to emphasize the eeriness and creepiness of the joint.

It gets even stranger with the appearance of Cole’s PTSD-affected wife, Linda Parsons (Natalie Brown), and another unexpected guest, as relationships unrealistically develop. And there is a spooky shadow on the wall… Parts of the upcoming plot points are easy to guess, though the steps to that are thankfully murky until they are revealed.

There is a bunch of films reflected in The Breach, such as From Beyond (1986), Bite (2016), Night of the Living Dead (1968), and especially The Fly (1986), one scene in particular. And yet, there is so much more. I have often theorized that when enough pre-used ideas are combined right, it creates something new-ish. In this case it also includes numerous genres, such as police procedural, body horror, sci-fi, cabin in the woods, and one that was unexpected. This has its foot in many different ones, keeping it coherent – not an easy task as previous attempts have shown – satisfying tick boxes in all of them successfully.

The relationships between certain characters are common to give it a “human” touch and possibly to make the characters more likeable, of course, but are completely superfluous to the actual story and burn up time and distract. Sort of like Hooper’s affair with Ellen Brody in Peter Benchley’s book, Jaws, which wisely never made it to the screen; it just did not matter to what was going on, narratively. This is my one gripe, so not bad at all.

Natalie Brown

I must say the film visually looks great, from the cinematography by award-winning Eric Oh, to the set designs. The blood and gore are fabulous, and the prosthetics and make-up effects by Daniel Baker and Chris Cooper are not the same old same old.

With the power of talent here, much from the world of television, it is no surprise that the acting is spot on. In the out-of-context department, it seems a lot of the cast has appeared, at some point on Canadian police procedural “Hudson and Rex” (a guilty pleasure of my own).

Alex Lifeson (on Zoom)

The director, Rodrigo Gudiño, is the founding editor and publisher of the Canadian horror fiction magazine Rue Morgue, and this may not be his first time behind the lens, but it is his first feature length release. An excellent start.

The Breach is available on Sky Store, Virgin Media, AppleTV, Google Play, and Amazon.

IMDB listing HERE