Hybrid (1997 Video) User Reviews

Post nuke trash rehash!

[capkronos · 4/10 · 12 May 2003]

Always turning a blind eye to the prospect of a new idea, director Fred Olen Ray gives us a remake of CREEPOZOIDS, itself a garden-variety ALIEN knock-off. Here six post nuke survivors seek shelter from an upcoming "ion storm" in a (uh oh) seemingly abandoned scientific lab. Despite finding a half-melted corpse, mysterious slime puddles and body parts lying around the group decide to spend the night and a mutant monster, supposedly a hybrid cockroach/snake (though it looks no different than the monsters usually found in these things) picks them off one by one.

Now that we've established the fact there's no plot, the question remains...Is there anything good here? Well...like many Ray productions, naked chicks are a given. Buxom blonde J.J. North and Brinke Stevens split up from the guys, go exploring, find a shower with warm water and hop in for a lets-toy-with-lesbianism shower romp, nevermind the fact they've already discovered a dead body. Stevens, a veteran Scream Queen for 15 years now, still looks great in her 40's and does a decent job in her role. Tim Abell, in the token Rambo role, also comes off pretty well and exudes leading man potential. Everyone else is awful, the violence is mostly offscreen and the monster design is terrible.

Potential points of interest include a topless pin-up of Michelle Bauer, a publicity poster of Rush Limbaugh (?), extreme misuse of the busy Corman factory stock space FX and probably a record amount of time padding of characters walking down darkly lit corridors.

scientists take refuge only to find a monster lurking and looking for a girl.

[squireson2002 · 4/10 · 16 February 2005]

There isn't too much to redeem this movie. There is for a shared shower scene between the two lead females (one of which is the lovely Brinke Stevens.) There is also a little soft porn between the secondary female character and the lead guy. Plot outline:

A genetic experiment gone wrong hunts down the members of the expedition who were trapped during an "ion" storm.

The monster undresses an unconscious Brinke and rapes her. Rescued from a cocoon by her friends they make an attempt to get out alive and succeed in destroying a rather badly made puppet of a monster. It is suggested that Brinke now carries a child of this monster near the end of the film. There really wasn't much to say for this film. An excuse to do some soft porn is my guess.

A gold mine.

[Skutter-2 · 3/10 · 2 January 2007]

For those who enjoy cheesy b-grade horror Sci-Fi, Hybrid is a gold mine of goodies.

The movie opens with a couple of minutes of what looks like footage from other sci-fi or disaster movies awkwardly spliced together with little to no attempt toward coherence. Initially I was wondering if this was why the movie was called Hybrid. Random shots of alien spaceships shooting at stuff in space, buildings and cars exploding, a few brief shots of some creature in armour shooting at the screen culminates in a stock shot of a nuclear explosion. None of the footage matches at all, the grain and film is different in each shot, some of it is in broad daylight, some of it is at night, some of its is clearly meant to be in deep space. It is presumably meant to be showing some sort of cataclysmic, apocalyptic event but the details are sketchy. None of the dialogue in the rest of the movie is that helpful- it would seem to indicate some kind of nuclear war but the aliens seen in this prologue are never mentioned and there is even mention of natural disaster at one point. Possibly the makers didn't know what footage they could get their hands on for the opening whilst writing the script and decided to hedge their bets. After this we are treated to a cheapo credit sequence complete with wonderfully cheesy music. I love the fact the title of the movie is in that green blocky computerised type of font that may have looked so cool and futuristic in the seventies (This movie being made in the late nineties).

After a comically bad and short second opening in which some marine types are killed by some unseen creature the movie proper begins. A ragtag group of scientists and military types travelling across a blasted post apocalyptic war zone (a nice cost effective desert) take shelter from a killer ion storm inside an abandoned scientific research facility. From there on it's your standard alien clone as our colourful cast are picked off one by one by a generic monster. In this case it is apparently a cross between human, reptile and cockroach, although it looks like none of the above and I see good reasons for this particular combination beyond those of the "WTF, why not, we're bored and have access to gene splicing technology" variety. It in fact looks like a dude in a really, really fake and rubbery looking 'Alien' rip-off monster costume with a stupidly long neck. It is quite hilarious when you do see it chasing after someone lamely shaking it rubbery claws at someone and shaking its badly balanced and over large cranium from side to side. The makers wisely only show bits of the creature from time to time- every few minutes there is a standard POV shot of the creature roaming the corridors followed by a shot its snarling teeth which may remind you of the snarling drooling teeth of another well known alien creature.

