By 2004, the end of the post-Scream slasher
resurgence was finally coming to an end. Although that is a heavily debated era
of horror by fans and critics alike, its end spelled some good things to come
for horror. Namely, it allowed the slasher genre to take a step back from the
limelight and go back underground where it could find some creative forces.
When the first Malevolence film premiered at the end of 2004 (although
it did not receive a home video release until the next year – which is where I
discovered the film) it was one of the films that marked that shift in style.
It found enough of a cult audience that director/writer/producer Stevan Mena
was able to finish off his trilogy of films, even against some horrific
circumstances that had the third film postponed almost indefinitely. The
trilogy has now found its way onto Blu Ray and it’s a welcome addition to any
horror fan’s collection. This piece will cover all three films – a weird gap in
our catalog admittedly since I sang the praises of the films since 2005 and
hopefully, it will spur a few people to take a chance on this remarkably
fascinating franchise.
MALEVOLENCE (2004)
Director: Stevan Mena
Notable Cast: Brandon Johnson, Samantha Dark, Heather
Magee, Richard Glover, Courtney Bertolone, John Richard Ingram, Keith Chambers,
Kevin McKelvey
As mentioned above, Malevolence marks the overall
shift from Scream knock-off slashers back to something a bit more
throwback in style – without all of the meta-commentary or teen demographic
focuses. In its ability to be more of an adult slasher, it also strips back so
many of the gimmicks of the genre. Although it can be seen that director/writer/producer
Stevan Mena is still fine-tuning his artistry here, his ability to harken back
to the golden age of slashers is something to admire here. The plot focuses on
four criminals who rob a small-town bank and find themselves in a bad spot,
eventually taking a mother and young daughter hostage as they take to hiding.
Their choice of hideout, an abandoned rural house, proves to be even more
problematic as they stumble into a slasher killer’s stomping ground.
The plot is relatively simple, but the clever approach to
have a crime flick crash land in a slasher film is sharp and engaging. While
some of the performances can feel hit or miss in the opening, spending quite a
bit of time expositing about the plot, as Malevolence unravels it only
gets better and better. Once it starts whittling down its cast and gets all of
them to the house, this is where Mena struts his stuff as a creative force in
the genre. Fantastic use of tension, dynamics between characters, and a sly
hand at building a mythos make for a fresh feeling film that uses just enough
old school 80s slasher elements without wearing them blatantly on its sleeves.
The creepiness seeps out of the raw feeling footage and the straight forward
approach to the material works. This isn’t a film that is necessarily slapping
its audience with wild kills, gratuitous nudity, or cheesy one liners, but it
goes back to the basics and delivers on those in spades. By the time the ending
rolls out, leaving far more questions than answers about our bag headed killer
and the horrors that our protagonists stumbled into, the film has effectively
latched into a darkness that only low budget horror can provide and it was ripe
for the franchise.
MALEVOLENCE 2: BEREAVEMENT (2010)
Director: Stevan Mena
Notable Cast: Alexandra Daddario, Michael Biehn, Brett
Rickaby, Nolan Gerard Funk, Spencer List, John Savage, Peyton List, Kathryn
Meisle
The first time I saw Bereavement, it was not marketed
as a prequel to Malevolence. It’s most recent release on Blu Ray has it
retitled as Malevolence 2: Bereavement to help clarify its connection, even
the “2” doesn’t necessarily dictate that it’s a prequel which examines loosely
the origin story of the masked killer from Malevolence. Thus, when I
first saw the film, I didn’t necessarily piece it together as quickly as I
might have knowing that information at the beginning. With that being said, director/writer
Stevan Mena returns to the world with a bang and delivers another impressive entry
into the series. While Bereavement doesn’t necessarily have that
fascinating two-genre mash-up that made Malevolence such a worthwhile
watch, the film does take a firm stance as a serial killer film where the new
girl in town (Daddario) moves in with her aunt and uncle (the latter played by the
always incredible Michael Biehn) and stumbles into a serial killer plot at the
vacated local meatpacking plant.
