Review by Jason Lees, MoreHorror.com

Hyenas (Eric Weston, 2011)

My mama taught me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, that I should just keep my big yap shut, but in the case of “Hyenas” I have to go against my upbringing and at least say something. Mom, I’ll TRY to be positive.

“Hyenas” takes up where other were-flicks left off and gives us, you guessed it, were-hyenas. Instead of wolves, our villains are offshoots from those most “laughingest” of God’s creatures. Nope, we don’t get just any old clichéd hairy monsters chasing stupid thirty year old teenagers. This time, we get Atari level CGI clichéd hairy monsters chasing… yea, I’m being negative. Sorry, Mom.

The sad thing is that the premise actually had promise. We start off with a woman and her infant baby attacked by the pack, leaving Costas Mandylor to seek revenge. Take out the words “Costas Mandylor” and you might have a good movie there. Mandylor is abducted by hyena hunter Meshach Taylor (from TV’s Designing Women) and they’re off on a two year mission to eradicate the monsters. Or something like that. The fact that it takes them two years to search as far as Mandylor’s backyard and they still can’t find their lair is just one of the laughs you’ll get from “Hyenas.” The subplot about local teens protecting their turf seems as tacked on as the last minute visual effects of the beasts transforming. Wait. Sorry, Mom. I’ll try harder.

Christa Campbell as the leader of the pack is fun to watch, but not in a good way. She gets a little more screen time than in her “2001 Maniacs” adventures, but her accent and dialogue is best forgotten. And I consider myself a fan of hers. It’s hard to watch someone trapped in such a bad movie try so hard.
That’s pretty much the way to sum up “Hyenas.” It’s hard to watch. Difficult. Pain inducing. If you’re making a movie called “Hyenas,” just make sure your title monster isn’t silly to look at. The computer generated furballs wouldn’t convince your three year old nephew, much less scare him.

Okay, gotta be positive. Gotta be a mama’s boy. Gotta find something nice to say. Um…

Hold on! I got it! Yea, it wasn’t intentional, but I did laugh out loud more during “Hyenas” than I did during most of the comedies I’ve seen lately. When the hyena queen tells Mandylor that her animal instincts allow her to know immediately when she’s pregnant, I admit, I about wet myself. In the right mood, this could be funny stuff. And by mood, I do mean the kind that eventually leads to midnight munchies and long discussions about Pink Floyd and Wizard of Oz.

Sorry, Mom. I really did try.

Hyenas Releases to DVD on 4/19/11 from Lionsgate.