emberstonepierce I wasn't sure what to expect from this film, as there's been a spate of 'Virus' horror/thrillers of late. To be fair, it was a lot more engaging than I anticipated with 'Memento' styled flashbacks and some great acting. The characters start out being typical teenage horror fodder but develop into interesting and well rounded people that as a viewer, it's difficult not to like and feel sympathy for. The action does jump around a lot and at times you're not sure where in the time-line the characters are currently, but this is a minor annoyance. Despite being a bit lost during the first 10-15 minutes, as the plot unfolds everything comes together and tells a fascinating tale, warning of the foolishness and greed of humanity. Honestly, this movie is the best and most engaging I've seen in a while and doesn't just rely on special effects and/or make-up, but actually tells an interesting and gripping story.

yotamfreyman It is actually about Communism. It is just that victims quantities, speed of the spread and resilience to the treatment are slightly diminished in the movie compared to the "red virus". The real life disease is much more complicated and horrible. But it is true that the only cure is death. And even though there are some people that after the encounter with communism understand that it must be stopped by any means, there are always some patriots that think they can contain it and control it. Exactly like in the movie. Yeah, yeah, collective mind and shet, how great can it be... worth watching!=] and in the end a great soundtrack. don't miss it.

Argemaluco I didn't know what to exactly expect from The Hive, and after having watched it, my ambivalence remains, because despite including an interesting premise and an attractive visual style, the screenplay tends to deflate as we start to guess where the "big mystery" is heading, not to mention that some poor performances ruin various scenes which should have been shocking but end up being just irritating due to the null talent from the actors. Nevertheless, I appreciate the fact that director David Yarovesky decided to face such an unusual project in his first film. First, the pros: the mystery contained in The Hive is interesting, and it is well built in order to keep us in suspense about its origin and possible evolution. Co-screenwriters Yarovesky and Will Honley play with our expectations, offering us vague clues of an uncertain meaning... Are we in the middle of a zombie invasion, a multiple satanic possession or a simple epidemic of apocalyptic proportions? Fortunately, the answer is more complicated (even though it includes a bit of all that), and it's interesting to build the puzzle at the same time as the main character. At least, that's what I felt during the first half of The Hive. But eventually, new clues to solve the mystery are revealed, and that's when it feels a bit tiring to spin around the same events while the main character writes notes on the walls and experiments repetitive flashbacks to reach the "big revelation" we had been waiting from half an hour before. However, the main problem is the bad performances from Gabriel Basso as the main character and Jacob Zachar as his best friend. Both feel very forced in their roles, and as a consequence, it's difficult for the audience to root for their characters. Fortunately, the supporting actors make a decent work in their roles, including Kathryn Prescott, Gabrielle Walsh, Elya Baskin and Sean Gunn. In conclusion, The Hive managed to keep me interested, and I can give it a moderate recommendation as a curious fusion of horror and science fiction. Its second half decays a bit, but it still brings us new information to complement the mystery I felt kinda predictable. With better actors than Basso and Zachar and a more refined screenplay, The Hive might have been a hidden gem; but in its current state, it fell short of its big potential, and even though I found it interesting, it didn't leave me completely satisfied.

Carl Currie www.moviemakeouts.com The Hive is a solid blend of horror norms wrapped around a central theme of loss of identity. Set in a slasher film's summer camp cliché, what the producers of The Hive want you to believe is that you're here to see a zombie film. In reality, this is an interesting take on the Invasion of the Body Snatchers trope, told with a Memento-style narrative of interwoven flashbacks as our protagonists (and "others") memories return. The events leading to the amnesia are an important plot point, and the flashbacks become multi- faceted as the story fleshes out.The Hive is advertised as shot in "Vine-Style" with no single shot lasting more than ten seconds. The conscious decision to edit the film this way seems inconsequential for the majority of the film, but when combined with the flashbacks, we do slip into short periods of incoherency. More distressing is early on, as Adam (Gabriel Basso) is being introduced. Alone and without memories, the director uses a series of rapid jump cuts to convey his leads anger and frustration, which is simply distracting to the viewer. The editing choices also mean we never linger on a particular image, which is a shame because certain moments have great framing and make perfect use of the high contrast.Due to the direction, Basso does not convey a strong lead in the weak first act of the film, but he is type-cast well. David Yarovesky recovers from these initial stumbles, showing his strongest instincts lie in the teen romance scenes. Adams chemistry with Katie (Kathryn Prescott) starts to turn things around, and as the film progresses he becomes a more believable character. Jacob Zachar is not given a well conceived character arc, but none the less has an excellent turn as Clark. Prescott remains a charming presence throughout, even in the more tense moments. The secondary cast all put in solid horror movie performances, with only Gabrielle Walsh treading hammy. The production values, while misguided and heavy handed at times, are strong. The film is heavily filtered, so natural lighting is never neutral and the the majority of the interior cabin shots make full use of exploiting blacklights to give a distinct look to the films present time frame. The general aesthetics will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has spent any time with the famed Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies video game. You might question the speed in which the main cabin deteriorates, as well as the extremes in which the children's cabin has been effected later in the movie. These set choices are seemingly to promote atmosphere but mostly miss.What does promote the atmosphere is the music, easily the strongest aspect of The Hive and yet still not without flaw. The rather well shot scene of Adam and Katie in the clinic is adversely affected by the soundtrack, but the moments of tension and horror are perfectly scored. The use of Steve Aoki's tracks are fitting and complimenting. After a summer season that included Unfriended, The Gallows and The Poltergeist remake, as well as sharing theater retail space with The Visit, The Hive is certainly an above-board film to the horror fetishist. It hangs hope on its high concept of loss of identity to stick with you after the credits roll, while limiting the jump scares and turning up the gross out factor with vomiting. The story is intriguing, and the flashbacks of the scientists involved in creating this situation particularly strong. It has weak direction and contrived narrative devices in play, but it is well worth the watch and certainly more deserving of wide release.