Skip to main content

Halloween Day By Day: Malevolence 3: Killer

In the world of movie making, there's a fine line between making an homage and crafting a ripoff. Malevolence 3: Killer walks this razor's edge in fine style.

Mena, who continues a trilogy that began with Malevolence in 2003 and continued with a prequel, Bereavement, in 2010, is clearly a fan of John Carpenter. So much so he makes no attempt to hide it. In fact, he embraces it.

The way Mean composes his shots, stages his kills, and even scores his music, the flick feels like a Carpenter movie and the countless imitations the Master of Horror inspired.

Now, this can sink a film, but it doesn't hurt Malevolence 3: Killer one bit. Yes, this does feel like we've been there and done that, but its crystal clear Mena is paying tribute to the films that inspired him, and isn't trying to milk their success. For this, I give the film a passing grade.

While he was clearly trying to ape early Carpenter, this entry felt more like a Friday the 13th Part 3 or 4. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but it does to me.

I give part of the credit for this flick's success to leading lady Katie Gibson, who sells her Scream Queen role for all its worth. She looks good, is willing to strip down for a shower scene, and puts up a world class fight at the end. Kudos to her.

It was also good to see genre veteran Adrianne Barbeau back in front of the camera. It'd been too long. 

For fans of this kind of thing, Malevolence 3: Killer is worth seeing at least once. I doubt I'll catch it again, but I had a good enough time with the watch. I'll give it a Bad and move on.

Comments

  1. Don't do a shower scene if you don't want to show your boobies. And if it's a dude, to show no prejudice, it goes for them too...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#CocktailHour: Slushtail

  Summer approaches, inspiring thoughts of sunshine, backyard parties, and having a tip and sip with friends.  With that in mind, I bring you this week sunny beverage. To make a slushtail, mix a can of frozen orange juice, a can of frozen lemonade (or limeade), a can of pineapple juice, a couple cups of black tea (or English Breakfast), and two cups of bourbon- such as Southern Comfort, in a pitcher.  When it's all nicely mixed, put it in the freezer until it's a nice slushy consistency. Scoop the slush into a cocktail glass, and pour in some Sprite or 7-Up.  Add a little umbrella for some frivolous fun, and a straw. Voila!  Ready to enjoy. This is a very refreshing drink.  The fruit juices, Sprite, and bourbon- when chilled makes for a great punch-like drink.  The bourbon doesn't overwhelm juices.   In fact, they are all nicely balanced in terms of flavors.  The sourness of the citrus fruits contrasts well with the slightly sweeter Southern Comfort.  It was refreshing enou

Unlock your fate with The Puzzle

When my dad wasn't working, building stuff or being my dad, he was making puzzles. It was a guaranteed way for him to unwind. So it was with great interest that I sat down to watch Italian filmmaker Davide Melini's award-winning short The Puzzle. You see, the mother in the five-minute film likes to relax with puzzles just like my dad. Unfortunately, her good-for-nothing son keeps harassing her for money. Losing herself in her favourite passtime, the mother soon discovers that completing this puzzle might unlock a nightmare. The Puzzle has been an official selection at more European film festivals than you can shake a stick at, and was voted Third Best Italian Film at the Rome International Film Festival in 2008. Having watched it, I'm not surprised. It's a tight little film that hits you hard in the final few seconds. You can tell Melini cut his teeth as an assistant director for legendary Italian filmmaker Dario Argento. But enough chit chat on my part. See if yo

The Animated Addict: "The Adventures of Tintin" (2011)

If you're a 40 + white dude, like myself, you may remember a comic series called " The Adventures of Tintin ".  I know I remember them.  This series, dating back to 1929, got turned into a animated feature film by Steven Spielberg in 2011. After buying a model of ship called The Unicorn, teenaged journalist Tintin finds himself on adventure that will take him from the high seas, to the low deserts, and from the distant past to the present.  With his trusty dog, Snowy, by his side, Tintin uncovers a story connecting two men across the centuries.. . The story is really quite good.  It's well crafted, and high paced- with just enough slow moments to build and develop the world and the characters.  This is the sort of adventure story you'd find in the old serials of the 1930's and '40's.  In fact, it felt like it was the sort of tale that you'd find Indiana Jones undertaking.  I found myself swept up, and swept along as our hero swung from one e