Hy3na – Movie Review (3/5)

HY3NA is a serial killer movie covering thriller, crime, and mystery. A small cast with a character-driven plot that evolves via flashbacks makes for smart filmmaking on a lower budget. You may guess the twist well before it’s revealed, but it’s still an entertaining watch. Read our full Hy3na movie review here!

HY3NA is getting its world premiere at Tubu FrightFest London, which seems like a great place for the low-budget production. I’m not speaking about its budget to put it down in any way, but rather to say that the passion and talent of the filmmaking is strong enough that it deserves this prominent premiere.

This is a serial killer movie, and not one of the most innovative, but it still manages to be entertaining. Also, it has a gorgeous production, which is certainly not always the case. Whether low, decent, or even a bigger budget. Talent and passion will always beat out a bigger budget that lacks those two elements. The runtime is right around an hour and a half, which also works to its advantage.

Continue reading our Hy3na movie review below.

A hyper-stylised serial killer thriller

Hy3na is described as a “hyper-stylised thriller” in its press material, and while this can mean “style over content”, it does not in this case. I am not a fan of blue and pink neon lights used at will, but I do like it when it’s done right. Then again, one of my fellow countrymen has built much of his career on this. That probably means I’ve seen it done right so many times that I also notice when it’s done wrong or without reason.

In Hy3na, most of the movie takes place in an interrogation room. Or rather, this goes for the scenes that play out in the present. We see everything that happened before as it’s revealed during the interview. Rather than hear the explanation, we see it.

A violent car crash has linked Nicole (Kristen Kaster) and the enigmatic Rachel (Storm Steenson) to a string of brutal murders. Yes, the very same serial killer case that two detectives have been working on for quite some time. We see the detectives working Nicole to get to the bottom of everything by saying that Rachel is already talking and putting the blame on Nicole.

As a result, they get Nicole to start talking about their shared world of online sex work and manipulation. But how do you go from being a cam girl to killing people?! Well, you’ll just have to watch HY3NA when you get the chance, and all will be revealed.

No, Hy3na is not about AI

Don’t be fooled by the way the title is written. It could just as well have been Hyena, which is also used in several places. Often, the use of numbers within a title has been for movies about an AI or Android character.

Examples include the M3GAN movies, T.1.M, and SOULM8TE.

For this serial killer movie, there is no artificial intelligence, androids, or any supernatural element. Instead, it’s very human, which works very well for the plot. No need to overcomplicate things, as the story already has an extra layer.

Hy3na is world-premiering at London Fright Fest London

Matthew Ninaber is the director and co-writer of Hy3na, which was co-written with Jannah Kitzman. And if the name Matthew Ninaber is familiar, it may be because he also stars in the movie as one of the police investigators. So does his brother, Jeremy Ninaber, and I was so relieved when I found out. I kept thinking the two looked eerily similar, so it was nice that there was a reason for this. Not just “white guy”-blindness.

Previously, Matthew Ninaber also directed the Shudder movie Death Valley, which was not my cup of tea. In terms of acting, he played the title character in Steven Kostanski’s Psycho Goreman. In other words, you won’t recognize him from that one, but I certainly enjoyed his performance! Finally, he also played various characters in the recently released Deathstalker reboot.

For me, there is no doubt that my many hours (or years, really) of watching crime mysteries make me ready to guess right off the bat. I don’t know that everyone else will see the reveals and twists as quickly as I did, but even if you do guess things ahead of time, it’s still a fun and entertaining watch.

Also, as always, one has to acknowledge (and I gladly do) that anything I guess before it’s revealed is often due to clues. The opposite is a red herring situation, where the filmmaker is actively steering me in the wrong direction. This is something I don’t like (in fact, I loathe it), so I have to appreciate that this is the opposite. And no, I’m not someone who guessed The Sixth Sense plot before it was revealed. I can get surprised as well.

HY3NA is getting its World premiere at Tubi FrightFest London on August 31, 2026.

Details

Director: Matthew Ninaber
Writer: Matthew Ninaber
Cast: Storm Steenson, Kristen Kaster, Jeremy Ninaber, Matthew Ninaber