Although I love to be frightened at the movies, Malevolence scared me almost too much. There's not a lot of in-your-face gore on screen, but I was terrified by the film’s psychotic killer and spooky music as well as by my own fears of stabbing and dismemberment. Believe me, this low-budget movie is a classy horror package. While watching it, I had the same creepy feeling Halloween gave me the first time I saw it. No wonder Malevolence won the 2003 New York City Horror Festival Best Feature Award.      

Like all good horror flicks, the plot is relatively simple. It's the film's atmosphere and mood, thanks to impressive cinematography by Tsuyoshi Kimoto, that awaken our deepest fears. A robbery has gone wrong, and three disappointed robbers (Brandon Johnson, Heather Magee, Richard Glover) agree to meet later in an abandoned house “in the middle of nowhere.” Unfortunately, the house in question sits next door to an empty slaughterhouse where a deranged serial killer disposes of his hapless victims.

Complications arise when one of the thieves (Glover) takes a woman (Samantha Dark) and her daughter (Courtney Bertolone) as hostages. I don’t know about you, but innocent hostages earn my empathy right away -- and I forgive any lack of character development where they’re concerned. They just have to be good screamers -- and the lovely Dark is one of the best. (On a related DVD feature, it’s fun to hear Dark talk about how her ability to scream helped her snag this role.)  

Filmmaker Stevan Mena, obviously a fan of the horror genre, makes his directing debut with Malevolence. He also served as the film’s producer, writer, composer (and even played a small role in the movie). Inspired by films like Psycho, he wanted to go back to the implied type of horror seen in movies of the 60s and 70s. Good idea!  I applaud this new director for concentrating on the dread and alarm elements of his film rather than on crude juvenile humor and sex like so many current horror flicks. I also admire the creative way he managed to tie in the disturbing issue of missing and abused children.   

DVD bonus features include: Back to the Slaughterhouse, a featurette with Mena and others discussing how they brought this horrifying story to life; audio commentary with Mena, Johnson and associate producer Eddie Akmal; rehearsal footage; deleted scenes; original trailers and TV/radio spots; a gallery of stills; and the original screenplay on DVD-ROM.

Fortunately, because Malevolence is intended as the second film in a trilogy, viewers can look forward to at least two more horror movies from the multi-talented Stevan Mena.

(Released by Anchor Bay and rated “R” for strong violence and some language.)