Director – Todd Sheets (Bloodthirsty Cannibal Demons, Zombie Bloodbath)
Starring – Mark Glover (Lady Street Fighter, Zombie Bloodbath 2), Nick Stodden (Clownado, Vampire Holocaust), Rebecca Rose (Slave Farm, Maid Service)
Release Date – 1997
Rating – 3/4
Blu Release – 4/5
Genre fans often bash 90s horror and I see why. The 90s saw a lot of shitty horror films hit video store shelves but I’ll be damned if there wasn’t some serious heavy hitters release in the 90s. We have Army of Darkness, Children of the Night, Savini’s Night of the Living Dead, Scream, Nightbreed, and Candyman just to name a few. The 90s, just like every decade, has the good and the bad and I feel that it is truly unfair to say it’s the worst decade for horror. The 90s was also the decade in which we saw more no budget films due to the rise in technology and lower cost of older obsolete technology from previous years.
I’ve seen a lot of indie and no budget features from the 90s that absolutely fucking rocked. I’ve also seen a bunch that were difficult to finish. A few weeks back I received the press release from Visual Vengeance for their blu release of the 1997 horror crime flick Violent New Breed. This was a Todd Sheets film I was unfamiliar with and I had to remedy that. I reached out to Visual Vengeance and they sent me over to MVD who were kind enough to send a copy over for review.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows two shitty cops who are forced with tracking down a new drug that is wiping out the streets. They expect to find an underground kingpin or a conspiracy of international drug lords but what they find is that the drugs are being manufactured by a group of demons who are using the drug the create a “new breed” that the anti-Christ will control. To make matters even worse, one of them has his wife and daughter kidnapped by the new breed forcing the pair to go deep into their underground lair to stop them and the anti-Christ. **Spoiler Alert**
Todd Sheets is a filmmaker I truly respect. This mother fucker has been writing and directing movies since the mid 80s and hasn’t really slowed down with his most recent film having been released in 2023. That is one hell of a career and Violent New Breed is one of his films that I actually enjoyed. His movies can be hit or miss with me but this one was fun for the most part.
The acting in this one leaves a lot to be desired. I had saying that, especially about an indie film, but the acting in this one is a bit rough. The try their best in a lot of the scenes but inexperience is obvious for most of the cast. This creates some forced dialogue delivery and emotions that just don’t fit the scene.
The story for this one borrows from several classic 80s films and I’m damn sure it inspired a movie that I reviewed not too long ago. We follow a pair of cops tasked with stopping the spread of a new drug (Robocop anyone?) while a demon brings about the end of the world. If you swap the demons out for a group hellbent on taking over the city then you would have Robocop all over again. With that being said, it was still fun even though it was very predictable. I like the characters and how they related to the story. I also liked the anti-Christ angle even though I fell like it wasn’t fully explored. I would have loved to see more time spent on that angle.
Finally, we have some make-up effects that look great and a few scenes with some solid effects but the deaths are not that enjoyable. They fit the film very well but are not that original as I had hoped. Overall, Violent New Breed is a fun horror crime flick with drugs, demons, and a little blasphemy tossed in for good measure. It is a movie that struggles in some areas but still finds a way to work. Check it out on blu from Visual Vengeance. You will not be disappointed.
Special Features:
New director-approved, remastered SD master version from original tape elements
Alternate original DVD version
Alternate R-rated version as aired on The Movie Channel
Alternate original VHS release version
Three commentary tracks
Interview with actor Jerry Angell and director Todd Sheets
Todd Sheets: Working with Rudy Ray Moore
Behind the scenes documentary
Nitehawk Cinema screening Q&A (2023)
Blooper reel
Behind the scenes image gallery
Original local Kansas City news coverage
Uncut strip club sequence
Short film: Fistful of the Undead
Original trailer
Visual Vengeance trailers
Booklet with liner notes by Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
Reversible sleeve featuring original VHS art
Folded mini-poster of original Ghana art by Heavy J
Optional English subtitles
Limited Edition Slipcase by Ghana poster legend Heavy J – FIRST PRESSING ONLY AND WHILTE SUPPLIES LAST
Limited Edition ‘Birth Announcement’ vintage reproduction – FIRST PRESSING ONLY AND WHILTE SUPPLIES LAST
