The bio-engineering transplant of wolf eyes in a young man yields devastating consequences as the wild spirit of the animal motivates him to act out his primal nature. Thankfully he encounters Lydia(Tinsel Korey), a Native American woman who wishes for the outside world to appreciate her people's beliefs and customs. Her confidant is Claude Robertson (Gordon Tootoosis), a wise old Indian whose private wilderness is desired by the white man. Lydia's beliefs in nature are important in that Aaron(Cory Monteith)has someone who might can lend a hand in taming the beast that wishes to unleash itself. The scientist responsible for the successful surgery, Andrea(Justine Bateman)begins to understand that their human subject, the guinea pig they experimented on, may've had psychotic tendencies that wouldn't react too well with the transplanted eyes, and thus wishes to help him cope with such a radical change in behavior. But, Andrea's organization is one of those secret government projects and she's up against the military who want to start up a program using her "success"(..Aaron gains senses of the wolf, like nocturnal sight, that would certainly benefit men in the field). When Aaron escapes, the military commandos will seek him out leading a manhunt as Andrea fears for her subject's well being and stability among civilization.
The werewolf genre has always yielded so few really good films. I remember seeing this for sale, part of The Maneater series, and the cool box art had this man transforming into a werewolf..quite catchy and could easily sucker those who know nothing about it. But, the film never shows Aaron transforming into a wolf, he's often seen running with the pack, shirt off, eyes glistening. The best part of the movie was the wolf contacts used on Monteith's eyes..but, he's not an imposing presence(..I felt Monteith is just too scrawny and non-threatening which I felt works against the film)so the eyes do little to make him a real threat towards innocents. Bateman has a secondary role, merely a worried scientist who finds that her procedure is flawed and regrets performing the surgery without further testing. Korey is the dramatic heart beat of the film, the girl caught between two worlds, the modern and natural, finding in Aaron her possible soul mate. Korey's Lydia will have to protect him and, in a sense, find a type of psychological leash to bound him even though the spirit that possesses him wishes to be free from restraints. This is where spiritual mysticism, laid on thick, plays a major part in the story..Lydia's mentor, Claude, has the means to let Aaron free from those restraints. The ending is typical..the commandos enter the wilderness to pursue(..possibly kill)Aaron and find they have their hands full. I think in the climax credibility goes out the window as we see these heavily equipped military men unable to stop a young man running throughout the woods with wolves as his companions. I think people will have a hard time believing Aaron could evade and attack his pursuers when they have such an arsenal at their disposal, but in these kinds of movies, we have to see nature defeat technological progress, and crooked government must be defeated, so HYBRID just follows the formula.
The werewolf genre has always yielded so few really good films. I remember seeing this for sale, part of The Maneater series, and the cool box art had this man transforming into a werewolf..quite catchy and could easily sucker those who know nothing about it. But, the film never shows Aaron transforming into a wolf, he's often seen running with the pack, shirt off, eyes glistening. The best part of the movie was the wolf contacts used on Monteith's eyes..but, he's not an imposing presence(..I felt Monteith is just too scrawny and non-threatening which I felt works against the film)so the eyes do little to make him a real threat towards innocents. Bateman has a secondary role, merely a worried scientist who finds that her procedure is flawed and regrets performing the surgery without further testing. Korey is the dramatic heart beat of the film, the girl caught between two worlds, the modern and natural, finding in Aaron her possible soul mate. Korey's Lydia will have to protect him and, in a sense, find a type of psychological leash to bound him even though the spirit that possesses him wishes to be free from restraints. This is where spiritual mysticism, laid on thick, plays a major part in the story..Lydia's mentor, Claude, has the means to let Aaron free from those restraints. The ending is typical..the commandos enter the wilderness to pursue(..possibly kill)Aaron and find they have their hands full. I think in the climax credibility goes out the window as we see these heavily equipped military men unable to stop a young man running throughout the woods with wolves as his companions. I think people will have a hard time believing Aaron could evade and attack his pursuers when they have such an arsenal at their disposal, but in these kinds of movies, we have to see nature defeat technological progress, and crooked government must be defeated, so HYBRID just follows the formula.