Malevolence (2004)

~Cast~

Julian...............Brandon Johnson

Samantha.........Samantha Dark

Marylin..............Heather Magee 

Max..................Keith Chambers 

Courtney...........Courtney Bertolone

Directed by........Steven Mena

My Rating:

   Ya know, only once in a great while do we get treated to a good horror film. One that makes you jump,  cringe in your seat and feel the tension at the pit of your stomach. Very rarely do we get treated, as horror fans, to such a film that makes us say...holy shit! THAT scared the crap out of me! Malevolence is that film. This is the single best horror film of not only 2004, but this is the best horror film of the new millennium. Not since Halloween have I seen such a scary, suspenseful, creative horror film to actually deliver the goods. Like Halloween, it builds suspense and builds on characters so we actually care about them. But once the scares start coming, it's one after another till your nerves are shot, buried and dead. This movie is scary as hell. Malevolence goes back to the way horror films used to be, when they were actually gee I don't know...SCARY! Steven Mena has a very John Carpenterish style and I ate that up like candy. By far, this is THE horror film to see. In a world of unoriginal remakes and lame new age horror films, Malevolence shines through and succeeds in ripping the screams right out of you. You won't sleep for weeks.

   What's the story you ask? I am not going to kill anything in the movie, so I am going to give a rough description. Trust me, it's worth it. Created as the middle section of a three-part trilogy, Malevolence takes place ten years after the disturbing crimes of a extremely deranged madman. When a bank robbery goes wrong and the robbers are forced to split and run. They end up coming across a creepy old house in the middle of the country. Running scared, jail is the least of there fears for what befalls them is 100 times worse then anyone could have imagined. Little do Julian and Marylin know that they are now being stalked and hunted by a deranged maniac. So what happens the two of them? Well...you will just have to see the movie for yourself to find out.

   The movie is a lot more in depth then that description but if I told any more, I would be ruining some interesting plot elements that I found to be quite the surprise. Malevolence has a bunch of homage's to horror movies done in a way that is respectful and that doesn't rip off the films it's paying tribute to. The film also creates a villain so scary and deranged, that the thought of what he does will disturb you. But Mena manages to keep him in the world of reality which makes it that much more terrifying. From the mask to the way the killer moves, it is raw and he gets under your skin. Mena also has characters who are realistic and likable, not just a "Tim" and "Cindy" who are just meat products to be sliced and diced. He has developed characters that you care about and that makes it that much scarier when things begin happening.

   To the acting, Brandon Johnson plays Julian, the bank robber with a conscience and I have to say, he was great in this movie. His performance was top notch and enhances the movie, great, great job! He is going places and his performance in Malevolence is living proof of that. He also stars in "Little Erin Merryweather " so I'm going to be checking that out as well. Samantha Dark does good as Samantha, the kidnapped mother who fears for her daughters life. She showed some great emotions that usually have people laughing in horror films but she had you believing every bit of it. Heather Magee was Marylin, Julian's partner in crime and g/f and she was solid as well and what a set of tonsils on her! Wow. Nice screams Heather, nice screams. Richard Glover does ok as Kurt the kidnapping bank robber. Keith Chambers does decent as Marylin's brother/bank robber. Courtney Bertolone as Courtney, Samantha's kidnapped daughter makes her presence known, I usually don't like kids in horror movies but Courtney was the exception to that rule.

   Now to the directing...this may be Steven's directorial debut but I'll be damned if this wasn't the most intense and bone chilling directorial debut since Sam Raimi and Evil Dead! He has a style and a passion behind it not seen since John Carpenter came on the screen. He has created what I would consider a soon to be horror classic by writing a great script, incredible directing, and composing some extremely chilling scores for this movie. Finally a director who KNOWS how to accomplish what he set out to do, scare the shit out the audience. Steven Mena is a name you will soon come to know and respect. He is has a bright future ahead and Malevolence is only the beginning. I tip my hat off for a job very well done.

