Malevolence was released 2003 and was the feature-length debut who Stevan Mena- who directed, wrote, produced, edited & scored the film. And aside from the odd less than great acting, the films an effectively dread-filled & taut mixture of slasher & serial killer thriller. Malevolence nods back to the rural settings of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and early Friday 13th movies, blending in the unstoppable faceless killer of Halloween- yes, it clearly wears its influences on its sleeve, yet still manages to stand up on it’s own to create a slasher film that nicely blends together dread, tension & heart bounding moments.

The film opens with a chilling & attention grabbing flash-back where we’re told a six-year-old child disappeared from a swing without a trace- then we see said boy tired up in a rundown rural building as a faceless killer taunts a strung up women. Next, we flash forward to ten years later, and a gang are carrying out a bank robbery- after the robbery, they make their way in separate cars to an abandoned house- which just happens to be near the building where the boy was captured years ago.  Fairly soon things start to go bloody awry as the now sack masked killer stalks, and brutally stabs one victim after another.

Malevolence finds Mena cleverly building both dread & intrigue from the off, and by the time we get back to the supposable safe-house, he aptly turns up both the tension & dread filled atmosphere up & up. Into the setting comes a mother & child, and this adds in an extra feeling of tension & creates a nice dynamic between the law-breakers & the innocent. His soundtrack nicely brings together moments of slight tone shifting electric piano unsettlement, sudden stab & swirl synthetic strings, with throbbing synth scaping, and more formal orchestrated scoring.

I really find it kind of puzzling that this film isn’t more well-known & respected, as I’d say it’s easily up there with the likes of the first Hatchet- but instead of adding in moments of humour & tongue in cheek nods of that film- Malevolence plays it deadly serious, dark, and at times brutal- creating true old school American horror.

On both the Blu Ray & DVD we get a new high definition print of the film. Extras wise we get a commentary featuring Mena, lead actor Brandon Johnson, and one of the co-producers- this track discusses issues they had with filming, the locations, ect- the trio keep the talking pretty constant, and there are some interesting tidbits of info along the way. Next, you get Back To The Slaughterhouse- this is a thirty-minute featurette, which discuss the film's development & production, as well as going back to the abandoned Slaughterhouse which was one of the films key settings. Next, we get a ten-minute interview with Actress Samatha Dark- who plays the mother who gets struck in the location with bank robbers. We get a five-minute interview with Gunnar Hansen- praising the film. Deleted scenes, rehearsal footage, and trailers for this & Mena’s other three films

If like me you grew-up with & loved the slasher films of the 1980’s I’m sure you’ll be equally taken by Malevolence- as it nods back that period & pays tribute, yet adds in its own creepy twists & turns to the slasher formula.