Breeder Stars Daniel Doheny and Dot-Marie Jones on Their Twisted Cringecore Horror About a Deranged Poodle Breeder
The Alex Strangelove and Glee actors break down their Misery-esque horror comedy
by Lana Thorn 27 October 2026
IFC and Shudder
From One Wish Willows to liminal mazes of endless office space, indie horror films have found increasingly diverse sources of terror this year. But the debut feature from Alex Goyette, another former YouTuber like Curry Barker (Obsession) and Kane Parsons (Backrooms), may take the cake with its central spooky threat: an evil poodle breeder.
Unfolding on a remote ranch in foggy, rural Canada, Breeder follows its unhinged titular character, Patti (Dot-Marie Jones, The Shards), as she lures a desperate college student, Russell (Daniel Doheny, Brand New Cherry Flavor), to her home with the promise of research funding. But he soon learns there’s a terrible catch. Patti is swapping dogs for humans, and she’s chosen Russell as the perfect “stud” to mate with the eldest of her five daughters, Ainsley (Maddie Phillips, Gen V).
Far more amicable on the Zoom call than they were in their excruciatingly tense scenes together, Doheny and Jones sat down with Phantasmag to discuss how they developed their characters’ anti-chemistry, the importance of the film’s extensive male nudity, and why audiences seem to be responding to horror films more than ever.
Daniel Doheny and Maddie Phillips star as Russell and Ainsley. Courtesy of IFC and Shudder.
Phantasmag: Can you tell me a bit about how each of you got attached and what your initial impressions of the story were?
Dot-Marie Jones: I met with Alex [Goyette] in 2022, and I was one of the first ones to meet with him about potentially being the character. What I loved was that it was something different. It was cringey. It was a perfect horror film, but also a thriller. That kind of opportunity doesn’t come around that often, and the cast and crew were fantastic.
Daniel Doheny: I loved the story. I loved the complicated nature of the character and the dark comedic tone of the movie. It's really up my alley. The dialogue was great too, and it was lucky that we all got along really well on set.
P: The incredibly uncomfortable relationship between your two characters is the heart of the movie. How did you go about developing that sort of anti-chemistry?
DMJ: Daniel and I worked on our lines together in rehearsals, so we were more familiar with each other and the relationship we were building. It helped us let our guard down and get comfortable with each other, which is huge.
DD: We both understood the relationship instinctively and naturally, so we got along right away. Even though it seems uncomfortable on the outside, we were both pretty comfortable while performing because we trusted each other.
Dot-Marie Jones as Patti. Courtesy of IFC and Shudder
P: Do you have a favourite scene that you shared?
DD: Without spoiling anything, it was fun watching Dot make me squirm. I like those moments filled with danger and tension when she’s questioning him and you don’t know what’s gonna happen.
DMJ: The one that stands out to me is in the trailer, so I can talk about it. It’s the dinner scene. I look at Patti in that moment as a black widow waiting to jump, and Daniel’s waiting. Poor guy, I felt so bad sometimes because Patti’s just a creep [laughs]. And Daniel was so earnest in his work that to feel him squirm in the scene just fed me. It made me want to make him even more uncomfortable. To be able to do that, like Daniel said, it comes from trusting someone.
P: There’s a sweetness to Patti along with her being a villain. What conversations did you have with Alex about developing that character?
DMJ: Alex spent a lot of years writing this, so he knows exactly what he wants and how to shoot it. And we can trust him because he obviously knows what he’s talking about — it’s his baby. But he’d also say, ‘You know what, just go for it’, and let us try things out. It was a level of trust that meant we had a blast doing it.
P: Did he give you any specific references for the character? I know there have been a lot of comparisons of your performance to Kathy Bates’ in Misery.
DMJ: That's ridiculous, but it’s such an honour to be compared to Kathy. I love her. One big thing when we were rehearsing was that [Alex] would go, ‘No, she'd be even more down here.’ She needed to have that monotone [voice], which made the creepiness even more creepy.
The tense dinner scene. Courtesy of IFC and Shudder
P: There is no female nudity in Breeder, but rather a lot of male nudity, which is extremely rare to see on screen. Daniel, why do you think those scenes were important to the film, and what conversations did you have with director Alex Goyette about them?
DD: I think it's important to show that Russell is in a position of no control and total vulnerability. And it was exciting for me. I like to act and make art, so I'm comfortable with my body, and I jumped at the opportunity to do something that vulnerable and unique. People seem to be surprised by it, and I’m happy to be a part of something that makes you go, ‘Wow, you don’t see that very often.’ I didn't think about it that way when we were making it, but people seem to be interested in it. I think that's cool.
P: If you were programming a double feature with Breeder, what companion film would you choose, and why?
DD: Misery is a good one.
DMJ: The Exorcist, just for some contrast [laughs].
DD: The King of Comedy — the Scorsese movie where the TV host gets kidnapped.
DMJ: I’d also do The Conjuring or The Haunting of Hill House. All those great horrors.
P: Daniel, without spoiling too much, as much as there’s a bit of sweetness to Patti’s character, there’s a darkness that we see in Daniel later on in the film. Were you trying to plant little seeds in the character that would pay off later?
DD: I think so. The character’s ability to make wrong choices is there from the beginning. The greed and ambition are there, but I think it just takes Patti to slowly pull it out of him. I tried to consider the arc of the whole character and put some of that in the beginning.
IFC and Shudder
P: Returning to Patti, she’s such a deliciously complex role that joins this beautiful line of women in horror. Why do you think the horror genre is such a rich space for these exciting female roles specifically?
DMJ: One of the things about horror films is that I don’t think there’s a stereotype [of a typical female character]. To be a lead in this movie with Daniel [Doheny] and Maddie [Philips] and the other girls, being the physicality that I am — I don’t get those opportunities very often. So to play this character was amazing. I want to break the mould.
P: Indie horror is having a big moment right now. Why do you think that horror, and specifically exciting stories like Breeder, seem to be resonating now more than ever?
DMJ: People are looking for something that hasn't been done a million times, and horror thrillers have no boundaries. Everybody wants that shock value, and they want something new. And this movie is totally something new. I hope it has the legs of a marathon runner.
DD: People wanna see original movies, and horror movies seem to be the films that producers are willing to take a risk and bet money on. You don't see a lot of original sci-fi or original comedy, but horror movies seem to be the ones that are sticking. And they’re really fun to see in theatres. They provide one of the best shared viewing experiences you can have. It's so fun to watch a horror movie, whether a bad horror movie or a great one, with other people.
Breeder is playing in select US theatres from October 28th.