Violent New Breed — Violent New Breed( Blu Ray)
From the late 1990’s, Violent New Breed, I think, stands as one of the ambitious SOV Horror films I’ve ever seen. It has several interwoven storylines, a large cast, and some impressive effects ‘n’ gore. The film weaves together the following plot lines: two cops investigating a new street drug which causes demonic birth, a group of marauding demons in human form, the revealing of a young antichrist, and a few other subplots. It’s certainly impressive, if at points slightly muddled/ confused SOV Horror film- that will most certainly want to be seen by fans of the genre.
Here from Visual Vengeance, resurrectors of long-forgotten VHS fare, is a Blu-ray release of the picture. Featuring three versions of the film, three commentary tracks, etc, with a total of twelve hours of extras. There’s an inlay booklet, mini poster, reversible cover art, and VHS stickers. The first pressing takes in the following bonuses- Slipcase by Ghana poster legend Heavy J and a .'Birth Announcement' vintage reproduction card.
Violent New Breed was the thirty-film from prolific US low-budget writer/ director Tod Sheets. In total, he has an impressive forty-nine credits to his name- these move from haunted house gorefest Misty Darkness (1986), Sorority sisters conjuring up a demon comedy horror Sorority Babes in the Dance-A-Thon of Death (1991), halfway house horror Fear Of The Dark (2005), and demonic clown comedy horror Clownado (2019).
Normally, I would go into the plot layout/ main characters in the film, but to be honest, as there are a few story lines and a selection of characters for each. I feel it may be a little fruitless, dull to read, and possibly quite confusing….instead I’ll give you a rough rundown of the early part of the picture.
Ok, in the pre-credits( of the most recent/director-approved version of the film) we get a flashy hearse pulling up at nighttime church- out steps a two figures, a suited/ stern man, and a shorter handle-barred/cowboy-hatted man. Inside the Church, we see a group of bedraggled people sit against the walls- the men from the vehicle chases a few of these around, in the end grabbing one- this poor soul is thrown in the back of the hearse – taken to another location- where he’s crucified on a wall, with something bloodly pulled out of his mouth- before he switches to sucken flesh skull.
We see a scruffy bearded/ balding man going for a job at up stairs bar, with a very grumpy/ snappy middle-aged female bar manager. After his shift, he goes back home, he puts on a VHS- promptly falling asleep to have two dreams- the first sees him encountering a woman who falls at his feet, reveals her breasts, unzips him & starts at his member- but unfortunately she gets too teethy- blood spaying all over her bared breasts. The second dream sees him having a bath- before slashing at his body with a knife.
As the around two-hour film unfolds, we see human-form demons being birthed full-sized from those injected with the new street drug. Victims are brought on stage to have their limbs sawed at. Humans shift into tentacle flaying demons, and of course much, much more.
I’ve now seen a few of Mr Sheets films, and once again I was very impressed by the scope/ creativity behind Violent New Breed. Yes, at points I found my self get a little confused who was who, and quite what was going on. But for the most part the films a impressive take on the SOV form- with some great effects/ gore, and often surprises/ twists appearing as the film unfolds.
The disc takes in three versions of the film- the uncut director's edition( which is the one I watched), the alternate original DVD version, and the alternate R-rated version as aired on The Movie Channel.
On the new extras side, we have the following- a commentary track with Todd Sheets & Visual Vengeance’s Hauschild. They open by touching on the different cuts of the film, and commenting on the opening church/ cemetery scene. We find out this new director's cut has been painstakingly reconstructed from the original masters, and that ballpark estimate of the film's budget was between three thousand five hundred and five thousand. They talk about how the dream sequences were inspired by An American Werewolf In London. We find out it was shot between 1995 and 1996, just after Sheets had finished wrapping up Zombie Blood Bath 2. They talk about why there is fair bit of nudity/ sexy stuff in the film. Later on they point out some of the more risky driving shots, and find out how Rudy Ray Moore(Dolemite, Disco Godfather) who plays a priest later in the film got involved. We find out it was all shot on a super VHS camera, and much more. It’s well worth a play track.
Otherwise, on the new side, we have the following: Interview with actor Jerry Angell and director Todd Sheets( 27.39). Todd Sheets: Working with Rudy Ray Moore(5.05).
And on the archive side, we get two commentary tracks on the original DVD version of the picture- one with Tony Strauss of Weng's Chop Magazine, and one with Todd Sheets, as well as actors Becky Stodden, Nick Stodden and Antwoine Steel. Behind the scenes doc ( 36.16). 2023 Nitehawk Cinema screening Q&A (25.30). Blooper reel (9.30). Original local Kansas City news coverage(2.30). full strip Club scene( 4.17). Short film: Fistful of the Undead( 6.58).
It is so wonderful to see classic SOV films like this getting the Visual Vengeance treatment, and let's hope we’ll get some more of Mr Sheets other 90’s films getting the same. Most certainly for fans of the more ambitious side of the SOV genre.