In its relatively short running time Hybrid has almost everything you could want from this kind of trashy pic- a rubbery fake looking alien, cheesy dialogue, gratuitous sex scenes, bad acting, clichés, impromptu and lengthy lesbian shower sequences, fake gore, lots of cheap props and sets, more bad dialogue and acting, creatures beating incessantly on doors, technobabble, alien rape, slime, gratuitous stock footage, loose endings and bad soap operatic back stories. Many will cite the lesbian scene as a highlight but it's all an amiable plateau of cheesy fun from start to finish. Stay watching till the end of the credits which make it clear that the makers of Hybrid were had no illusions as to the kind of film they were making.

Showers in Spaaaaaace!

[Dr. Gore · 8 April 2003]

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*

Brinke Stevens and a bunch of other people are driving through the desert looking for a place to crash and take a shower. They come across an abandoned research facility with the standard out of control genetic mutation ready to kill them. This makes Brinke Stevens all hot and sweaty. She hops into the shower with another woman and together they proceed to lather each other up. Speaking of lathering up, the viewer is cheering on the shower party. "OOOH, OK Brinke. Don't miss a spot. Clean her back. That's good. Slower. Slooower. OK Faster. MMMM..."

Brinke Stevens shower in space is the best and ONLY reason to see this movie. The rest of the flick was a standard B monster movie. Not great. Or even good. But the shower scene was excellent. My God, there should be a shower scene in every movie. And Brinke Stevens should be in it.

don't take this movie seriously

[Siloty · 5/10 · 24 May 2008]

this movie opens up with multiple segments of other movies strung together, i mean what the???

the acting in this movie is just terrible, the dialogue is that bad its laughable, like using the word besides three times to start a sentence in one segment.

this movie seems to try to redeem itself with random skin scenes that don't do too well at it.

there is cheap gore and a funny soundtrack. one scene that used the 80's synth beat for the music made it funny, instead of a dark atmosphere. i understand its a b grade movie, but thats no excuse for how bad it is.

a bunch of space renegades go into an abandoned military facility to escape a dangerous ionstorm but have something more "deadly" inside. guess what it is. an alien made of a really bad fake rubbersuit which makes you laugh every time you see it. the alien's noise is so terrible to listen to.

i give it a five only because that its laughable, and watching this movie with a bunch of mates makes watching this movie a funny experience.

Entertaining.

[DigitalRevenantX7 · 5/10 · 5 May 2008]

A group of survivors travelling across the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Earth in the far future seek shelter in an abandoned military installation. Led by McQueen, a heroic drifter, the survivors discover that the installation was the setting for an experiment where a human was infused with alien, snake & cockroach DNA, causing uncontrollable mutation. The creature then emerges from the shadows to attack the survivors.

Ever since he served as DOP on the low-budget zombie flick SHOCK WAVES, Fred Olen Ray has carved out his own unique niche. All he does is make low-budget sci-fi, action & horror films.

While Olen Ray's films cannot compete with their bigger-budgeted rivals, his films do feature an odd-ball sense of humour. "Hybrid" is as typical as Olen Ray's work gets. The film is an extremely cheap rip-off of ALIEN, so cheap that it steals scenes from other Olen Ray films (such as DROID GUNNER & STAR HUNTER), using them for the film's start to depict some kind of apocalypse (which admittedly doesn't work very well) as well as use props from bigger-budgeted films, such as the Landmaster vehicle from the likes of DAMNATION ALLEY & APEX.

