I like horror movies.  Chances are good that you like horror movies as well.  Isn’t it nice that we share something in common?  Two total strangers coming together through a digital miracle to spend a few moments communicating, over an infinite timeline, about a film….ahem, I digress.  What I am really getting at is that you and I probably share yet another common denominator; that at some point we have all looked at a meagerly budgeted film and said: “I could do that”.  Well, we are not alone, my friend…we are not alone…

A gentleman by the name of Stevan Mena also loves horror movies; yup, just like you and I.  And once, Stevan went to a double feature and saw a little movie called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre that changed his life forever; apparently in a fantastic way if recent events are any indication.  You see, upon seeing this film Stevan thought the same thing that you and I have countless times: “It didn’t take a whole lot of money to make this film…I’ll bet I could do it!”.  But this is where you, Steven and I went separate ways.  Stevan actually started making a film; although I am not sure that the word “film” gives enough credit to this massive undertaking.  While a film may be the ultimate end result, it is obvious through watching this man talk and seeing his work that this was a six-year labor of love and life’s work…so much more than a “first film”.

But I’ll tell ya, the whole life’s work thing aside; this is one heck of a movie all by itself.  Having been called the “scariest movie since Halloween”, “terrifying”, and “destined for cult status” by critics around the country, you will begin to get an idea of the quality of this motion picture.  Having wrangled in multiple “Best Film” awards in various horror and independent film festivals you get an even better idea of how good this movie is.  Take into account that at one of these festivals, the shipping company LOST one of the two reels of the film and only the first half was shown to audiences who went on to award the film “Best Picture” without having ever seen the second half (which is superior to the first I might add!), and you now know that this movie is not messing around.  This is real horror here people; and while it may be missing some of the big names, flashy effects, and Hollywood polish…it is much the better for it!

Dire straights push Julian, Marylin, and Kurt into a desperate plan to get some cash quick.  The target?  A bank.  The plan?  Plain and simple, masks and guns.  The execution?  Well, things don’t always go exactly as planned…  Somewhere along the line hostages get taken and now Samantha and her daughter are wrapped up in the criminals plot and held by force in the secluded and abandoned house that the robbers have turned into a hideout.  But ten years ago another kidnapping played a part in this particular area, as a young boy by the name of Martin Bristol disappeared from the yard of his family home and was forced into a sort of depravity that only a mind gone mad could dream up.

Martin’s captor was far beyond balanced and the young boy was forced to watch as this kidnapper revealed a darker side of himself to the child…a side that some would call a serial killer.  Made to watch this fiend’s deeds, Martin took upon himself a burden that no child should ever have to bear…but whatever happened to the young lad is a mystery.  No trace of him was ever found and the boy himself failed to ever turn up.  The facts seem obvious enough…a killer wouldn’t let a child witness his crimes and then let him live to someday tell the whole story?  Would he?  But if that child was allowed to live and chose never to tell the tale…well, just what sort of adult would that child grow up to be?

These philosophical debates would seem awfully trivial to the robbers and their hostages, I am sure, when one by one they begin meeting awful, grisly demises.  I’m sure all thoughts of that young boy of ten years ago have fled their consciousness as they try only to stay alive in a night of bloodbath and misdirection.  But as for you and I?  Well, remember we are horror fans after all!  For us, that lost child is going to be on our minds every step of the way…

Which is exactly what makes Malevolence such a success in my book.  For seasoned horror fans, this film doesn’t have much of a surprise element to it, but it still manages to capture the attention of even a disgruntled and overly critical horror nut like myself.  Stevan Mena has gathered together the very best parts of some of his favorite films and blend them into one tale that is neither a copy nor a rip-off of any of them…but rather a tribute of sorts.  I am alright with a film re-walking treaded ground as long as it shows the proper respect to those which came before.  Malevolence does not only that, but manages to be good enough to inspire the next generation of horror fans that say: “I could do that”.

All the cleverness of Nightmare On Elm Street, all the tension of a film like Halloween, the brutality of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and all of the sweltering claustrophobia of Session 9; all of this and more is what Malevolence strives for and in large part, succeeds in reaching.  While the gore content may fall a little short of what you are used to seeing in low budget flicks, it is almost a testament to the quality of this film that it doesn’t have to fall back upon the screenshots on the box and can stand alone on its own merits.

Of these merits, perhaps the most notable two are the score and the cinematography.  While Stevan says that he does not fancy himself a composer, but just a musician, let me tell you that he can compose himself a mighty fine score that adds just as much to this film as his script.  Stevan makes it very clear in an included featurette that he understands well the relationship that a film has with its score and the importance of great music in building mood and suspense.  But more than just the score, the actual sound effects are fantastic as well!  Not bad for being edited at home!

The cinematography is perhaps the ONE part of this film that Stevan gave over to someone else entirely.  Tsuyoshi Kimoto is a two-time award winning cinematographer and let me tell you…the accolades are not unmerited.  My one concern with Malevolence was that the entire film was very dark…nearly too dark, but Tuyoshi manages to use the low-light situations in his favor and Stevan’s decision to use the color white in a prominent way on our killer makes Tsuyoshi’s play of light and shadow a true dramatic tool.

Technically speaking, this film is low-end, but properly executed; but as far as the physical DVD release goes, I was very impressed.  Stevan manages to capture my interest with a truly insightful look into his film, and keeps the spotlight where it belongs despite the fact that Anchor Bay tries to weasel in as many references to their other film properties as they possibly can.  If I saw any more footage of Hellraiser, Halloween, or Children Of The Corn in the featurettes that were supposed to promoting Malevolence, I was sure I would snap!  But the humorous allegories and interesting tales of the film’s inception, planning and eventual creation were all of the highest caliber and made me watch through every one of the special features the moment the credits ceased rolling. 

There are deleted scenes, rehearsal footage, trailers, radio spots, still photo galleries, the obligatory audio commentary (which is quite good), and the aforementioned featurette entitled “Back To The Slaughterhouse”.  This bonus feature looks into location scouting, casting, and some of the anecdotal tales that are sure to arise after the ordeal of making a film.  Hear how the film stock was held hostage by a disgruntled crew member, how a complete stranger took the director for $200, and how the location that was chosen liked to offer up a few surprises on occasion…dead animal carcass kind of surprises! 

It as been a while since Anchor Bay has offered us here at Underland Online something to review and I couldn’t be more pleased with the reunion!  Malevolence is the sort of film that should make the company proud to not only distribute, but also to have had a hand in getting this film into theatres.  This was Anchor Bay’s first attempt at doing so and they have really chosen a fantastic film to start off with.  Check out the official website for Malevolence here, and if you get a chance to see this one on the big screen, you had better do it. 

It’s good to see the self-proclaimed number one horror company back in the saddle with Malevolence, and you just might agree with them after picking up this disc!

- aaron -