Dying Breed   Starring: Nathan Phillips and Leigh Whannell DNC Entertainment RRP: £12.99 DNC1026 Certificate: 18 Available 28 September 2009

Nina, a zoology student is tracing the footsteps of her sister, who took a paw print claimed to be that of a Tasmanian Tiger. Her sister is dead, apparently the victim of accidental drowning. Now Nina sees this new evidence as a major motive to discover what really happened and to pick up the trail of the ancient species of Tiger thought to be long extinct. When she arrives in the region with friends in tow, it is to be met with cold curiosity by the strange locals. These locals are the descendants of a highly dangerous man. In the 19th century when the British dispatched their convicts to colonies in Australia and surrounding areas, the toughest was in New Zealand. Escaped convict Alexander Pearce (known as The Pieman) was finally hung for cannibalism, but whilst free he spawned a murderous bloodline. As if tracking an endangered predator isn't perilous enough, Nina and her friends find themselves hopelessly lost and running from an unknown assailant. The question is which one of the locals, if any, can they trust...?

This film owes much to Deliverance, but also mixes from the same palette as The Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn and its Australian cousin Wolf Creek. It takes a long time to get going. The early scenes are a little tedious and somewhat derisory, mainly due to their sheer uninventiveness. Then, once the group is out in the wilderness, taking refuge in caves and entering long disused mine shafts, the story becomes invigorated with new life, offering a little extra credence to a tired premise. Unfortunately, Dying Breed fails to reach any real heights of originality or structure, although it does have its moments.

The idea of isolated in-bred communities with no sense of law or morality is a well-used one by now, effectively making Dying Breed a single piece in a large puzzle, rather than a whole new puzzle in itself.

5

Ty Power