Violent New Breed (1997) (Blu-ray Review)
DIRECTED BY: Todd Sheets
STARRING: Mark Glover, Nick Stodden, Rudy Ray Moore
RATED: UR/Region: O/1:33/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 1
AVAILABLE FROM Visual Vengeance
Violent New Breed – four Cuts of Chaos, Zero Budget, Maximum Todd
There are movies that politely ask for your attention… and then there’s Violent New Breed, which kicks in your door, throws fake blood on your carpet, and screams, “THIS IS CINEMA.”
Directed by regional shot-on-video warlord Todd Sheets, this 1997 fever dream has returned in a brand-new director-approved remaster, because when you make something this gloriously unhinged, you absolutely deserve a second (and fourth) pass at it.
Yes, this review is for the new remastered version — but let’s be clear: the Visual Vengeance Blu-ray doesn’t stop there. Oh no. It also includes the original VHS version, the Movie Channel Version and the DVD version. That’s right. Three separate incarnations of this blood-soaked backyard apocalypse. Because one cut of Violent New Breed simply isn’t enough punishment—I mean, pleasure—for the devoted.
The movie itself? Imagine if a group of very ambitious horror fans pooled their lunch money, rented a fog machine, and declared war on subtlety. The plot swerves all over the place like it’s being chased by its own third act. There are gang elements, cult vibes, supernatural hints, bursts of nihilism, and enough yelling to register on local seismographs. It’s chaotic. It’s messy. It occasionally feels like three different movies duct-taped together.
And yet… you can’t accuse it of playing small.
For a no-budget production, the ambition is almost reckless. Sheets isn’t aiming for “competent.” He’s aiming for “epic,” even if epic sometimes means filming in what appears to be someone’s basement with dramatically positioned Christmas lights. The gore is plentiful, aggressive, and gloriously sticky. Subtle it is not. But subtlety was never invited to this party.
Now, about that Visual Vengeance Blu-ray presentation. Does it pop? No. Not even a little. The colors don’t dazzle. The image isn’t crisp. It will never, under any circumstance, look “good.” But that’s not the label’s fault — that’s the reality of late-’90s shot-on-video madness. You can remaster it, polish it, bless it under a full moon… it’s still going to look like a camcorder survived a bar fight. And honestly? That’s part of the charm.
What does pop is the extras.
Visual Vengeance absolutely stuffs this disc like it’s trying to win a competition. Interviews, commentaries, behind-the-scenes chaos, archival material — the works. It’s a love letter to regional horror insanity. And again, let’s not gloss over the fact that this release includes three different versions of the film. Three. That’s commitment. That’s value. That’s more Violent New Breed than most civilians are prepared for.
Is the movie all over the place? Absolutely. Does it occasionally feel like it’s powered entirely by caffeine and stubbornness? Yes. But it’s also ambitious, energetic, and made with the kind of unfiltered passion that studio horror could never replicate.
Violent New Breed isn’t polished. It isn’t restrained. It isn’t remotely concerned with your comfort. But in its own blood-drenched, no-budget way, it’s a beautiful mess — and this stacked Blu-ray release makes sure you can experience every chaotic frame of it.
All four times.
Extras
- 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
- Limited Edition ‘Birth Announcement’ vintage reproduction – FIRST PRESSING ONLY