While it is a cheap rip-off, "Hybrid" does prove to be quite entertaining. The characters are surprisingly well drawn & acted. The actors know they are starring in a low-budget film & act accordingly. The visual effects are very cheap, with the monster being a rather poor man-in-suit creation that is so bad I ended up laughing – but that's the film's purpose. The creature even has a scene where it has its way with one of the female survivors, causing even more unintentional (or is it intentional?) laughter. Not to mention the fact that Olen Ray throws in a completely superfluous soft-core porn shower scene where the two women rub each other with soap.

Yes, it does star one of the Barrymore clan! No, that does not make it good!

[Sir-Rocco · 1/10 · 29 July 2006]

John Blyth Barrymore is to the Barrymore's what Eric was to the Douglas clan! A talentless hack who just appears in movies because of his family name. This movie is a shocker! A cheap, inept alien rip-off which has the obligatory nude scenes to appeal to the men! Poor special effects mean that you barely even see the monster and the most shocking acting known to man makes the people on Dawsons creek seem like great actors! One can only hope that all copies of this movie will be destroyed one day like what happened with the atari 1600 game "ET" and then this movie can disappear, and the actors can pretend it never happened!

Didn't quite make it to B

[sasami-184-163119 · 1/10 · 12 December 2014]

The script was a total joke. They grabbed catch phrases from other movies and strung them together so it sounded like they knew what they were doing. It didn't work.

Footage was a combination of stock sci-fi clips, irrelevant bits shot on local streets, and the compulsory running around in an abandoned factory full of pipes. How many different movies have I seen that damn space ship in now? A dozen? It also "featured" the transports from Damnation Alley.

The cast were cardboard, and the acting wooden. At times the plot forgot where it was going, and put on little porn shows. While I do love a good B movie, this one didn't make the cut.

Alien rip-off dud

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 7 March 2016]

More cheap inanity from Fred Olen Ray. This one's a blatant rip-off of ALIEN, except made without an ounce of that film's creativity or technical prowess. Instead, Ray opts for plenty of softcore padding, including lesbian shower scenes and the like, and a whole lot of bad acting.

HYBRID is a film for fans of Z-grade movies only. The casting is very poor, as is always the case in his films, and even seasoned performers like Brinke Stevens don't appear to have got any better over the years. John Blyth Barrymore (half-brother of Drew) makes an appearance and Robert Quarry has a cameo, but most of the screen time goes to buxom blonde starlet J. J. North, who let's just say won't be bothering the likes of Kate Winslet in the best acting stakes anytime soon.

Elsewhere, HYBRID features a whole lot of dumb talk, a rubbishy man in a monster suit running around, and not a great deal of violence. Instead, we get stock footage from previous B-movies, and an overwhelming sense of deja vu which sets in after about ten minutes.

Enter this base at your on risk.

[lost-in-limbo · 2/10 · 26 November 2006]

Earth is in a post-apocalyptic state and five military survivors looking for shelter before an ion storm hits. Come across a drifter who informs them of a scientific base that he's heading to and they decide to follow. When they get there, it's abandoned. While it looks empty, they soon realise why. As they come across a messed up dead corpse and find out this is the home of a genetic alien hybrid.

Yes, what incompetent schlock. I got some good wink-eye through Fred Olen Ray's poor man's version of "Alien" crossed with "Creepozoids" and a dash of "Shadowzone". Damn "Hybrid" will put you to sleep with its drawn-out story, blunt performances and systematic actions. While, it's basic stuff, there's nothing much to really compensate for its lack of refreshing ideas. There's no can of worms popping up here. Although there are a few unusual sequences that creep in and those moments do have your full attention. Like just what hell was going on in the opening minutes? It was re-used stock footage to confusingly explain why Earth looked like apocalyptic wasteland. An out-of-nowhere shower scene involving the voluptuous J.J. North and the always dashing Brinke Stevens, decide to spice up the outing by making sure that they are thoroughly cleaned for the messy onslaught that waits and then you get the horny alien hybrid getting its groove on with one of its victims. Since the rehashed story loses track for most part with its plodding nature, serious outlook and an unconvincingly brittle (and really heartfelt) back-story to build these characters. These tiny spoonfuls are certainly ludicrous, but at least they were diverting enough to catch your eye. As really this could have been more fun, if they decided to boost up the energy levels.

