Just before he leaves for the big city, Chief of Police John Hawkins (Allan Hawco) is asked to consult on a strange case. A body is found in a boat on the Porcupine River with unsettling wounds. It’s a find that shakes up the small town of Lone Crow and a job for local coroner Jacob Redgrave (Wesley French). They begin to suspect the remains are of a missing physicist, Dr. Cole Parsons (Adam Kenneth Wilson), and Hawkins is forced to revisit old ties with his ex, Meg Fulbright (Emily Alatalo)—the town’s charter-boat captain. She takes Hawkins and Redgrave to Parsons’ leased home, where he conducted secret research deep in the woods. When they arrive, they find the home is in disrepair and there’s a strange machine in the attic. A visit from Parson’s grieving wife Linda (Natalie Brown, superb) deepens the mystery. What happened to Parsons and what happened to his missing daughter?
The Breach is a fun cosmic horror tale. It’s got everything – a mad scientist, a missing daughter, doors that open and close by themselves, Lovecraftian monsters, a cosmic rip in space and time, a seriously spooky house and brave characters who are all as dumb as a bucket of hammers. Everyone in this is so dopey! They go to a deserted house knowing they’ll arrive at night. They don’t bring any type of satellite phone even though they know the reception if they need help will be terrible. They’re forever splitting up. A small amount of logistical planning would have gone a long way here guys!
The plot is reminiscent of Stephen King’s The Mist with a science experiment having terrible repercussions. There’s a bizarre anti-science vibe to the film which suggests that the conspiracy theorists who felt that the Hadron Collider scientists were Satanists trying to end the world may have been on point. It’s a weird vibe but adds to the off-kilter nature of the film.
The Breach is based on the Audible Original book by Canadian horror author Nick Cutter (The Deep, which is seriously unsettling and you should all go read it) and is Rue Morgue president Rodrigo Gudiño’s second feature film.
It’s also executive produced by Slash (yes, that Slash), who also contributed to the score, which does indeed rock.
The movie has some seriously impressive SFX makeup. Lots of very gooey body horror in this and the sequences at the end when we get to see just what the machine does to people are visually stunning and utterly grotesque.
The Breach is a fun old-school mad scientist runs amok movie with a surprisingly sharp sting in its tail.
The Breach screened at Fantasia International Film Festival.
