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Directed by: Stevan Mena Starring: Samantha Dark, R. Brandon Johnson Malevolence is a by-the-books early 80s-style horror movie. It is the story of several different characters whose lives meet up in random ways and many people are killed. Malevolence really had the makings of a good slasher flick. The most apparent problem is the acting. Usually, I can see past poor acting. I thoroughly enjoyed "Saw", while everyone else was bitching about the acting. But the acting in "Malevolence" was truly some of the worst I've seen, outside of Troma. It was bad enough that it distracted me from the scares, and I wasn't able to enjoy the movie. Especially bad was Samantha Dark. In one especially tense scene, I was actually caught off guard by the fact that she nailed her line. Most of her lines were poorly delivered, and her timing and reactions were so off as to be distracting. Also, the dialogue/reactions between the characters were very unbelievable. (Major spoilers ahead) In a scene where, after robbing a bank, she just watched her brother die, due to a mistake by her boyfriend. She tried to play angry and upset, but just followed every line she had, about any subject, with "you're the reason he's dead!", in a sarcastic tone. That aside, the direction was fantastic. Not Tarantino-esque revolutionary, but you can tell that Stevan Mena really has an eye for film, and most of his scenes were perfection. Also, the movie was perfectly paced. Not one scene felt like it was too long or too short. Also, the manner in which the characters met up was interesting, and believable. The movie tries very hard to be a revival of late 70s/early 80s slasher films. Think "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or "Friday the 13th". To add to the realization of the genre, he incorporated background music that sounded like that era. Wildly inappropriate synthesizer sounds that don't accompany anything but a camera change, intended to scare you without actually having a scare on screen. Also, for a slasher flick, it was surprisingly low on gore. The killer's weapon throughout was a large hunting knife, and you never saw the blade actually contact with the person. You saw his hand raise, lower, and raise again covered in blood. That can be very effective, but to base a movie solely on very gory movies and then try to be sly by only ever showing the aftermath gets a bit boring. While I don't see any of the actors going anywhere higher than whatever the modern equivalent for "USA's UP! All Night", if Stevan Mena can get ahold of a few good actors, I feel he could really pump out some good films. RATING: 2.0 PROS: Good direction CONS: Poor acting, unbelievable dialogue ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388230/
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Apr 16, 2005 20:06
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 07:11 |
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I found this movie to be extremly predictable, right up to the last frame. The only thing I fif like is the locations that were used. That, and the friday the 13th part 2 mask...
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Apr 19, 2005 19:05
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