Hydra is a movie from 2025. Already in the title it’s hinted that this has something to do with ancient Greek mythology. I have a soft spot för movies dealing with that subject. There are monsters and heroes and really classic stories. And the cover art does make you interested too, doesn’t it? I mean, what could go wrong with monsters and mythology, right?
Maybe that’s why I’m a bit confused right from the beginning. A woman finds herself in a landscape she doesn’t recognize. She doesn’t know why she’s there, and she’s greeted by another woman who looks exactly like herself. She’s warned that she still has the opportunity to go back, but if she proceeds, there’s no way to stop what’s going to happen.
All the time there is this creature that we don’t really get to see, but the scales imply that it’s a monstrous snake of some kind. And since the cover art and title of the movie are what they are, it’s easy to figure out what it’s supposed to be. It’s actually rather well made too. I like the acting too. Really over par for a production like this. Totally believable characters – most of the time.
More people arrive, who also don’t know why they’re there, and they end up in this mysterious house where it’s impossible to talk without setting off the alarm. Which means that they have to communicate with each other by writing notes to each other. At this point I had no idea what was going on and how the Hydra would get involved further in the story. We get to see more and more of it though, as it slithers through the landscape.
For me, a Hydra is a more dragonlike creature and not really a snake, but I guess you could interpret it in different ways. Three heads also seem very little, and I think most people would agree that the Hydra from Greek mythology should have nine heads. Anyway, the people who show up also disappear, and bloody bones show up on the doorstep. The plot thickens, it seems. One by one they appear and then disappear again. They obviously die by the Hydra.
Once the story is fully revealed to us, it’s quite far-fetched and the mythology behind it all is pretty stretched, I don’t say that the explanation isn’t possible within the terms of Greek mythology, but there are also things that I don’t think add up. And why do all films always refer to Herakles as Hercules? Even if the Romans stole most of the Greek mythology, the names aren’t the same. I know I’m nitpicking now, but that always bothered me.
The conclusion is that the creature is actually very well made. We don’t get to see it for long each time. I guess the CGI used didn’t permit longer sequences at a time. But it does look good! Maybe the movement pattern isn’t really believable at all times, but it’s good enough. There is also that suspenseful feeling and that uncertainty of what is going to happen and why. Up till the point when we’re told. Then it collapses. It’s too simple and one-layered. I would have liked a little more depth.