Bereavement works because of the dual narrative it uses.
There is, naturally, the core familial drama in the film. Not that it’s
anything truly revolutionary in terms of even feeling fresh, but some strong performances
and the building mystery around our heroine’s new boyfriend along with the serial
killer plot makes for a rather enticing through-line. The second plot, the origin story of the masked killer which is revealed at the end of the first
film to possibly be a kidnapped boy raised by the serial killer does tend to
ride a little thin but mostly because the idea is so strong and the film uses
it as a parallel to the “good” family versus outright treating it as its own
plot. Both work though and Mena has a knack for balancing the two. Throw in another
wildly dark third act that delivers on the premise to lead into Malevolence
with some shocking kills and where Mena plays with his audience knowing that
the little boy ends up being the killer and Bereavement ends up being
just as good as the first – if not slightly superior with a more matured hand
by the writer and director.
MALEVOLENCE 3: KILLER (2018)
Director: Stevan Mena
Notable Cast: Katie Gibson, Kevin McKelvey, Victoria
Mena, Adrienne Barbeau, Ashley Wolfe
This leads us into the third, and currently final, film in
the series, Malevolence 3: Killer. For a little context, this film took
quite a few years to come out. Tragically, one of the lead actors in the film
passed away with only 75% of the film being shot back in 2015, and it would
seem that the film was essentially scrapped. A shame, particularly since the
first two entries were rather inspired indie horror hits, but one where re-shooting
and the time was not in the budget while the cast and crew mourned the passing
of their friend. It wasn’t until years later that Mena was able to finish the
film, thanks to some clever reworking from Mena and company to reshoot what was
needed and reutilize what was needed. For that alone, I have to give Mena and Malevolence
3 massive props. It’s not often that a film can overcome this kind of
tragedy, but they persevered and in 2018 the film saw the light of day.
With that being said, Malevolence 3 is also the weakest
of the three. Where the first and second had a clever slant to approach the
material (dual plotting being the core strength of the films,) this film plays
things incredibly straight forward as a slasher. Taking place immediately after
the events of the end of the first film, Killer follows an FBI agent
(McKelvey) as he attempts to hunt down the masked killer from the first –
unmasked now and given the identity now revealed by the prequel film. The unflinching
titular killer, on the run, aims to head back to the only other place he knows –
her previous home and there he comes face to face with a few families
desperately trying to survive his brutal presence.
As mentioned, the premise is not only straightforward, but
Mena doesn’t nearly embed the film with as much style or clever writing this
time around. Could this possibly be from the extensive restructuring after the
previously addressed tragedy? Perhaps, but the end result is a film that plays
its slasher card upfront. Fortunately, like its two predecessors, Killer
benefits from some decent protagonists – personified through our main heroine,
a young music student that exemplifies the final girl. The throwback slasher
elements are strong here, from her relationship with her friends to the third
act of the silent killer unrelentingly stalking her as she tries to save the next-door
neighbor’s kid. The budget is a bit heavy on the film’s visual style and look,
but there is a genuine sense that everyone is bringing their game to the film
through some decent core performances and some popping jump scares created
through atmosphere and editing. The main problem is not the slasher elements, but
there is nothing that truly sets the film aside from its peers like the
previous two did and, along with that, our killer essentially becomes a one-note villain despite the building of back story and mystery that the other
films create.
All in all, as a franchise, the Malevolence series is
one worth checking out for the horror fans. Although the series ends on a low
note, none of the films are ultimately a negative experience. The manner that
Mena and his cast and crew craft some solid horror on low budgets and indie
film effort is something to truly be admired. All three films are currently
available on Blu Ray and I highly suggest checking them out – particularly for
collectors as the Blu Ray versions have matching covers that look fantastic on
the shelf.
Written By Matt Reifschneider
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