I knew exactly how I wanted to review this film until I read most of the reviews here. Now, I'm almost at a loss for words but that won't last long. I have a few things that need saying. What set me back were all of the positive reviews praising this movie. To me, that was more shocking than anything the movie attempted to deliver. Many reviewers have pointed out, and I agree, that the positive reviews are most likely the director himself, signing up a bunch of IMDb accounts. Note that those reviews are from persons who have reviewed only one film, MALEVOLENCE. Curious, don't you think? To be honest, I wouldn't take the time to sign up just to talk about this movie. But, I have an account so, here goes:
The DVD starts up with classic trailers like Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, Clive Barker's Hellraiser and Carpenter's Halloween. WTF? If it's a matter of Anchor Bay distributing them it's one thing, unfortunately, I think it was an attempt to somehow hypnotize us into thinking what was about to unfold would be forever linked to those classics. BULL(expletive deleted)!
The most tragic thing about this film is the fact that the opening story scroll is ominous with it's use of statistics regarding missing persons. I was actually drawn in for a brief moment. The scene with the woman chained up and the boy being brought in, revealed when the sack holding him was opened, hinted that this was a dark journey and it got me expecting a psychological thriller. Even the murder of the woman as seen by the boy (complete with parts of the framework of the house obstructing the view) was well done.
Then what happened? I could trash the acting all day long but, I'll give the players the benefit of a doubt. Some of our best actors have had directors who coaxed dead pan performances. It's been known to happen. I won't waste any time on that issue other than to say that this film would not serve any of them well as a reference.
Early on, the most interesting character is killed off. He's got a small part but he should've been a driving force for the action of the film. Nothing after his death works. The motivations of the characters are all wrong. Come on, a mother who has been kidnapped with her daughter (who manages to escape) falls asleep after some feeble struggling? Give me a break! Maternal instinct alone dictates that that woman would rip her flesh to get free. There would be no stopping her. Other than the young girl, there is not a single protagonist in this movie. We're supposed to feel for the man who was reluctant to participate in the robbery but, he participated and deserves what's coming to him. Be it from the law or a deranged killer.
The entire film is a rip-off of much better films. Every attempt at a "jump" scene is old and tired. Come on, we know the killer is going to get up when the others aren't looking. I want a movie where, when the victim gets the drop on the killer, they keep pounding, slashing, kicking and pummeling him until there's no possible way he could get up. (See Bruce Willis in Sin City, attaboy!)
There's been bragging about the low budget and the resulting "high quality" of the film despite it. I'm not seeing it here. I commented to my wife about the incredibly crappy soundtrack (plink, plink, synth string chords, blah blah blah). How shocked I am to see so many reviews complimenting it. (Mostly due to some comment padding by people involved, no doubt). In all honesty, this movie is made worse than it needs to be because of all of the false hype.
Overall, the best experience of the evening was the trailers that preceded the feature. As a child, I saw the same Halloween trailer in the theater and was scared out of my mind. It was interesting to see how it still had the same effect. Shame on Anchor bay for packaging the DVD so beautifully. They sold me on the movie with that alone. Shame on Anchor Bay for putting those trailers on the DVD as well. Shame on Stevan Mena for hyping his film and himself so much that God Himself couldn't live up to it. Movies have changed. I know Mana doesn't like the "Hip" modern horror films. Most people don't. However, there are examples of where to find success. SE7EN, for example: You don't witness a single murder (unless you count Pitt shooting John Doe) on screen. It's all psychological. The first SAW was similar in it's execution. Now those are scary movies.
If Mena set out to make a slasher flick paying homage to (or ripping off) the greats, he succeeded. If he set out to make a film to match the greats, he failed. If he wanted to make something amazing and groundbreaking, he failed miserably. I do wish him luck, however. You need passion first. That, he has. But, I beg, please, please don't make those other two Malevolence movies. Do something better with whatever budget you are given.
In the movie, after all the main carnage is over and we're supposed to feel at ease, mom has a nightmare and wakes up screaming to find that her daughter has entered the room. She cannot sleep because of the horrific ordeal. She gets in bed with her mom and smiles. Sure, I walk into my mom's room and she lets out a blood curdling scream. I feel safer now.
