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 Malevolence (2004)


BOO!
Director: Stevan Mena,
Starring: Brandon Johnson, Samantha Dark, Courtney Bertolone, Heather Magee, Richard Glover, Keith Chambers
Length: 95 minutes
Rated: R

BOO!
by Adam Barnick
reviewed: 2004-08-24

When things go sour, you can usually count on people to get mad, get active, and take control of their destinies. When the country seems out of control, we see voter registration spike. And when your beloved horror genre turns into a limp parody of its former dangerous, exciting self, you can count on new horror filmmakers to jump into the lion’s den and take their genre back. Add Stevan Mena and his debut film MALEVOLENCE to that list. Stevan joins the ranks of the new blood (yeah, I know) waiting in the wings who got tired of corporate ‘scare’ films and gave their contribution to the down-and-dirty indie horror basics.

A festival favorite with several awards to its credit, MALEVOLENCE opens in 1989, with an unidentified man in a basement opening a burlap sack, revealing his newest catch-a young boy. Instead of immediately dispatching him, the boy is made to watch the fate of the unseen kidnapper’s previous find; a young woman…

Cut to the present(well, ‘99). A young couple (Brandon Johnson and Heather Magee) fret over their decision to aid her brother(Chambers) in a robbery, to free them of their crushing debts. Needless to say, the heist doesn’t go off without a hitch, and not only does this result in fatal injuries for some, but crime cohort Kurt(Glover) breaks down with the money miles from the rendezvous site(the requisite spooky house in the middle of nowhere). Taking a young mother (Samantha Dark) and her daughter hostage, he arrives at the decaying house to wait for the others.

Daughter Courtney (Courtney Bertolone) escapes, running to a nearby slaughterhouse for help. Needless to say, who she finds there is not pleased to be disturbed..could this have anything to do with the basement maniac glimpsed in the film’s opening?

Stevan Mena manages to take the general premises we’ve seen before, and while not necessarily twisting them on their heads, completely delivers the goods in a way that feels fresh because we’ve seen it done WRONG so many times.

It’s a relief to see a lack of hip irony, characters that know other horror films well, poorly placed Gen-Y songs that exist only to sell CDs, teens having sex during a situation that demands you stay alert, characters who leave weapons behind as they walk down the dark hallway, etc. Mena’s one objective is to get audience members to jump, yell, and grab each other, and he does it. Again and again. Every horror fan knows the beats of the genre and he still manages to make you jump out of your chair left and right. See this with a crowd, and your significant other.

Mena keeps the atmosphere (with effective widescreen 35mm photography by Tsuyoshi Kimoto) and tension strong and never takes a break with it once it kicks in. The characters are developed enough that they keep our interest, and Johnson and Dark’s leads always appeal..though naturally, the cast list is much smaller by the end of the film.

Mena wisely restrains the violence and onscreen bloodshed, instead letting your imagination do the nerve-rendering. The musical score, probably the best I’ve heard in a low-budget film, plays like a combination of John Carpenter(natch) with hints of Mark(Millennium, X-Files)Snow’s darker compositions.

There’s a nice twist and explanation of what’s transpired at the film’s end, and Mena(the writer and editor too!) manages to drop in some interesting points of social commentary on what creates a killer or criminal in modern society..none of this gets in the way of the film’s primary task, which is to freak you out and remind you how it was done in the days of the late seventies.

I don’t have to see new ground broken just as long as it’s serious and scary. The references to genre classics, particularly HALLOWEEN, are thick but who cares? At least the filmmakers know the right people to pay tribute to.

Painted Zebra Releasing and Anchor Bay Entertainment have planned a theatrical release(another one makes it to the theater!) in advance of the DVD, with the opening taking place Friday September 10th at National Amusements Island 16, Holtsville, NY (Suffolk, Long Island) and National Amusements Theater in Farmingdale. Also opening in Rochester, NY September 17 and Wilmington, North Carolina September 24, releases in other cities will soon follow.. Look for an interview with the film’s director in the next two weeks.

Visit www.malevolencemovie.com for updates and screenings in your area.

Adam Barnick

Related links:
IMDB: Malevolence (2004)

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