As he approaches the end of his tenure as Chief of Police in a small town, a disfigured corpse puts paid to any hopes John Hawkins has of a peaceful last few days.
When it comes to cosmic horror, often the best approach is to have as gnarly, gruesome gore as possible. On this aspect, The Breach is successful. Sinewy, bloody body horror paired with dripping red corpses make for a delightfully grotesque image. The practical effects work their way under your fingernails and pull, leaving a chill.
The plot revolves around Chief of Police John Hawkins, who is close to moving on from the small town of Lone Crow to pursue a promotion in the big city. He is hoping to just see out his final days, ticking off the shifts until he is done. His hopes are dashed, however, when a body washes up on the shore of the the local lake, sans bones. This leads him to a remote cabin in the woods, where he comes across a mad scientist, a trigger happy wife, and some otherworldy entities. At times it can feel slightly predictable, with the finale perhaps being overly telegraphed throughout.
One of the big two selling points for horror fans is who the director is, Rodrigo Gudiño. On name value that might not pop from the page, yet he is the founder of the horror magazine and company Rue Morgue – one of the founding fathers of the internet age of horror film criticism and coverage. An outlet who crawled so the likes of Bloody Disgusting could run. That is relevant as being the president of such an important piece of modern horror culture, it subjects him to a higher level of expectation with any film he directs or produces. A millstone that does The Breach no real favours, cosmic indie horror is a hot topic and unfortunately this does little to rise above the crowd.
The other standout is the score, performed by producer and rock legend, Slash, nothing is left on the table. Harking back to the bombastic OTT numbers from 80s classics such as The Beyond, it adds a nostalgic quality which elevates the overall experience. After all how many modern indie horror films can boast having a rock star of his magnitude being on board? Hint, it’s very, very few. Studio 666 (2022) is the only one that immediately comes to mind.
In a genre which seems to be having a bit of a renaissance, The Breach will most certainly appeal to those fond of the gory cosmic horror beats. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, there’s little here to elevate it beyond the crowded sub-genre. That is until you hit the ending, which is best described as really nasty, unneccesarily so. If that is the sort of thing you are looking for in your new indie cosmic horror – go nuts.
The Breach (2022) is available on watch on Digital Platforms