The rest of it didn't cut it at all. Your ears on the other hand, don't cope any slack at all from this lame script with its heavy use of wit and snappy wisecracks. I found most of it pitiful and state the bloody obvious with awful delivery. Suspense is non-exist in this pressure filled situation, the flat violence is weakly staged with its timidly unoriginal blood splatter, and most of the characters are an aggravatingly leaden bunch who do too many dumb things when there's an alien about. Wait to you see the horridly shonky alien design. The costume is like something someone would wear at a theme park, so not to scare the little kids. Somewhere cross between H. R. Giger's "Alien" design and a miniature Godzilla. Even the camera shots (lot of POV shots) steal heavily from "Alien", where it likes to focus on the creature's nasty looking mouth and gooey slime it leaves about. It looks too goofy and showing it in its full glory for the majority of the time doesn't help. Everything feels and looks plastic, not just the sets, everything.

This independent straight-to-video farce might go out with a bang, but for most part you might be battling yourself to last the distance.

Lesbian Softcore Porno gone wrong...

[Spraragen88 · 1/10 · 26 June 2005]

Wow I saw this movie when it first came out and in a way it introduced me to Lesbian Softcore Porno (I was only like 14). In full extent this movie is Lesbian soft-core porno gone wrong, it has shower scenes of girls washing each other and deals with the monster wanting to impregnate one of the ladies.

If that is your cup of tea then dig in because I was expecting something more than Barney Goes Wild. With that said I had to give this a 1/10 for a horror movie and a 6/10 for soft porno because sci-fi soft-core porno movies could be better but they come few and far between.

What you talking about?

[mackiefromthetoon · 10/10 · 17 October 2006]

This movie ROCKS. The acting is superb. The sex scenes aren't gratuitous. The action truly grabs you by the balls or muff and quite frankly, i expect there to be some sort of sequel judging by the end credits. BRING ON HYBRID 2 (Higher Brid).

Apparently this review needs at least ten sentances so here are some.

You've done it all, you've broken every code And pulled the Rebel to the floor You spoilt the game, no matter what you say For only metal, what a bore Blue eyes, blue eyes, how come you tell so many lies

Come up and see me, make me smile Or do what you want, running wild

There's nothing left, all gone and run away Maybe you'll tarry for a while It's just a test, a game for us to play Win or lose, it's hard to smile Resist, resist, it's from yourself you have to hide

Come up and see me, to make me smile Or do what you want, running wild

There ain't no more, you've taken everything From my belief in Mother Earth How can you ignore my faith in everything Coz I know what Faith is and what it's worth Away, away, and don't say maybe you'll try

T'come up and see me, to make me smile Or do what you want, just running wild

Come up and see me, make me smile Or do what you want, running wild

Come up and see me, make me smile Or do what you want, running wild

Superb! Sort of.

[Stevieheuge · 5/10 · 15 November 2002]

*possible tiny spoilers!!*

Firstly, please dont expect too much from this film, because if you do, you will shortly come to realise that it is gut-shreddingly awful.

However, if you just watch Hybrid for what it is, it can be a very entertaining hour and a half...

The plot is crap and unoriginal - a mish mash band of survivors in a post-apocolyptic world (presumably Earth) are making their way through the desert, when their vehicle breaks down and they have to find shelter from an incoming 'ion storm' - whatever one of those is, and are fortunate enough to come across an abandoned research facility!!

Of course, within the laboratory, are no signs of life, and there just so happens to be a monster on the loose, (which is, rather hilariously part human, part snake, and part cockroach!), which begins to pick off our little friends one bye one...

Fair enough, it sounds mince, but for reasons I cant explain even to myself, this is one of my most frequently watched movies - and that is not because it is a low budget b-movie, and thus contains gore and naked breasts...

