Product Description

It's ten years after the kidnapping of Martin Bristol. Taken from a backyard swing at his home at the age of six, he is forced to witness the unspeakable crimes of a deranged madman. For years, Martin's whereabouts have remained a mystery... until now. When a bank robbery goes wrong, desperate felons Julian (Brandon Johnson), Marylin (Heather Magee), and Kurt (Richard Glover), scatter to meet up later at an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. Grabbing hostages Samantha (Samantha Dark) and her young daughter Courtney (Courtney Bertolone) along the way, the group has no idea that the house they've chosen for their seclusion is about to become a hunting ground - with them as the prey...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80020 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-19
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

Nice homage, slow plotted.
[good things]
The movie, after starting off slow, was fast paced and quite suspenseful. The movie payed homage to old horror classics such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the slaughterhouse), Friday The 13th Part 2 and The Town That Dreaded Sundown (the sack head), A Nightmare On Elm Street (green and red walls in the slaughterhouse), and Sleepaway Camp (bug tape). You can tell that Stevan Mena is a huge fan of the genre classics.
The killer reminded me more of Jason in Friday The 13th part 2 with his mannerisms. He stalked and he hunted like Jason. There are also a few scenes that to me seemed like carbon copies of scenes in Friday The 13th Part 2. The acting, in my opinion, was also dead-on along with the directing.


[the bad]
The movie needed more blood and gore. It needed more killing. The whole bank robbery and 'up to the bank robbery' scenes were just too much. It slowed the movie down alot, and really had no significance to the actual plot.
The movie was unique in alot of ways, but the homage was a bit overdone in a few scenes. It seemed like a friday The 13th Part 2 remake in some of the scenes. I did like that, but when it comes down to it, they left a slight sour taste in my mouth.


[final thoughts]
This movie was so hyped prior to it's release. By watching trailers and checking the website periodically I was so anxious to see it. It's sad to say that when I did get around to see it that I was severely let down. I am not saying the movie sucked, it did not, but it was way to slow. I find myself trying to watch it and I can't and if I do I bump it up a few chapters to get to the part where the movie starts go speed up.
But, I really liked the killer, and the story behind him. I liked the references to horror classics, and I liked the soundtrack.
There were hints of a sequel, and I would really like to see it. Hopefully they can fix the mistakes they made in this one and improve.

What's Wrong With Horror Movies Today?
If I'm not mistaken, this movie was released straight-to-video. I've never seen a s-2-v movie I liked, so I'm not sure why I thought this would be an exception. I had read an extremely inaccurate synopsis on the internet for this movie, but it had sounded good so I rented it. This movie is terrible. I've seen a lot of bad theatrical horror films, this movie doesn't even deserve a theatrical release. But, I must admit. It had a few good elements (hence, my 2 stars). The music (composed by writer & director Stevan Mena) is really good, like "Halloween" & "Friday the 13th" good. Some of the uses of the music during scenes where the killer appears are pretty effective. But this movie sucked from the beginning. It begins with a little kid (who we've already seen has been missing) watching a man kill a young girl in a basement/torture chamber. Then 10 years later, we meets Kurt (Richard Glover), Marilyn (Heather Magee), Max (Keith Chambers), and Julian
(Brandon Johnson). Marilyn and Max are siblings. Marilyn and Julian are lovers. They four plan to rob a bank and after they do (apparently the budget wasn't big enough to film the robbery) Max is dead and Kurt is heading to the meeting spot, a secluded "deserted" house in the middle of nowhere.
When Max was shot, I was compelled to write a thank-you note to the writer,
because Keith Chambers is one of the worst actors I've ever seen. This man should be shot. Anyway, as Marilyn and Julian stop to bury Max's body. Kurt drives to the house when his tire blows. Kurt (dressed in the same jumpsuit he robbed the bank in and holding two bags of cash...What a dumb a$$) jacks a car that contains a young mother named Samantha (Samantha Dark) and her daughter Courtney (Courtney Bertolone). Why does Samantha have a English accent? Anyway, Kurt takes the young mother and daughter to the house, when Courtney manages to escape. Kurt runs after her, leaving Samantha in the house. Kurt ends up at another house (the setting of the torture chamber) and is killed. The killer takes one of Kurt's money bags and uses it as his mask. Marilyn and Julian then arrive at the meeting spot to find Samantha and most of their money missing. Insert next cliche here. Anyway, at the end of the movie we find out who the killer is. Never before have I known exactly what was going to happen before it did, writer Mena doesn't even bother to add something in at the end to make us go "wow, now that's a twist." Instead, after "discovering" the identity of the killer; we are given yet another "I saw it forty minutes ago" twist. I think Stevan Mena should stick to scoring horror films rather than writing them. Seriously, folks. Don't waste your time.

GRADE: D- (because of the music). F (ignoring the music)

A botched attempt at a horror film
Martin Bristol was taken from his backyard when he was six years old, and became the innocent puppet of a deranged psychopath. Ten years later, the somewhat less than well adjusted Martin is living the legacy of his captor. Julian (Brandon Johnson), Marilyn (Heather Magee), and Kurt (Richard Glover) are bank robbers who, after botching an attempt at their crime, are seeking refuge from the authorities. Grabbing a mother and her daughter as hostages during a car switch, they head out to an abandoned home in the middle of nowhere where they will become the hunted instead of the hunters.

The makers of Malevolence clearly had a decent film idea in mind, it just wasn't pulled off very well. Malevolence is in part an homage to the amazing stylistic techniques of Carpenter, particularly his film Halloween. However, it seems to be true that none can quite live up to the standard set by the master of creepy suspense horror. There also seem to be elements of Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre mixed in as well. Though a unique idea that attempted to utilize tried-and-true horror elements, the plot and script simply were devoid of entertainment value.

Though there were a couple of genuine scares, mostly due to sound effects and decent camera work (both similar to Halloween), they were few and far between. For the most part, I found this movie to be utterly boring and far too slowly paced to hold my attention. At the viewing I attended, many people simply got up and left.

Being Anchor Bay's first attempt at their own production, one can only hope that things should get better with time. Anchor Bay has a great reputation for putting out excellent DVD releases of other films, but their own productions will definitely need some work. I would suggest saving your money and renting this one instead of purchasing it.