Filby
Since: Jan, 2001
04/10/2012 00:00:00
You said it. Overall I'd grade it a solid "B" with a few "A" moments.
Groovy.Leave a Comment:
Not Bad!
Everyman HYBRID is a series with great characters and a lot of love put into its creation. However it takes a long time for things to get interesting and the story can be VERY hard to follow.
Pro - I feel like HYBRID's best offering is how dynamic the story is. I've yet to see the other Slender series, but Marble Hornets pretty rigidly sticks to its formula of 'Walk around. Camera on ground. WoahSlenderman/Masky!!' (Nothing against MH of course, I love it). HYBRID though has a number of different scare types. They also introduce a variety of videography approaches which keeps the viewer on their toes. Hell I found the first scare in HYBRID (Healthy Eating) to be more satisfying than almost all of MH's. The other strength of HYBRID is the characters. There's a healthy cast of charming and enjoyable characters. The great characters mean that all this scariness has an even greater effect because the viewer is emotionally involved. The series definitely has a flavor all its own and, as one viewer noted, it has a lot of heart.
Con - The series is very hard to follow. It spans a number of blogs and video accounts so unless you have a guide you're going to miss vital plot elements. To a point I felt that this approach enriched the experience, but referring to a guide to follow the story is a total pain. Maybe instead they could have made the supplementary material less necessary? The technical quality of the early videos is less than stellar. It gets better, but in the beginning the video quality is pretty bad. As for audio I frequently found myself turning the volume to full and still not hearing the characters. And then they introduce piercing ear rapes. Some of the scares fall flat due to Special Effects Failure, but it's easy to see what they were going for and give them the credit.
Bottom line - With great characters, unique story, and occasionally brilliant presentation this series deserves your consideration. However be prepared for a story that is hard to follow (find the guide on the main page) and takes a while to fire up (think 6 or 7 videos in). The video quality is crummy for a while, but what the series does with the mythos and the way it is presented is unique and enjoyable. Give it a shot. Especially if you found Marble Hornets boring or slow.