I think the main reason I like this film is because it really comes across as the type of movie you could make yourself with your mates - though not quite to the extent of Kevin Smiths 'Clerks' of course. I admire the simplicity of the movie, the tiny cast, (no extras required), and the fact that, though unintentional, the film is without a doubt, a comic masterpiece!

Some of the lines are delivered so badly, that you cannot help but wet yourself. There is nothing funnier than when a film that is based on being totally ridiculous, tries to install genuine emotions and atmosphere within the fabric, when it just comes off as badly acted crap - which it is!

Nonetheless, i reiterate that Hybrid is very entertaining, and should keep any viewer, (excluding, like, old people) happy to the end (which is crap).

A solid 8 out of 10!

Fred Olen Ray - At His Best!

[Crap_Connoisseur · 6 August 2006]

Hybrid is another sublime slice of Fred Olen Ray madness. I love just about every film that Fred has ever made but Hybrid is especially memorable. Few directors can claim to have as unique a vision as Fred Olen Ray and this film is a perfect example of that twisted outlook. Hybrid plays like a cross between "Alien" and "Emmanuelle", only without the special effects of the former or the arty pretensions of the latter. This film is wonderfully trashy and a must see for fans of this brilliant director.

The action begins with a preposterous looking creature chewing up a couple of scientists. Right from the opening scene it is apparent that Fred has not lost his sense of humour. The creature looks like a bad Halloween costume and the gore effects are as unconvincing as ever. The film switches focus to the crew of a very unrealistic looking spacecraft, who crash land on a desolate planet. The crew seek shelter from bad weather and stumble across a soldier, who directs them to an abandoned laboratory. This is when Hybrid begins to rip off "Alien" in earnest and Fred Olen Ray really hits his stride.

The crew find the laboratory abandoned and quickly discover through a series of hilarious revelations that the scientists were experimenting on humans and succeeded in creating a homicidal cockroach/human hybrid. Instead of leaving as quickly as possible, this crew of dunces decides to spend the night at the facility - only to learn that the hybrid is not only alive but also hungry and horny. The remainder of the film basically involves crew members being killed and having raunchy sex. In other words, Fred Olen Ray serves up a large serving of quality entertainment.

The sex scenes in Hybrid are particularly amusing. A perfect example of Fred's unique approach to plot and character occurs when Dr Leslie, played by horror icon Brinke Stevens, and Nurse Carla, JJ North of "Hellblock 13" fame, decide to freshen up - by showering together. Before too long the women begin to massage each other to "relieve tension" and before you know it they are partaking in some soft-core lesbian action. Nurse Carla really gets around. She also finds time to seduce soldier McQueen, played by Tim Abell, in the midst of all the carnage. This scene would look cheesy in a 1980s porno but somehow nurse Carla's very thorough check-up routine works here. The cutting between Carla and McQueen's sexual acrobatics and the creature's killing spree makes for particularly classy viewing. Just when I thought Fred had reached a dizzying new height, Dr Leslie takes a sleeping pill and is molested by the creature in a scene that puts Sigourney's cross-species flirt in "Alien Resurrection" well and truly into perspective.

The technical aspects of Hybrid are pretty terrible. The action sequences are cheap and poorly staged, while the make-up and gore effects leave a lot to be desired. And that is fine with me. I don't watch Fred Olen Ray movies for technical virtuosity but for his outrageous imagination and unswerving dedication to bad taste. Fred's directing is as haphazard as ever and the actors vary wildly in skill. Tim Abell has gone on to bigger and better things and somehow makes it through Hybrid with his dignity intact. Poor Brinke Stevens is not as lucky. However, she can take solace in the fact that people are still paying her to take her clothes off well past the age of 40. JJ North is hilariously inept as Carla. I'm disappointed that she has dropped off the acting radar after a promising string of wonderful Z-grade movies.

Fred Olen Ray's hypnotic brand of crap is an acquired taste but once you get it, there is no going back. Hybrid has everything a B-movie should have in spades - poor effects, gore, gratuitous nudity and a rapist alien. This is highly recommended.

