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EVIL BREED: THE LEGEND OF SAMHAIN (2002) aka Samhain Director: Christian Viel. Hacktors: Jenna Jameson, Chasey Lain, Ginger Lynn Allen, Richard Grieco. Rating/5: The lowdown: This troubled production was originally slated for release in 2002, until it ended up on the shelves and the director took the unusual step of issuing his own rough-cut DVD-Rs. Samhain (as we'll call it now, for the sake of brevity... and because it's so much better than the full title) finally makes it on to DVD. Shot in Canada masquerading as Ireland, it's the story of some American college kids and their tutor Karen, who visit the Emerald Isles in search of history to study. Unfortunately for them, they uncover the history of the Sawney Bean clan - an age-old family of cannibalistic mutants. Good points: Samhain is great for gore. It piles the red stuff on by the bucket-load, while really going to town on prosthetics. The image of one naked victim, minus arms and legs, roasting on a spit is not easily forgotten - and that's before the opening credits roll! There's also an excellent decapitation and lots of yanking out of intestines - at one point via one man's backside, which is possibly a first in horror. Veil takes an admirably vicious approach to the violence - he's obviously a fan of slasher splatter - and best of all, the grue is delivered mechanically, rather than attempting any CGI. The mutants look good, too, with their tumours and generally unpleasant demeanour.     The cast are surprisingly capable, given that some of them are porn stars and the film also looks good, sporting a classy sheen which the average low-budget horror flick simply can't afford. Samhain looks far better than its difficult genesis - and that rough-cut disc - might have led you to expect. It also has a fantastically amusing doomsayer in poker-faced Irish caretaker Gary, played by Simon Peacock. Telling the kids to stay on the woodland paths, he notes that two tourists didn't follow his advice and ended up looking "like damn Irish stew"! Bad points: If you're expecting Jenna Jameson to actually star in the film, you'll be disappointed. She has very little screen time, although she is involved in the most OTT gore highlight. The film's weakest element is its pacing: in a transparent attempt to disguise the fairly uneventful first half, there are at least four 'fake jump' scenes, in which people grab each other by the shoulders from behind, for no good reason. Then, when the mayhem begins, the killings happen so fast you're not entirely sure who's dead and who's alive. Actually, I'm still not sure what happened to Ginger Lynn Allen, whose 'Irish' accent is, by the way, hilarious. Talking of Ireland, it's clear that writer/director Veil isn't entirely clued-up on that country's culture: his script features a reference to haggis, as if it's part of the local cuisine!     The movie's ending is absolutely terrible, to be frank, but by that point you've been fed so much gore and heaving bosoms that it doesn't seem to matter. Nice. DVD Extras: Don't know details yet. Will keep you posted. Overall: Porn stars, gore galore... how could Samhain go wrong? For the beer-and-pizza crowd, it mostly hasn't. This is tremendous fun. Release Date: Out in the States on October 25, 2005. In the UK, it's October 24. Both just in time for Halloween. [Check it out at Amazon UK] [Win This Film On DVD] [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present