   As for the gore, the film isn't the goriest but its realistic. People don't die by a single stabbing like in most horror films, they go down fighting let us leave it at that. We have a awesome knife to the throat, head stabbing, decomposed corpses, disturbing images and more. As for nudity, we get cleavage from the leading ladies but this film wasn't about the nudity or the sex. Instead, we get suspense in it's place, maybe Hollywood should try that out for a change.

   ~To the DVD of which ANCHOR BAY is releasing on April 19th, I received it in the mail a few days back so I eagerly popped it out of its slick and stylish slip cover and shiny box art and stabbed it into my DVD player. (Ok so maybe I didn't STAB it in but...) After a few horror classic previews the animated main menu appeared on the screen. Already enticed by the cool background music and the flashy and eerie lights, I went into the special features. This DVD is packed to the brim with special features and I'm not talking about a bunch of trailers trying to get you to buy other movies. I am talking documentaries, deleted scenes, rehearsal footage, the works! Where to begin? Hmm how about with the crisp and clear picture quality, or how about the kick ass 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound booming out of my speakers? Still not convinced? The documentary "Back to the Slaughterhouse" was my favorite little extra on this; little is actually a fool’s choice of a word to describe it. It's an in depth documentary where the director Stevan Mena revisits the sites where he filmed the movie. With the cast and crew giving interviews on it as well, this gives you all the info you need to know about Malevolence. This documentary holds as a true testament to indie horror fans out there who want to make there own movie. Inspirational is more like it for it shows the dedication and hardship it takes to get your movie made but it proves...that it can get made. The commentary is just as good, which has Stevan Mena, star Brandon Johnson and associate producer Eddie Akmal giving their two cents on the movie. There is rehearsal footage with Brandon Johnson and Heather Magee rehearsing the hotel scene, about 10 or more deleted scenes, the original trailer and TV spots plus radio spots, still gallery, the script and MORE! I mean holy shit, when Anchor Bay does a DVD they do it right! Not since SHAUN OF THE DEAD's DVD have I seen a single disc be so satisfying as this one. Make sure on April 19th that your ass is at the store with money to dish out on this great horror classic. Yes I said classic! It was still able to pull a few screams out of me even on DVD!~

   Malevolence is a movie that had me (along with everyone else in the theatre) leaping out of my chair and actually rooting for the character. In the beginning of the movie, the scares are few and far between but that's cause of character development. But don't worry, once we get to know the characters, Mena let's us have it with scare, after scare, after bone chilling scare. He takes full advantage of everything around him and makes it so you are fearing what lurks behind every door, closet, window, and in the creepiest cellar since the original Psycho. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, Halloween, Psycho, Friday the 13th, Suspiria, to say Malevolence is up there with the ranks of those films could be hard to believe. But believe it, this horror homage not only pays respect to these films, but deserves a spot right up there with them and a place in every horror fans video library.

   I say, if you can catch Malevolence in theatres, DO IT! I don't care if you have to call in sick to work or skip school to do it, this movie is worth it. To check out the website for this film "www.malevolencemovie.com" and see the awesome trailer along with it. I had the best time watching this movie, and I know that when this movie gets in the hands of the horror fans, it will be adored and become a classic among them. So like I said, Texas Chainsaw, Evil Dead, Halloween, Psycho, Friday the 13th, Suspiria, Nightmare on Elm Street and now Malevolence. Yes, I am putting it up there along side those great films. Don't believe me? See for yourself. You will be glad you did.

George Newman

"The thing I loved about this movie is the fact that when I saw it, there were guys in the theatre who had arms the size of my head and even they were jumping out of there seats. Also, you know a movie is scary when you see someone toppled over standing outside the show refusing to go back saying "I can't handle that movie! It's to scary!"

Jack Torrance

"Shiiit even I was scared! I'm not afraid to admit it....I had a triple jump in one scene of that movie. I can't wait to see the prequel to this film! Best New Villain of 2004! And when the original Leatherface even gets scared by the movie, you KNOW it's good!"

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