Some horror fans are complete snobs...I just don't get them. On one hand, they'll praise a film like CABIN FEVER to high heavens, and then on the other they'll trash a film like MALEVOLENCE. Funny...I thought this was a great little horror movie, and far better than any of the mediocre fare that has been released to theaters recently.
Granted, the plot is nothing new: A bunch of people (in this case a gang of thieves and a kidnapped mom and child) are stalked and killed off by a hooded killer (in this case the demented disciple of a Satan-worshipping mass murderer) in a secluded setting (in this case an abandoned farmhouse in the country). Yep, nothing new at all.
But what I loved about MALEVOLENCE was its sheer refusal to play any of this for laughs. The truth is, this sort of thing has been done so many times most filmmakers would probably feel the need to poke fun at themselves while they're doing it. But the filmmakers here smartly go for the opposite approach and try to emulate the gritty 70's style of THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE. OK, so it never reaches that level of intensity, but there are some genuine chills here, and I absolutely loved the country atmosphere, which was suitably menacing.
Seriously, folks--lighten up. For a low-budget, direct-to-video (but shot on film--hooray!) slasher this is really, really good. I wish it could've gotten a theatrical release--it would've been panned by braindead critics (who automatically give these sort of films bad reviews anyway) but it still deserved to be showcased like many other, lesser horror films are. See it.
Granted, the plot is nothing new: A bunch of people (in this case a gang of thieves and a kidnapped mom and child) are stalked and killed off by a hooded killer (in this case the demented disciple of a Satan-worshipping mass murderer) in a secluded setting (in this case an abandoned farmhouse in the country). Yep, nothing new at all.
But what I loved about MALEVOLENCE was its sheer refusal to play any of this for laughs. The truth is, this sort of thing has been done so many times most filmmakers would probably feel the need to poke fun at themselves while they're doing it. But the filmmakers here smartly go for the opposite approach and try to emulate the gritty 70's style of THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE. OK, so it never reaches that level of intensity, but there are some genuine chills here, and I absolutely loved the country atmosphere, which was suitably menacing.
Seriously, folks--lighten up. For a low-budget, direct-to-video (but shot on film--hooray!) slasher this is really, really good. I wish it could've gotten a theatrical release--it would've been panned by braindead critics (who automatically give these sort of films bad reviews anyway) but it still deserved to be showcased like many other, lesser horror films are. See it.