Scintilla

This movie appeal was the large amount of layers it has.

The movie poster makes you believe it's just about a group of mercenaries hired to take down a Russian Weapon experiment in gene splicing, but I got so much more.

This possibly had a lot to do with the Depth of some of the characters who story lines got to be played out though out the movie. You don't see that in horror movies (cause you really don't need it)

The movie goes from action to horror to Sci-Fi and a few more genres as the main plot unfolds.

This was so much more than what was expected and that made it something great to watch.

A group of mercenaries are sent on a mission to get something important from an underground research facility in Eastern Europe.

Scintilla is a film that shares some common ground with last year's Frankenstein's Army. After all, it is about a group of soldiers infiltrating a grungy underground bunker and discovering strange experiments therein. But it lacks the sheer imagination of that film unfortunately. It has some interesting ideas though, but most of the best threads are never developed very much, such as the skeleton faced biker or the bubble headed underground defenders of the laboratory or even the man with the mutating arm. All of these ideas show great promise but not much is made of them. Not only that but when we do discover the nature of the Scintilla project it is a little underwhelming. So there are areas where this movie fell a little short and others where it didn't build on its own good ideas. Having said all that, it's not really a bad film either. 'Corridors underground' sci-fi/horror films are notorious for being awfully tedious, on account of the limited sets and action. Scintilla at least tries to make its limited set-up a little interesting and it never really gets boring. It doesn't really add up to anything particularly great but it's entertaining enough and does have some memorable moments, even if it ultimately doesn't make the most of its potential.

I grabbed this off Netflix as a random, but was pleasantly surprised.

This is a film split into two halves. The first half is quite a tense and gritty war flick. A bunch of mercenaries have to infiltrate the stronghold of a eastern European warlord. The characters are quickly defined and interesting.

The second half of the film has a definite Scifi tilt. The objective of the mercenaries is a creepy underground laboratory where the guy from the DVD cover is lurking.

The action is hard hitting and the setting is atmospheric and interesting. The makers have stayed within the budget for the special effects and haven't been lured in by cheap, distracting cgi.

I can't quite decide how I feel about the ending, but that in itself is probably a good thing.

I found this to be an enjoyable, gritty romp. I wouldn't have paid to see this at the cinema but as a Netflix movie this is way above the average on offer.

23 May 2015. There are just too many logical flaws and incoherent and odd plot designs or omissions to really call this effort at quality horror film making great or even above average. The first two-thirds of the movie might qualify as an above average and decent effort at a thoughtful and riveting, well photographed and executed horror film with a few serious logical weaknesses that detract from the emotionally exciting flow of the movie. This presentation of an elite mercenary squad never really gels from the beginning as compared to Aliens (1986) or Predator (1987). Some of the elite squad members just don't perform like elite members. Two especially distracting scenes include leaving one man behind and another is a delayed reaction time that leads to deadly consequences.

What makes this movie rather unique, is the directorial efforts at set design, photography, and cinematography that creates an ominous mood and has the potential to set this horror movie apart from most others. Unfortunately the unraveling plot during the last third of the movie destroys much of the potential of this movie. Unlike the much more convincing Cuba Good Jr. vehicle, The Devil's Tomb (2009), the plot direction just doesn't seem to make much sense nor audience appeal. Most of the characters in The Hybrid are pretty wretched and there's not much to like in this one of the most un-elite squad on screen. This movie ends more like some unintentional mysterious mind-crazing gas had taken over the screen-writer.

Instead, for mystery action thrills there's The Numbers Station (2013) or for sci fi horror there's Splice (2009).

I knew nothing of this movie, hadn't even heard of it before watching, therefore I had few expectation and to be honest didn't expect to last more than 10 - 15 mins. And I almost gave up during the first act - I'm not a fan of Dirty Dozen vs The Alien type action movies. But I'm so glad I kept watching. Superb.

Something about the setting, the atmosphere and the alien just got under my skin. I found it truly disturbing - in a good way if that's possible. It unnerved me in a way big budget mainstream sci-fi / horror movies usually fail to. In my opinion it is a Prometheus on a small budget - creepy and uncomfortable but beautiful in it's simplicity.

So glad I watched - this will stay with me for weeks ... those eyes!!!

Well Done All.