Your eyes will hurt from all the rolling

[thedarkestshadow-32785 · 2/10 · 12 February 2024]

This is such a stupid movie. The characters are supposed to be securing the base. Before doing so the two women decide to take a pseudo lesbian soft core shower despite having just found a body with large claw marks on it. Nothing but a poor excuse for nudity. Neither women are that great looking either.

The acting is hit or miss but mostly miss. The "plot" if you can call it that has plenty of wtf moments other than the absurd shower scene. For example, two people are running around with guns at the beginning. Not sure whether they're trying to kill the monster or get to a safe space. The first one gets killed rather quickly. The second doesn't even try to shoot the monster.

This might be worth watching on a drinking night or something but that's about it.

Eh...

[tacotank · 5/10 · 3 June 2001]

I really got more than I bargained for in "Hybrid," and I mean that in a positive AND negative way.

On the plus side, this was an enjoyable altered-human-run-amok film. I categorize "Hybrid" with other bad monster movies, all of which are enjoyable in their lameness (except those rare few that are just plain bad). "Hybrid" actually makes an attempt at plot, and it succeeds somewhat. It's a little flaky, but it works. A lot of times the characters will reference events or something that happened in the history of the world they're on (I'm assuming it was Earth), and somehow I felt as if they just expected me to know what they were talking about. Minimal effort is expended on explaining too far into the history.

Hardly any effort was put into the "creature," but I wouldn't say that's a bad thing. It most reminded me of Godzilla in the man-in-a-rubber-suit aspect. "Hybrid" also utilizes the "drool factor" to give warning of the creature's presence, an over-used device, but I'm not complaining.

There is one reason I probably wouldn't recommend "Hybrid." Sandwiched between normal B-movie fun are two-and-a-half scenes of what could be classified as porn. Newer B-movies use nudity and sex in moderation, but "Hybrid" doesn't even attempt to moderate OR apply some sense of taste to it. This aspect of "Hybrid" completely ruined what is otherwise a decent film.

Don't rent this one if kids will be watching it!!! Other than that, I would recommend "Hybrid" to anybody who can take monster movies with a grain of salt. Even with the intermittent porn, this movie really gave me a good laugh. "Hybrid" is great MST3K fodder, and is great to make fun of.

Not bad, for what it is

[Tito-8 · 5/10 · 28 April 2000]

For a sci-fi b-movie, this is actually pretty decent. It stars a number of well-known b-movie actors, and the script isn't quite as bad as you might expect. Some funny lines and good performances by most of the leads also help the film. However, it still isn't a very good film. After all, in between the silly dialogue and needless skin scenes, there is an ordinary plot and several dull moments. In other words, unless you're a b-movie buff, don't waste your time.

Amusing trash is amusing

[yanagoya · 1/10 · 15 February 2009]

Before, I didn't know movies can be that trashy.

I didn't know blonds with big tits can act - can I even call that acting? - that incredibly, insanely badly. How that woman got a part with actual lines is beyond me. Hell, she's lame at porn too.

Tim Abell is in the movie, though. Man looks so ridiculously normal compared to others it's almost like he's at the wrong set. His face's rather sour through the sex scene, but shirt's off, so it's nice enough. He does appear very bored and unenthusiastic during the whole time, but it is understandable.

Really.

Nothing else to see. I did enjoy the rubber alien-thingy, a good laugh.

The spoof was better!

[Technirama · 11 September 2006]

The name "Hybrid" is certainly apt, since this film is indeed a mix of all that has come before, with not a single original thought in its head. But it deserves mention for actually being spoofed dead on in another film I watched, "Dr. Horror's House of Idiots". Yes, that's the title. Checking the original again, even the same names were used. No surprise here, as "Hybrid" star Brinke Stevens wrote the spoof :) She must have had fun getting even!

Best thing in film is seeing what appears to be extra stock footage from "Damnation Alley" Dig that crazy truck!

Even though "House of Idiots" is funny on purpose and "Hybrid" by accident, both films should be in a double-bill.