OFFICIAL SITE...

MALOVELENCE is an interesting little film....

It's a film with huge intentions: A tribute to some illustrious 1980s slashers; a murder mystery; a psychological barage of fear; and at its end, an attempt to clear up and clean up reasons we just watched the whole thing.

It's an independent horror that, without knowing of its independence, could be mistaken for a film with a bigger budget. The music, also handled by filmmaker Steven Mena, gives added suspense as we watched Minersville, Pennsylvania, years ago. Oddly enough, the town is real. I know. I live 12 miles from it. (Although Mena might have done better staying in the town for a while, the film's "Minersville, PA" isn't exactly a mirror image of the real one.) The title's setting and background shots were an eerie entry into the flick. The music, again, was retro; Casio keyboards in hand.

when I read that Malevolence was playing at the LI Film Festival, I went in with a mindset that I may very well be seeing a low-class awfully acted poor attempt at filmmaking.
I was wrong.

MALEVOLENCE has three stories in one: A bank robbery, a more sinister evil, and two innocent victims. Two evils counteract and the innocent lives get stuck in the middle.

A bank robbery goes awry. Clumsy crooks with a greedy love for money, however, are no match from a darker, more pure form of evil.

And all the while, the innocent mother and daughter relationship--which works--gets tied in and must save itself before one or both of the different brands of death get them.

After the botched bank robbery, the crooks slip up..and of course end up in evil's grasps. The farmhouse the small town criminals chose, of course, ends up being a very bad wrong choice...The burglary is almost laughable. It goes fabulously wrong. The other form of darkness in the film is inmistakably gruesome.

As the film goes on, we sit tight through tributes to horror films of the past. And however much MALEVOLENCE may want to tribute the past, it also goes a long way into carving out a new type of slasher. A slasher not just slashing sexed up victims and scantily clad teenage prostitutes, but instead relying on tension, shadowy scenes, and cliched, but good, scare tactics that movies have less of in the 21st Century.

There were a few things that stood out to me during the viewing. One, of course, had to be the entire third act's homage to HALLOWEEN. Crickets, bluish tinted houses, shadowy masked man. Of course, at one point, it also made me jump up and scream THAT'S JUST LIKE FRIDAY the 13th part II when the masked man runs behind two helpless women trying to escape the inevitable battle.

In an interview last October, Mena told the HORROR-REPORT that the inspiration for Malevolence comes from a love of horror films he had from the late 70's early 80's. "I grew up in the 80's, and I feel that the current generation of moviegoers has kind of been ripped off by cheesy horror that tries harder to be funny and sexy rather than scary. The closest thing to Malevolence storywise would be psycho. But I also wanted to avoid the cliche's of the early 80's films. Such as kids just having sex. I wanted a film where there was something more going on. Something at stake. Malevolence holds your attention because you're watching the action take place, then suddenly it gets turned on it's head. One of the reasons old horror films like Halloween, Nightmare and Texas Chainsaw work so well is that those directors knew how to build atmosphere. This is something that directors today don't pay as much attention to as they should. In fact, for me, the ultimate example of this would be the Shining. Kubrick's use of camera and music are suffocating. Music is a big factor. Very big. In fact, I think that the soundtrack to Halloween is probably pound per pound the greatest soundtrack to any movie ever. It's certainly the most appropriate."

Atmosphere. As a matter of fact, the other element that cannot be ignored is the way MALEVOLENCE indeed increased the tension in the movie as it went along...as things grew darker...as time went on through the night.

One more: And this is something I am not sure about--at least when it comes to people on non-horror minds. The film didn't spare itself from children. In essense, when you go to a horror film and see a child in danger, you almost know the kid will get away. Don't go into this one thinking anything of the kind.

What works:
--The mother and daughter teamup is good. Just as JEEPERS CREEPERS went against the wind and tied a brother and sister into the movie, MALEVOLENCE is a breath of fresh air. No gratuitous sex scene--although they're not always bad, either. In the mother/daughter team, you know the love is pure, and the fear is greater. The mother does not want to see her daughter succumb to death, just as the daughter would be horrified if her mother happened to be a victim. That works. The love and fear is real.
--The moral lesson of the bank robbery works well, too----and a great tribute to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is involved, too..Watch and see, it may not have been intentional on the filmmakers parts but one particular scene truly reminded me of that classic film. The lesson is almost to not choose evil of evil will have no choice but to choose you. The uncaring crooks have a compliance with the dark side, though they try to escape it, as well, their earlier choices doomed them to it.
--The tributes, once again, were done well. It was not that the film was 'copying' past movies, but instead using them as platforms, as I see it at least. It could most likely make for fun experiences in theaters if people will shout "HEY, THAT'S JUST LIKE (insert film here)!"

What doesn't work:
With so many positive elements, it cannot be forgotten that, as with all independent films (and some major ones, too) there are some things that don't flow. Also, some editing may be needed for certain scenes. The beginning, and middle, are superior to the end. The end, while it ties the film's loose ends up, may not even be needed. The explanation for the murderer might be too much, as a matter of fact. I often like going to a film and not having the role of the killer explained. It adds to that foreboding sense of doom. A non-explanation may prove what most horror fans know: Evil is out there, waiting and watching. But without spoiling or soiling it for you, I can report that the film's conclusion does provide true justice.

Future in doubt:
Anyone following MALEVOLENCE on the HORROR-REPORT knows of its questionable future. There have been high hopes and low nopes. But after seeing the film, I walked away believing that it might do as well as some movies that have had releases. It's definitely a fun ride. And while it's a serious project it doesn't take itself too seriously. Mena knows what it is: A horror film. It knows it's dealing with a stroll down memory lane in its 1980s' type simple story, too. It knows it's limits and is a realistic story. It can happen. That's even scarier.

There were some big horror hits at the box office lately. But there were some mediocre--and awful--hits too. I think MALEVOLENCE falls in between the big hits and the good ones. The story flowed. The actors, while not superb, worked...All in all I think MALEVOLENCE would do well.

Therefore, for those who have been catching the HORROR-REPORT newfound interest in all things political lately: I give MALEVOLENCE four weapons of mass destruction out of five.

END.

BRYAN SMOLOCK THE HORROR-REPORT SUNDAY JULY 20 2003 6:11 PM EDT