Hydra

Imagine it as comfort food. The movie is safe, predictable and story is interesting enough to keep you watching. Its a take of the book "The most Danferous Game" aka "The hounds of Zaroff" where the rich hunt people. Only they threw in a giant multi-headed snake because why not. Next time I want a Rich murder poor people Ill just watch "Bloodlust"

This will never be Emmy-worthy, nor will this enjoy record-breaking DVD sales later when it is released, but this is superior for a Sci Fi Channel Original. Like Wyvern, the story and dialog is more involved, better detailed, and runs much more fluid than your typical Sci Fi Channel fare. The long shots and scenic vistas are new for Sci Fi Channel releases, and I have to say they add a great deal to the overall feel and effect of the work. But moreover, the CGI has been amped up a bit and looks like something in which you can suspend belief, for a change. That has been the greatest problem with Sci Fi Original movies, thus far...the horrible CG, trite dialog, and terrible acting ruin the possibility of enjoying a good suspension of belief, thereby negating its own work. Thus is not the case with Hydra. At least, not to the extent as is typically present.

It's not as bad as some say.

It rates a 5.5/10 on the Made 4 TV scale.

It rates a 4.2/10 on the Movie Scale from...

the Fiend :.

Another reviewer described this as being superior for a Sci-Fi Channel TV production. He was wrong. This is very much par for the course for the channel, a cheesy CGI-filled slice of monster mayhem in which various assembled non-actors are bumped off one by one on a remote island by the titular creature.

The ridiculous set-up of the narrative is particularly amusing here. There's a remote island in the Mediterranean where a group of archaeologists just happen to be conducting an expedition when they fall foul of the titular beastie. At the same time, and most bizarrely, there's a MOST DANGEROUS GAME-style hunt going on too, where some big game hunters are tracking down convicted criminals and get cash prizes if they manage to murder them.

Inevitably the stories all combine but in the most ordinary way imaginable. HYDRA is for the most part a repetitive production in which almost the entire cast is bumped off before the survivors finally figure out a way to combat the monster. The acting is poor and the CGI effects typically awful for a Sci Fi Channel production. There's little more to say really other than you know what you're going to get with this one.

HEY EVERYBODY ITS ME, (4) .......and today we review ......a big ol snake monster movie .....multi headed snake monster that is ......

SO standard FX from back when digital / CGI was terrible.... my kids have made better CGI FX drawing with crayons lol.....but i can appreciate the attempt, especially the "temple" scene with the green screen/digital over lay of old statues lol... i mean it ALMOST worked .... colour was pretty close ...... so you at least get a gold star for that one .... good job buddy ....

i did enjoy seeing some great actors in here though ... guys like that creeping captain guy whos has always been awesome ..... also the chubby dude from peewees great adventure and the leprechaun movies LOL ........so i mean ... the acting portion was decent at least ........had a solid cast of the average people to die ... like the jocky guy, the token black dude , who i might add survived a long time actually .... the bimbo chick .... the nerd science chick ...so this almost was a slasher film if you think about it , except it took place during the day , AND honestly if should have been night shots , that probably would have helped ALOT with the cgi parts .........

PLOTHOLE: if hercules already killed it with the sword that could kill it then why is it back again and they need the sword to kill it ?!??!!!!??!?!?... real talk though ...... obviously he didnt do a very good job the first time or he wouldnt be dead and the giant snake monster thing would be .......ALSO showing the entire body MIGHT have been a bad idea as well .... i mean we all KNOW what it should look like ...but that doesnt mean we should actually see it on screen because WOW it just ends up looking like a REALLY bad hand puppet .... like a glove with snake heads on the end ......

over all this is a pretty average kind of creature feature for the mid 2000's late 2000's when cgi ruled the film world and honestly it was/is a double edged sword ....hopfully NOT wielded by herk there lol... but its bad because it was cheap to mass produce SO many creature movies and it over saturated the market for the longest time ...cheap fast flicks ......but not quality ....... sadly .... this was semi entertaining because i love giant monster movies / creature features , a call back to my younger days staying up late nights watching the all night monster marathons .........

3/10.

Four incredibly wealthy men with more money than common sense, and whom all had lost a loved one due to murder, charter a yacht to an abandoned island where they will hunt 4 alleged criminals. However the island that decide on is very much already occupied....by a Hydra. Yup, that must mean that it's SyFy Original picture time again.

This creature-of-the-week meets "Most Dangerous Game" may be a tad better than the typical SyyFy flick but it still wears out it's (admittedly forced) welcome with cardboard characters that you don't really care what happens to & a monster that seems cool enough at first but gets more and more boring with each subsequent attack. This is highly forgettable fluff that is only good for a rainy Saturday morning when you have nothing better to do but nurse a hangover.

My Grade: D

DVD Extras: Just trailers for "Direct Contact", "The Code", "Labor Pains"