The Hive

I have always been a film nerd. Since the early days of my childhood, i fell in love with splatter films of the 70´s and 80´s. Everything from body parts flying, to flesh wounds being ripped apart, bullet holes, all those wonderful moments that made films enjoyable. I think that grindhouse cinema, and B horror movies like the cult film Evil Dead, is the reason why we all belive in world peace. Some might say we belive in world peace because of organisations that help people like Unicef. And we do, but we also have to have hope, for a better world. This is why we need films like Evil Dead to live on the legacy, that a chainsaw can solve many wonderful problems. This might sound like i am distubred, i probably am, but i am also correct about this issue, just ask Fredrik Strage, music and film critic in Sweden. I recently got my hands on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in a 3 disc blu ray edition, with lots of wonderful extras, a nice book about the filming of this insane sequel. In these days, we do get some really fun horror releases like the really good Deathgasm, that proves that we can still get quality cinema films, just like the good old days. Since it is Halloween this weekend, i decided to end this month with a third horror review, for this popular weekend. Some of you might even know what horror films you are going to watch, since many tv channels take on both horror classics and some new ones. So let´s talk about The Hive. I read a lot of news on the web site Bloodydisgusting, both for their horror reviews, but also to read news about upcoming horror films. This is where i found out about a new upcoming horror film called The Hive, with a unique mix of classic motion picture. Since i am always interested in new films, especially the ones that sound interesting, i just had to take a look to see if this would fit my taste. The cast is not really filled with known actors, but to me that is a good sign, usually they do it better than the big Hollywood names. With a limited theatre release, and on VOD, i got a chance to see it. Is this a new classic among horror films, or is this as predictable as John Hagee´s end of the world predictions ?

Adam ( Ganriel Basso ) wakes up, covered in blood, inside a house where the windows have been nailed in with boards. Adam suffers with amnesia, and can´t remember exactly what happened, why he is here, and what happened to his friends. He begin to have flashbacks, where he suddenly remember small details. But it seems that he can remember other people´s memories also, not only his own. He finds the body of Megan ( Aurelia Prescott ), and continue to have flashbacks, of what happened with him, and why he ended up here. For each memory, Adam is getting closer to finding out the truth, but is it all what it seems, or could there be other explanations ?

The Hive have a very cool design, mixing in influences from australian film Memento and Evil Dead, with some other elements. You might think this is just another horror release, where people are killed and that´s it. Not really, this is a much more intelligent horror film, bringing us something different in this genre. One of the things i like most of all about this film, is how you get to follow what happened in the past, and suddenly switches over to present day, where you need to make sure you follow the story. Director David Yarovesky, is one of the most talented horror films directors today, and he proves himself with this small and interesting film. This is his first feature film as an director, after directing several short films in the past. I both like his visual style, and his way to tell a story, in a none traditional way. The acting is also good, especially from Kathryn Prescott and Gabriel Basso. Their scenes together, at the camp for kids, feels natural and unpreditacble ( for the most part ). I also would like to say that actor Aurelia Prescott does a really good performance as possessed. When the film finally begins to become more brutal, and have clearly borrowed influences from Evil Dead, you can´t help yourself from having a good time. Ok, so if you don´t like when scenes jump backwards and forwards, you might be annoyed by the concept of The Hive. But i actually like the style, and the cinematography, it makes this film unique compared to a lot of horror releases lately. I tried to think about something negative about the film, and the only thing i could come up with was that it should have been even more brutal. The cast is great, and you can tell that director David Yarovesky shows his vision, how to tell a complicated story. There are some cliché moments in a few scenes, but it does not effect the quality of the film itself. The Hive is a pleasent surprise, with some really nice surprises along the way. The reason why i don´t give a higher rating, is because we could have had more gore, since that would have increased the nostalgia feeling of Evil Dead. Still, this is a film you should see, especially because the really cool combination of classics thrown in together, in an intelligent way. One thing is for sure, i am never going to summer camp again. Why ? See the film and you might understand my point.

Rating: DDD