The Crossbreed
Amy is secretly pregnant and thinking aboutan abortion. Meanwhile, Amy and her husband are sent to a village to research a story about demonic possession. Little does Amy know, she is just a pawn in the master plan of the evil's arrival.
In my younger and more vulnerable years, I was a very devout Christian — one that actually read the bible cover to cover and whatever else I could get my hands on, including material like the Book of Enoch and the Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses. If you don't know what I am talking about, these old Jewish texts are often source material for a lot of horror films, similar to the way filmmakers like to use The Book of Revelation. Lilith, Adam's first wife, is a very popular character in not only in film, but also in classical art, literature, comics, and even video games. She's often portrayed as the mother of creatures like vampires, werewolves, etc. Although these stories obviously take liberties, she was, pretty much, the first feminist, refusing to be subservient to Adam and running off to shag angels or Cain or…well, you get the picture.
The Crossbreed takes these somewhat popular mythologies and creates a film surrounding the Lilith mythos, with her surviving offspring being the center point of the story. Apart from the obvious horror angle, there are also the atheist vs. believer debates which I was also pretty happy to have addressed in the film, as atheists are usually portrayed as angry idiots in horror films; idiots who get quickly — and often violently — put in their place by some or other vengeful being.
The Crossbreed also touches on the difficult topic of abortion, the control that women have over their own bodies, the rights of the father…a plethora of topics that can be difficult to deal with. There are very Christian overtones, with God very much pronounced with that capital G as well as sin, forgiveness, and fate being central themes.
While the direction and camera work weren't bad, the editing left a lot to be desired. There was sometimes a noticeable difference in audio quality between shots or cuts and the score was so generic it was borderline boring. Nathan Schellerup (John) delivers an underwhelming performance, with most of his lines sounding like something I'd expect to hear in an early ninety's soap opera. Angela Durazo (Amy) fortunately fared a lot better and was pretty decent in her role.
While the first act did well to set the pace, the second felt a little slow but nonetheless managed to set a foreboding air almost Lovecraftian in nature. As our story culminates towards its climax, the plot becomes foggy, the script confusing, and the general direction obfuscated by a handful of shaky shots. The abortion angle gets a religious twist, the atheist becomes the asshole, and the story — for lack of a better analogy — goes to hell. Flashbacks and reveals occur that are about as surprising as a Republican lawmaker caught getting off in an airport bathroom. The resulting scenes are, well, not the greatest.
[Minor Spoilers Ahead}
Entertaining overall, The Crossbreed builds relatively well but falls short at the end. There's no resolution or definitive ending, and while sometimes a cliffhanger can work for a horror film, here it does not. I did, for the most part, enjoy the film, but I was expecting a lot more. If the Lilith mythos is a thing you enjoy, consider checking it out. If you are looking for a generic, jump-scare horror film, this isn't it. Catch the trailer below and let us know what you think. Thanks for reading and as always, stay sordid.
