Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Malevolence 3: Killer - Malevolence 3: Killer( Blu Ray & DVD) [Mena Films - 2018]

Malevolence 3: Killer is the third and for the moment final chapter in Stevan Mena's serial killer/ slasher series. The 2018 film leans more of the slasher side of things, and less on the trilogies serial killer drama leanings - to offer up a mostly pacey, if fairly predictable stalk & slash thriller.

As with the first two chapters in the series Mena directs, writes, scores & edits Malevolence 3: Killer- the whole thing picks up directly after the end of the first film, finding pain resistant killer Martin Bristol making his way to slightly more populated area. The tone, feel, unfold & look of the film is very reminiscent of the first Halloween film- as we find the boil suited killer stealing a van, then stalking & slashing a group of female teenagers & neighbourhood young girl. He does so mostly with a carving knife, with the soundtrack often jolting in a Halloween like manner- when the killer strikes, sudden rises, or appears- for the most part, Bristol's face is kept in the shadows, and we get a fair bit of  killer POV shots.

On the plus side, Mena does manage to build quite an often taunt atmosphere, and you do feel for the lead female teens as they are stalked. Appearing as the grandmother of Martin Bristol is  Adrienne Barbeau(The Fog, Escape From New York)- and it’s great to see her back in a genre film again, and really she is the most consistent player here. As mentioned the main teens are memorable enough, with their acting been fairly even. Sadly some of the smaller/ supporting actors are less effective, coming off as both hammy & amateurish- but if you stay focused on the unfolding plot, this element is only minor niggle.

Of the three films I say this is least original & effective. In the other two films, Mena managed to pull in his other horror film influences, and filter them out in a fairly balanced & original manner- sadly with Malevolence 3: Killer it often feels like a Halloween clone. It’s certainly worth seeing if you've seen the other two films, but as stand-alone it’s less satisfactory.

Extra wise we get a commentary track from Mena- here he discusses pretty much everything- discussing locations, actors, the film's production. As well as issues/ problems with the production- and one of the major issues was the sad passing on one of the film key actors just before filming was finished- so Mena had to do a lot of re-shooting/ re-editing with zero budget. Next, you get two featurettes, each of these run around the seven-minute mark- the first a generally behind scenes venture, and the second sees Mena discussing his creation of the soundtrack.

In conclusion Malevolence 3: Killer is still a lot better than most modern slashers- I just felt it was the lesser of the three films- due to the lack of originality, and effective ties into the other two films- but some of this could have be of course down to the major issues the film production had.

Rating: 2 out of 5Rating: 2 out of 5Rating: 2 out of 5Rating: 2 out of 5Rating: 2 out of 5

Roger Batty
Latest Reviews

Malevolence 3: Killer - Malevolen...
Malevolence 3: Killer is the third and for the moment final chapter in Stevan Mena's serial killer/ slasher series. The 2018 film leans more of the slas...
190424   Zachary James Watkins - Affir...
180424   Ulvtharm - 7 Uthras
180424   The Bad Shepherd - The Bad Sh...
180424   Impulse - Impulse( Blu Ray)
170424   Jan Jelinek - Social Engine...
170424   Carlos “Zíngaro”, Guilherme R...
160424   The Borderlands - The Borderl...
160424   Rien - The New Source Recording
160424   Worship - Thoughts
150424   Lion-Girl - Lion-Girl(Blu Ray)
Latest Articles

The Music of Clay Ruby & Burial H...
Over the last couple of decades Wisconsin native, Clay Ruby has been creating some of the world’s finest dark electronic music under the Burial Hex mon...
280324   The Music of Clay Ruby & Buri...
290224   Sutcliffe No More - Normal Ev...
100124   Occlusion - The Operation Is...
181223   Best Of 2023 - Music, Sound &...
051223   Powerhouse Films - Of Magic, ...
181023   IO - Of Sound, Of Art, Of Exp...
210923   Lucky Cerruti - Of Not so Fri...
290823   The Residents - The Trouble W...
110723   Yotzeret Sheydim Interview - ...
250523   TenHornedBeast - Into The Dee...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2023. Twenty two years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom