I am a self proclaimed cheerleader for independent horror because I truly appreciate someone trying to scare the shit out of me in new and exciting ways, especially considering the limitations most of these filmmakers inherently face. While THE HIVE certainly accomplished this, I would be remiss not to mention that it also sometimes falls off the rails a bit throughout.
The film opens with 19 year old protagonist, Adam, waking in a barricaded infirmary. He is covered in gore with obvious signs of infection and completely disoriented- not even recalling his own name at first- and must piece together recent events via a series of visions and/or memories that don't even belong to him. As the various flashbacks begin to connect the dots, a pretty clever storyline takes shape making room for some fun scares and splatter along the way.
Though director David Yarovesky does a fine job telling a rather large story mostly in the confines of a single location, there are a few plot devices that had me shaking my head and asking "wait, why would someone do that?!" A love story that becomes the crux of the film simply wasn't as convincing as it needed to be. Additionally, since the majority of the plot is revealed through Adam's visions, the films falls victim to what I call the "found-footage phenom"-when a film reaches the point where you wonder how we're seeing what we're seeing. I.e. If this vision isn't in Adam's head, how the heck are we seeing it. It's a trap that is hard to avoid with a high concept plot, and it definitely took me out of the film's universe for awhile.
Having revealed my gripes now, I will say that I adored Gabriel Brasso's portrayal of Adam. It's difficult to make a character that is equal parts douchebag and hero so likable, but Grasso really pulls it all together nicely. Kathryn Prescott as Katie (the obligatory love interest) adds just the right amount of sass and sweetness to the story, and Jacob Zakar's Clark provides a hilarious take on the movie's (once again obligatory) dickhead. Most noteworthy, however, is Gabriel Walsh as Jess, who spends most of the film either dead or completely freaking me out with a possessed performance that would make Linda Blair proud. She is easily the scariest thing in the whole film.
All in all, THE HIVE is enjoyable with just a few issues I couldn't reconcile. It is still definitely worth checking out, but consider yourself warned.
Cheers,
Rebeca Elliott, aka Annette Kellerman
