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tacotank
Reviews
Hybrid (1997)
Eh...
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.
Proteus (1995)
Not worth it
As far as the genre of monster movies go, the plot is typical, albeit really retarded. I wasn't expecting much, and I was not let down. Proteus was a lot more enjoyable than Octopus, that's for sure, but I still wouldn't recommend it. It's not even good to make fun of. I got bored very quickly. I stopped the movie somewhere in the beginning to go find food, and by the time I got back I was very reluctant to turn it back on. The acting is less than mediocre, and dialogue wasn't intriguing. Creature effects consisted mostly of the over-used drool to foreshadow an upcoming encounter. In the end when they reveal the creature, it's hardly something I wet my pants over. More of a snoozer than anything else, don't waste your time on Proteus. It's not even amusing to make fun of.
Octopus (2000)
What a waste of time...
I cannot BELIEVE how horrible this film is. I like watching monster flicks, but this one pained me.
Plot: I shouldn't elaborate on how lame the plot was, especially because there generally isn't a majorly impressive plot in ANY monster movie. It's typical for its genre, and that should be enough here.
Creature Effects: EXTREMELY sub-standard. Considering when this film was made, you would expect something neat to look at, but the octopus is hardly that. I've seen better creature effects out of the likes Xena and Hercules on TV than in "Octopus." In a movie like this, the monster is the main focus of the film. A good creature has to make up for the bad parts of the film, and this octopus most certainly does not. There simply is NO excuse for bad FX in a film made in 2000.
Dialogue: Boring, to say the least. There's only one really memorable line in the entire film, "It's your teeth!" which was simply so silly you can't help but laugh.
Don't bother renting this sorry excuse for a movie. This pile of dung isn't worth the $3 to rent it, let alone nearly $20 on it to own. Coming from somebody who watches their share of dumb monster movies, this movie is an insult to the genre. You'd be better off renting Komodo, or (God forgive me for saying this) Proteus.