I'm a horror junkie. I absolutely love the types of stories that the genre can give way to. I'll preface my previous statement before going any further. There are those that live and breathe horror. Every thread of clothing they own is homage to the genre. Every movie they watch is either horror or one of its many subgenres. All the podcasts they listen to, revolves around something in the horror genre. I’m sorry but I am just not that guy. If I'm honest, for as much as I love the genre, I need a break from it every once in a while. Usually boils down to one of two things. I'm either burnt out on it or I'm not in the right mental health space to indulge in it.
Years ago, I suffered from a very violent temper. I mean, my goodness, it was bad. Part of what fed that anger was a habit I developed with horror movies, particularly slasher movies. I would watch something like Halloween or A Nightmare on Elm Street - and I would picture myself as the killer. The source of anger, whatever or whomever, was the victim. Eventually I came to learn how unhealthy of a habit that is. I had to actually separate myself from the genre for years. Some of those experiences have scarred my limit on how much I can take. What I can take is another story entirely. In my opinion, vampires and zombies have been done to death. Literally. When you hit the level of The Walking Dead or Twilight. You tend to get over such subgenres rather quickly - it's just oversaturation.
Enter into Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids. I want to place a disclaimer; I wasn't a fan of this movie. However, I want it to be known that I didn't hate it because of its use of vampires. On the contrary, while I'm not the biggest fan of the subgenre, I love to be proven wrong. I'm sure that there are still stories to tell, if told correctly, that I could grow to love. However, Hybrids will not fall into that category. The movie clocks in at a brisk 71 minutes, and viewers feel very draining moment of the story. The movie centers around Gabriella (Sarah Chang) who is hunting down the ultimate hybrid, Gundra (Makael Turner). Along her path to vengeance, she ends up partnering with other blood hunters - those that hunt hybrids. The film does a good job at quickly establishing the mythology of this world. Within the first five minutes, viewers are thrusted into this world's history and mythos. Given its short runtime and all that the narrative entails, this is a rather ingenious way to welcome new viewers.
It's when the actual plot starts off that the earthquake sets in. This interesting mythology is quickly traded in for a dull, dry and overstuffed plot. Imagine seeing something so juicy sitting on the Thanksgiving dinner table. Upon your first bite you are saddened by the fact that this is actually dry and tasteless. That is Hybrids. For such a short period of time, the movie establishes WAY too many characters. On top of that, it feels the need to give them all these emotionally driven back stories that do little to them, except give them an ounce of personality. If that was the goal, it was greatly reached. Hybrids feels like it's consistently missing something. Its' void of character development and its entire third act somehow ends up becoming a UFC fight. Its' directionless, poorly scripted, sloppy and above all else badly acted. However, the film does have a saving grace in its' visual aesthetic. The comic book-transition sequences are gorgeous to look at. Not to mention, the practical and visual effects fall in that camp as well.
Overall, Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids, might have your snoozes rising instead. The movie feels void of any meaning. It feels like the filmmakers decided to throw as much as they could at the wall and hoped for the best. The visual and practical effects are the highlight of the movie. As is its comic book noir transitional sequences. The visual aesthetic of the film might be the only saving grace. Outside of a few narrative twists, that were properly handled, and a cool opening number - this film is empty. It lacks direction, good acting and is filled with bizarre narrative choices. These guys might blood, but you'll be hunting for the remote.
RORSCHACH RATING:
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Victims and Villains is written and produced by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey. Music by Yuriy Bespalov & Beggars.
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