The most unique filmmakers can effortlessly interweave stunts that exude heart-stopping terror with a thread of dark humor to create an adrenaline-fueled genre story. The new horror comedy, ‘A Breed Apart,’ is one such , stylized feature that blends unpredictable action with an original, meta-referential narrative. That effective combination elicits exciting thrills amongst its diverse blend of contemporary characters.

Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Riele Downs, Zak Steiner, Page Kennedy, Joey Bragg, Troy Gentile and Hayden Panettiere star in the movie. The Furst Brothers, including Nathan Furst (‘Hidden Strike,’ ‘Need for Speed’) and Griff Furst (‘I Love You Phillip Morris,’ ‘Focus), served as the co-writers and co-directors on the suspense thriller. The latter also served as one of the film’s producers.

‘A Breed Apart’ follows Violet (Currey) as she accepts an invitation to a private island with some of the world’s most famous social influencers. When she arrives, she expects a weekend of unrivaled viral opportunity.

But Violet soon becomes part of her own horrific reality show when the guests are pitted against each other. They must fight each other to capture the island’s legendary man-eating dogs before they become victims of the monstrous canines.

The Furst Brothers generously took the time last Friday, May 16, the day of the horror comedy’s release On Digital and On Demand, to talk about co-scribing, co-helming and producing the project during an exclusive Zoom interview. Among other things, the filmmakers discussed why they were interested in penning and directing the movie, how they approached creating the visuals for the feature and their approach to casting and working with the actors during the production.

Film Factual (FF): Together, you co-wrote the script for the new suspense thriller, ‘A Breed Apart.’ What was your inspiration in scribing the screenplay?

Nathan Furst (NF): Well, the inspiration to write this film was the original film, ‘A Breed,’ from 2006 with Michelle Rodriguez.

Griff Furst (GF): Taryn Manning’s in that one, too.

NF: They had made a fun, underground horror film back in 2006 that no one has really heard of before; at least, I hadn’t, and Griff hadn’t, either. But the filmmakers approached Griff, since he has knowledge and a track record of how to execute these creature features.

So he brought me in to team up on ‘A Breed Apart.’ We thought about how we could update the vibe of what ‘A Breed’ provided into a new energy for 2025. That meant faster-paced cuts, as well as bigger, crazier things happening, especially with the influencers.

FF: Speaking of your experience creating creature features, how did you approach making the visuals for this film?

NF: While we were creating the look, we knew we wanted this beautiful, lush tropical island paradise as the backdrop for all the horror that was happening in the foreground.

As far as the creatures, we worked with Adam Clark, who served as the visual effects supervisor on the film. He came up with the designs, and then we built them up from there.

Then we combined them with the real dogs we had on set in Guatemala. We had 10 dogs and a puppy. They were very loveable, sweet dogs who just wanted to wag their tails and lick our faces.

So we just had them run, and then we went in and did some alterations to make them look mean and angry on screen. The actors did their best to look like they were frightened to death of the dogs.

FF: Further speaking of shooting ‘A Breed Apart’ in Guatemala, how did you determine that you would film there?

GF: Well, I flew down to Guatemala to check it out. I felt like it could be a really fun place to shoot a movie. It was very beautiful there. I actually have some influencer friends who are tied into that world, and had shot some stuff in the middle of nowhere, on Lake Atitlán.

NF: Yes, I think we were the first movie, and maybe the last, to shoot there, as it’s very difficult to get there. But the scenery is gorgeous, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go down there. We’re masochists, so when we heard that no one has gone down there to shoot a feature, we decided we’d better be the first ones to do it.

FF: The movie features an ensemble cast that includes Grace Caroline Currey, Riele Downs, Zak Steiner and Troy Gentile. How did you cast the thriller?

GF: We were so lucky to get this cast. Everyone just fell into place.

NF: Somehow, we were able to cast Grace Caroline Currey, who was the first one to sign on. We were thrilled to get her, as she gives off Sandra Bullock vibes from the 1990s. Grace gives off a fantastic energy.

Griff’s son watches a show with Riele Downs, so he already knew about her work. So he said, “We have to get Riele,” so we pursued her right away. We’re lucky to have her in the film.

Zak Steiner was also a great addition to the cast. He’s gorgeous – he was a Calvin Klein model awhile ago. He’s also so funny in this movie. He has all of this great comedic timing, and isn’t terrible to look at, either!

Then Troy is a phenomenal actor. He’s from ‘The Goldbergs,‘ and has an amazing energy as an actor.

This cast had a beautiful energy, and they all have something slightly different. We would sometimes refer to them as the Scooby-Doo Gang, as they just have this great ensemble energy. As soon as we were able to lock everyone one in, we knew we had our cast.

FF: Once the actors were cast in ‘A Breed Apart,’ how did you work with them to build their character arcs in the story?

NF: Well, what was really great was that the cast was so responsive to the script. Griff and I spent months coming up with what the characters might be and how they might interact together.

Once we got the cast together, we encouraged them to bring their own ideas to their characters. For example, we didn’t originally plan on Grace’s character of Violet having tattoos, but she suggested that we add some. So she picked out a whole row of tattoos that mean something to her.

Each actor also got to pick out their own wardrobe, as they own their characters. It was really a lot of fun to let them do that. I think that contributed to how fun it is to watch them on screen.

FF: The movie combines its horror and thriller elements with moments of dark comedy. How did you work with the actors to blend the humor in with the genre elements in the story?

NF: Oh, they got it right away in this new age of any movie throwing any genre against the wall, and everything sticking together. You can throw comedy and horror against the wall together and make it a cohesive, enjoyable moment. The actors all got it and fit into that modern vibe. They’re all young guys, so they all tuned right into it.

FF: Besides the comedy, how did you work with the actors to create the physicality for their characters?

NF: The stunts were very carefully choreographed with the actors. When we were working with the dogs, we just sort of let them loose, as we sort of knew what they were going to do.

But we also had to follow what they might do. That has limitations in certain ways, but it can also creates opportunities for the dogs to do something random. Then you think, oh, that’s great, let’s do that. We’ll also get this character to do that real quick.

There was a little bit of negotiation in the middle of action sequences, but not too much. So we worked that out step-by-step for what each person is going to do. Then we decided if we were going to use a real dog or a CG dog, depending on what made sense in the moment.

FF: Griff, you also served as one of the producers on ‘A Breed Apart.’ How did you approach producing the film?

GF: Well, it started with us throwing things at each other, and then fighting over how much time we could spend on one thing versus another. But we worked it out, and figured out a way to work together

FF: ‘A Breed Apart’ is now playing On Demand and on digital platforms, courtesy of Lionsgate. Why do you think the dual distribution is beneficial for this type of movie?

NF: Well, once we handed the movie over to Lionsgate, we were fairly out of the distribution process. Our part in releasing the movie is more about getting the soundtrack ready to be released. We also work on things like promoting the movie through interviews like this and social media.

Now that the movie finally being released, we just sit back. We can also go to a local theater to watch the movie with an audience while we start to work on the next thing!