Horror Movie Review: The Hive (2014)

A hidden gem, The Hive is a graphic ‘infection’ horror movie directed by David Yarovesky who co-wrote it with Will Honley. It stars Gabriel Basso as Adam. A young man who wakes up inside a barricaded cabin with no memory of who he is or why he is there. If all of that wasn’t bad enough, he appears to be infected with some sort of virus and he previously has written messages all over the wall for himself.

Adam can’t make sense of the messages though and must work out what he was trying to tell himself so he can get out of his current situation. Through flashbacks, as Adam’s memory begins to return, the truth will be revealed and it is both horrifying and emotional.

The Hive is an excellent horror movie, driven by the outstanding performance of its lead, Adam. Basso is able to sell both the terrifying situation of his infection and the mystery around it all perfectly. He is an incredibly likable character and learning more about who he is as the movie goes on, is actually really captivating.

He’s not the only character in the movie though. As the flashback sequences reveal he is a counsellor at a Summer camp with his friend Clark (Jacob Zachar). It’s here, after failing to impress her with his pickup lines, that Adam meets Katie (Kathryn Prescott) and falls in love. Their relationship, while brief in the context of the film, is heart-warming stuff and the pair have excellent chemistry.

Life is good at the camp but all of that changes when a plane crashes in the woods nearby. Going to investigate, the group find it was carrying highly infectious material and the pilot has been transformed. He attacks them, spreading the virus even further and you know what happens next.

It sounds like any zombie/infection movie ever and it is to some degree but impressively, The Hive takes a different angle on it. Resulting in a more challenging but interesting take on a classic story. The infected look amazing too, the film choosing black gunk over blood but still having the same gross-out effect. There are many horrific scenes, none more so than the part inside the children’s bunk rooms.

The story is good and come the end, almost all questions are answered but this is a character driven movie. One with a bunch that are easy to get behind and to care about. It’s smart, it’s fun, it’s exciting and it’s horrific. This is a great horror movie.