Hybrid (1997)

User Rating:

2.1/10   

Director:

Fred Olen Ray

Writer:

Sean O'Bannon (writer)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Outer Limits of Horror

Plot:

A group of space renegades hook up with a drifter named McQueen. Together they hole up in an abandoned...

Plot Keywords:

Nudity | Lesbian Scene | Shower Scene | Lesbianism | Monster

Cast

John Blyth Barrymore	...	Dr. Paul Hamilton
Brinke Stevens	...	Dr. Leslie Morgan
J.J. North	...	Carla Ferguson
Tim Abell	...	McQueen
Ted Monte	...	Milo Tyrel
Peter Spellos	...	Sergeant Frank Blaine (as G. Gordon Baer)
Bob Bragg	...	Pike
Nikki Fritz	...	Susan
Robert Quarry	...	Dr. Farrell (as Robert Connell)
Christopher Ray	...	Hybrid (as Chris Olen Ray)

Directed by
Fred Olen Ray

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sean O'Bannon		writer

Produced by
John McCollister	....	co-executive producer
Roger Mende	....	co-producer
Fred Olen Ray	....	producer
Jim Wynorski	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Jeffrey Walton

Cinematography by
James Lawrence Spencer

Film Editing by
Daniel H. Holland

Production Design by
Helen Harwell

Costume Design by
Mandana Yamin

Makeup Department
Jeffrey S. Farley	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Tom Irvin	....	special makeup effects artist: Obscure Artifacts

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brent Bowman	....	first assistant director
Kurt Knutzen	....	second second assistant director
Christopher Ray	....	second assistant director (as Christopher Olen Ray)

Art Department
Sean O'Connell	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Scott C. Kolden	....	sound re-recording mixer
Joel E. Smith	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Struble	....	boom operator

Camera and Electrical Department
Thomas Vozza	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kelly Knutzen	....	set costumer

Other crew
Paul Bogh	....	production assistant
Jesse Long	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• American Independent Productions

Distributors

• American Independent
• Flashback Home Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Royal Oaks Entertainment Inc.

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexuality, and for violence/gore and language.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company:

American Independent Productions

Trivia:

The APC in this film is the "Landmaster" from Damantion Alley (1977). The Landmaster really does have a working "tri-star" wheel system, and cost $300,000 to build in 1976.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Something to Scream About (2003) (V)

Fred Olen Ray - At His Best!

Hybrid is another sublime slice of Fred Olen Ray madness. I love just about every film that Fred has ever made but Hybrid is especially memorable. Few directors can claim to have as unique a vision as Fred Olen Ray and this film is a perfect example of that twisted outlook. Hybrid plays like a cross between "Alien" and "Emmanuelle", only without the special effects of the former or the arty pretensions of the latter. This film is wonderfully trashy and a must see for fans of this brilliant director.

The action begins with a preposterous looking creature chewing up a couple of scientists. Right from the opening scene it is apparent that Fred has not lost his sense of humour. The creature looks like a bad Halloween costume and the gore effects are as unconvincing as ever. The film switches focus to the crew of a very unrealistic looking spacecraft, who crash land on a desolate planet. The crew seek shelter from bad weather and stumble across a soldier, who directs them to an abandoned laboratory. This is when Hybrid begins to rip off "Alien" in earnest and Fred Olen Ray really hits his stride.

The crew find the laboratory abandoned and quickly discover through a series of hilarious revelations that the scientists were experimenting on humans and succeeded in creating a homicidal cockroach/human hybrid. Instead of leaving as quickly as possible, this crew of dunces decides to spend the night at the facility - only to learn that the hybrid is not only alive but also hungry and horny. The remainder of the film basically involves crew members being killed and having raunchy sex. In other words, Fred Olen Ray serves up a large serving of quality entertainment.

The sex scenes in Hybrid are particularly amusing. A perfect example of Fred's unique approach to plot and character occurs when Dr Leslie, played by horror icon Brinke Stevens, and Nurse Carla, JJ North of "Hellblock 13" fame, decide to freshen up - by showering together. Before too long the women begin to massage each other to "relieve tension" and before you know it they are partaking in some soft-core lesbian action. Nurse Carla really gets around. She also finds time to seduce soldier McQueen, played by Tim Abell, in the midst of all the carnage. This scene would look cheesy in a 1980s porno but somehow nurse Carla's very thorough check-up routine works here. The cutting between Carla and McQueen's sexual acrobatics and the creature's killing spree makes for particularly classy viewing. Just when I thought Fred had reached a dizzying new height, Dr Leslie takes a sleeping pill and is molested by the creature in a scene that puts Sigourney's cross-species flirt in "Alien Resurrection" well and truly into perspective.

The technical aspects of Hybrid are pretty terrible. The action sequences are cheap and poorly staged, while the make-up and gore effects leave a lot to be desired. And that is fine with me. I don't watch Fred Olen Ray movies for technical virtuosity but for his outrageous imagination and unswerving dedication to bad taste. Fred's directing is as haphazard as ever and the actors vary wildly in skill. Tim Abell has gone on to bigger and better things and somehow makes it through Hybrid with his dignity intact. Poor Brinke Stevens is not as lucky. However, she can take solace in the fact that people are still paying her to take her clothes off well past the age of 40. JJ North is hilariously inept as Carla. I'm disappointed that she has dropped off the acting radar after a promising string of wonderful Z-grade movies.

Fred Olen Ray's hypnotic brand of crap is an acquired taste but once you get it, there is no going back. Hybrid has everything a B-movie should have in spades - poor effects, gore, gratuitous nudity and a rapist alien. This is highly recommended.