Malevolence Trilogy review by Bobby Blakey
The horror genre is one of the few that has so many subgenre’s within it that it offers up something for everyone. I love the slasher genre and while there are the obvious big ones, every so often another wreaks havoc on the big screen and finds its own place in the horror lexicon. In 2004 director Stevan Mena introduced fans to Martin Bristoll with Malevolence. In 2010 he returned to the story once again with Breavement aka Malevolence 2 and then in 2018 for Malevolence 3: Killer. To celebrate the original films 15th anniversary they are rereleasing all three films on Blu-ray.
Malevolence follows the tragic story of a group of bank robbers on the run from the law. They hide out in an abandoned house on the outskirts of town, unaware it is next door to the home of a family of serial killers. One of their hostages escapes and runs for help, but all hell breaks loose when she runs to the "wrong" house. This first film in the trilogy offers up a pretty simple story that works. There is a lower budget tone to it all, but thanks to some smart camera work and great use of tension it still works. It was clearly trying to pay homage to the slasher genre while notching out its own place in it and does so well. While not a perfect film it does offer up some decent kills, a good story that keeps you interested and an ending
Malevolence 2: Bereavement follows six year old Martin Bristoll who was kidnapped from his backyard swing in Minersville Pennsylvania. Graham Sutter, a psychotic recluse, kept Martin imprisoned on his derelict pig farm, forcing him to witness and participate in unspeakable horrors. Chosen at random, his victim's screams were drowned out by the rural countryside. For five years, Martin's whereabouts have remained a mystery, until 17 year old Allison Miller comes to live with her Uncle, Jonathan and she disturbs a hornet's nest of evil and despair that once torn open, can never be closed. This chapter is actually more of a prequel to the original film showcasing what happened to young Martin after his kidnapping. This film has a different tone as well as a bigger cast including Alexandra Daddario and Micheal Biehn. While it has a slow build it makes sure to give the horror fans what they want with some fun gore moments and kills as well as a great ending that takes gives us the Martin we know and love. This film showcases a larger budget and is overall a better outing for the story. Being a prequel fans can jump right in without ever seeing the original film as it stands on its own, but where is the fun in that.
that I really dug. Its short run time lets it get to the point and keeps things moving to create a pretty successful entry into the slasher world. My only real issue is that there wasn’t anything overly original about the look of the killer to help him standout but instead just reminds you of one of the incarnations of Jason.
Malevolence 3: Killer follows Martin Bristol who returns to where it all began: the home where he was kidnapped from. But he is not the boy who disappeared over 10 years ago. Tortured and abused at the hands of his psychotic captor, Graham Sutter, Martin is damaged beyond repair. Lurking in the shadows of suburbia, he stalks and kills without remorse. Special Agent William Perkins follows Martin's trail of terror, desperate to capture him before he kills again. Martin's family, mourning his disappearance for over 10 years, is informed not only that he is alive, but that he is responsible for the wave of murder sweeping through their town. Will they be able to reunite with their long lost son before it's too late, or will Perkins have to use excessive force to bring him down? This third entry goes back to the original film picking up where it left off. Once again it feels more in line with the lower budget of the original but still brings a more variety of kills to step things up. This is a decent entry into the franchise and looks to bring it more full circle for Martin and digs up some of his past to make it feel like it has some connection to the prequel as well.
This is one of those franchises that work more directly for the hardcore slasher fans. Filled with blood, sex and a crazed killer it brings all the required tropes for the slasher genre to the mix like fans expect. Grab your copies of all three films hitting Blu-ray on October 15th from MVD Entertainment.