Post by Bob Hackett on Mar 15, 2006 4:28:25 GMT -5
Ok, I'm going to give Malevolence a thumbs up.
It is pretty obvious what movies inspired Stevan Mena to write/produce Malevolence. He is clearly a fan of 80s slashers. The killer looks like the original Jason from F13 Part 2. He "appears" and moves early in the movie like Michael Myers. There are piano pieces which are directly borrowed (umm, stolen?) from the Friday the 13th series. There are some framing shots of the hideaway house which reminded me of the Myers house. The final scene is clearly inspired by When A Stranger Calls. But I wouldn't go as far as to say he was ripping people off, so much as I would say he gave a nod to the classics.
All this said, I don't have a problem with lack of originality. At its base, the first Halloween was hardly a ground breaking storyline. What set it apart was execution.
I think Malevolence is well executed. It takes a while to get going, but once it does it is a pretty good popcorn munching slasher. There are a few good jump scenes late, the movie has a brutal undertone, and the musical score is above par.
To each their own, so I will say straight away that the movie is predictable. That alone can kill the enjoyment for a lot of people. Also until the focus switches to the final two, there really isn't a likeable character in the bunch. But the killer did a fine job - in this case we get to see what created this Boogeyman. There is some tension late, and the movie kept my interest as much as most 80s slashers did.
I think this movie is far from Shit on a Stick It's a fun diversion, and quite un-Scream like for a post-1996 slasher.
It is pretty obvious what movies inspired Stevan Mena to write/produce Malevolence. He is clearly a fan of 80s slashers. The killer looks like the original Jason from F13 Part 2. He "appears" and moves early in the movie like Michael Myers. There are piano pieces which are directly borrowed (umm, stolen?) from the Friday the 13th series. There are some framing shots of the hideaway house which reminded me of the Myers house. The final scene is clearly inspired by When A Stranger Calls. But I wouldn't go as far as to say he was ripping people off, so much as I would say he gave a nod to the classics.
All this said, I don't have a problem with lack of originality. At its base, the first Halloween was hardly a ground breaking storyline. What set it apart was execution.
I think Malevolence is well executed. It takes a while to get going, but once it does it is a pretty good popcorn munching slasher. There are a few good jump scenes late, the movie has a brutal undertone, and the musical score is above par.
To each their own, so I will say straight away that the movie is predictable. That alone can kill the enjoyment for a lot of people. Also until the focus switches to the final two, there really isn't a likeable character in the bunch. But the killer did a fine job - in this case we get to see what created this Boogeyman. There is some tension late, and the movie kept my interest as much as most 80s slashers did.
I think this movie is far from Shit on a Stick It's a fun diversion, and quite un-Scream like for a post-1996 slasher.