I notice that there were two films called Malevolent released last year. IMDb designates films and even people that have the same name with roman numerals to differentiate them. The other film was # I. Very fitting, because this movie is definitely # II.
The DVD starts up with classic trailers like Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, Clive Barker's Hellraiser and Carpenter's Halloween. WTF? If it's a matter of Anchor Bay distributing them it's one thing, unfortunately, I think it was an attempt to somehow hypnotize us into thinking what was about to unfold would be forever linked to those classics. BULL(expletive deleted)!
The most tragic thing about this film is the fact that the opening story scroll is ominous with it's use of statistics regarding missing persons. I was actually drawn in for a brief moment. The scene with the woman chained up and the boy being brought in, revealed when the sack holding him was opened, hinted that this was a dark journey and it got me expecting a psychological thriller. Even the murder of the woman as seen by the boy (complete with parts of the framework of the house obstructing the view) was well done.
Then what happened? I could trash the acting all day long but, I'll give the players the benefit of a doubt. Some of our best actors have had directors who coaxed dead pan performances. It's been known to happen. I won't waste any time on that issue other than to say that this film would not serve any of them well as a reference.
Early on, the most interesting character is killed off. He's got a small part but he should've been a driving force for the action of the film. Nothing after his death works. The motivations of the characters are all wrong. Come on, a mother who has been kidnapped with her daughter (who manages to escape) falls asleep after some feeble struggling? Give me a break! Maternal instinct alone dictates that that woman would rip her flesh to get free. There would be no stopping her. Other than the young girl, there is not a single protagonist in this movie. We're supposed to feel for the man who was reluctant to participate in the robbery but, he participated and deserves what's coming to him. Be it from the law or a deranged killer.
The entire film is a rip-off of much better films. Every attempt at a "jump" scene is old and tired. Come on, we know the killer is going to get up when the others aren't looking. I want a movie where, when the victim gets the drop on the killer, they keep pounding, slashing, kicking and pummeling him until there's no possible way he could get up. (See Bruce Willis in Sin City, attaboy!)
There's been bragging about the low budget and the resulting "high quality" of the film despite it. I'm not seeing it here. I commented to my wife about the incredibly crappy soundtrack (plink, plink, synth string chords, blah blah blah). How shocked I am to see so many reviews complimenting it. (Mostly due to some comment padding by people involved, no doubt). In all honesty, this movie is made worse than it needs to be because of all of the false hype.
Overall, the best experience of the evening was the trailers that preceded the feature. As a child, I saw the same Halloween trailer in the theater and was scared out of my mind. It was interesting to see how it still had the same effect. Shame on Anchor bay for packaging the DVD so beautifully. They sold me on the movie with that alone. Shame on Anchor Bay for putting those trailers on the DVD as well. Shame on Stevan Mena for hyping his film and himself so much that God Himself couldn't live up to it. Movies have changed. I know Mana doesn't like the "Hip" modern horror films. Most people don't. However, there are examples of where to find success. SE7EN, for example: You don't witness a single murder (unless you count Pitt shooting John Doe) on screen. It's all psychological. The first SAW was similar in it's execution. Now those are scary movies.
If Mena set out to make a slasher flick paying homage to (or ripping off) the greats, he succeeded. If he set out to make a film to match the greats, he failed. If he wanted to make something amazing and groundbreaking, he failed miserably. I do wish him luck, however. You need passion first. That, he has. But, I beg, please, please don't make those other two Malevolence movies. Do something better with whatever budget you are given.
In the movie, after all the main carnage is over and we're supposed to feel at ease, mom has a nightmare and wakes up screaming to find that her daughter has entered the room. She cannot sleep because of the horrific ordeal. She gets in bed with her mom and smiles. Sure, I walk into my mom's room and she lets out a blood curdling scream. I feel safer now.
I notice that there were two films called Malevolent released last year. IMDb designates films and even people that have the same name with roman numerals to differentiate them. The other film was # I. Very fitting, because this movie is definitely # II.