Scintilla

This movie appeal was the large amount of layers it has.

The movie poster makes you believe it's just about a group of mercenaries hired to take down a Russian Weapon experiment in gene splicing, but I got so much more.

This possibly had a lot to do with the Depth of some of the characters who story lines got to be played out though out the movie. You don't see that in horror movies (cause you really don't need it)

The movie goes from action to horror to Sci-Fi and a few more genres as the main plot unfolds.

This was so much more than what was expected and that made it something great to watch.

I grabbed this off Netflix as a random, but was pleasantly surprised.

This is a film split into two halves. The first half is quite a tense and gritty war flick. A bunch of mercenaries have to infiltrate the stronghold of a eastern European warlord. The characters are quickly defined and interesting.

The second half of the film has a definite Scifi tilt. The objective of the mercenaries is a creepy underground laboratory where the guy from the DVD cover is lurking.

The action is hard hitting and the setting is atmospheric and interesting. The makers have stayed within the budget for the special effects and haven't been lured in by cheap, distracting cgi.

I can't quite decide how I feel about the ending, but that in itself is probably a good thing.

I found this to be an enjoyable, gritty romp. I wouldn't have paid to see this at the cinema but as a Netflix movie this is way above the average on offer.

This had everything I want from a lower budget, idea driven video. I did not want to kill-off the main characters, which is not a given.

The concept was developed and delivered quite well. Primarily it was easy to watch, no irritating aspects.

Notwithstanding the fact it did not hit all the demographic pulling requirements nor the pop-culture mandates such as the ubiquitous LGBT genuflecting.

If you can live without the aforementioned and like the genre, give this a try. I am accustomed to low-end budget movies that show it, primarily in the lack of story. This is not one of those. It lacked some heart but it did pull you in, suspend your disbelief....escaped for a bit.

23 May 2015. There are just too many logical flaws and incoherent and odd plot designs or omissions to really call this effort at quality horror film making great or even above average. The first two-thirds of the movie might qualify as an above average and decent effort at a thoughtful and riveting, well photographed and executed horror film with a few serious logical weaknesses that detract from the emotionally exciting flow of the movie. This presentation of an elite mercenary squad never really gels from the beginning as compared to Aliens (1986) or Predator (1987). Some of the elite squad members just don't perform like elite members. Two especially distracting scenes include leaving one man behind and another is a delayed reaction time that leads to deadly consequences.

What makes this movie rather unique, is the directorial efforts at set design, photography, and cinematography that creates an ominous mood and has the potential to set this horror movie apart from most others. Unfortunately the unraveling plot during the last third of the movie destroys much of the potential of this movie. Unlike the much more convincing Cuba Good Jr. vehicle, The Devil's Tomb (2009), the plot direction just doesn't seem to make much sense nor audience appeal. Most of the characters in The Hybrid are pretty wretched and there's not much to like in this one of the most un-elite squad on screen. This movie ends more like some unintentional mysterious mind-crazing gas had taken over the screen-writer.

Instead, for mystery action thrills there's The Numbers Station (2013) or for sci fi horror there's Splice (2009).

7.8 of 10. Not to be confused with the purely horrible Hybrid from 2007 or the at least enjoyable Super Hybrid of 2010, this is a quality film using reality-based horror built on sci-fi, war, and genetic experimentation.

While the misinformed, weak science sci-fi films still fantasize and fill in gaps of traveling massive distances through variations on frozen sleep, this eliminates the distance problem completely by avoiding space travel to or from the planet. Instead, it takes advantage of well known, everyday scientific events, modern conflicts around Russia, secret government operations, and genetic experimentation to build a surprisingly plausible story with a smooth, though a little too obvious, setup for a sequel.

Given early reviews, the non-stereotypical look of the alien probably is a little too much for status quo critics to handle. It doesn't feel or look under-budgeted. The only thing hard science fiction fans can criticize involves telepathy and telekinesis. Such, however, is often the ouch with alien sci-fi - writers going complete fantasy on alien abilities.