Malevolence (film series)
| Malevolence | |
|---|---|
 Official film series logo | |
| Based on | Characters by by Stevan Mena |
Release date | 2004–2018 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,800,000 (3 films)[a] |
| Box office | $391,084 (3 films) |
The Malevolence film series consists of American slasher-horror crime films, written, directed, and produced by Stevan Mena. The series center around various groups of people who come into contact with a serial killer named Martin Bristol, who was kidnapped as a child and raised in an abusive upbringing by a murderer named Graham Sutter. The series explores the investigations surrounding his crime scenes, and attempts made by law enforcement to put an end to his murderous pattern.
Though the series as a whole lost money at the box offices,[2][3][4] and were met with a mixed critical reception at the time of their release,[5][6][7] the films have earned a more positive modern-day analyses while being deemed indie-cult classics of the horror genre.[8][9][10][11] Contemporary reviews have favorably compared the first film to John Carpenter's Halloween, and the prequel to Friday the 13th; while Mena acknoweldged his fandom of the Carpenter's work.[10][12][13] Ross Hughes of HorrorCultFilms.Co.UK praised the film series, stating: "...his is a franchise that is up there with the likes of Halloween. …a Slasher trilogy made by a slasher fan for the slasher fans…Unmissable."[14]
Films[edit]
| Film | U.S. release date |
Director | Screenwriter | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malevolence | September 10, 2004 | Stevan Mena | ||
| Malevolence 2: Bereavement | March 4, 2011 | |||
| Malevolence 3: Killer | October 12, 2018 | |||
Malevolence (2004)[edit]
Ten years following the abduction of six-year-old Martin Bristol from the swing set at his family's home by a madman,[b] the search for the child's location have proven unfruitful; ultimately believed to be a lost cause. This changes, when a group of robbers plan a bank heist in September 1999.
The team of thieves includes a desperate couple named Julian and Marilyn, her ex-convict brother Max, and his friend Kurt. The group gets separated during their escape and Kurt takes innocent bystanders, Samantha and her teenage daughter Courtney hostage in order to make it to the team's rendezvous location; a secluded rural farmhouse in the woods. Upon arrival the group begins to argue about the taking of these civilians, only to find that the home they have invaded belongs to a now-teenaged Martin. Forced to watch the murderous rampages of his abductor, and to clean up after him, Bristol has become a serial killer himself. As he begins to murder each of them, the robbers attempt to survive the night. Julian and Marilyn free the hostages, and work with them to try to escape before it's too late.[15][16][17][18][19][20]
Malevolence 2: Bereavement (2011)[edit]
In 1989, a young boy named Martin Bristol suffers from congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA), a rare neural disorder in which the patient does not feel pain nor temperature senses. One day while playing on the swing at his family home, a deranged criminal named Graham Sutter kidnaps the child and forces him to watch as he abducts, murders, and mutilates young women. After Sutter slaughters the innocents, he orders Bristol to clean up the mess; a cycle that continues for years.
Five years later, a teenage orphan named Allison Miller comes to live with her uncle Jonathan, aunt Karen, and cousin Wendy in rural Minersville, Pennsylvania. As the family welcomes her to their home, Allison, a distance runner, goes on daily jogs and soon believes she sees a child in the window of the nearby Sutter Meat & Poultry factory, thought to be abandoned. When her uncle asks her to avoid the area due to rumored dangers in the area, she stubbornly rebels and seeks to find out more about its history. While investigating the building, she discovers the nightmares taking place therein and she too is attacked and bound by Sutter. Jonathan and Allison's boyfriend William frantically search for her; she escapes with Martin until they confront Sutter at her family's house.[21][12][22][13][23][24]
Malevolence 3: Killer (2018)[edit]
After narrowly escaping local law enforcement,[c] the killer known as Martin Bristol returns to his childhood home, from which he was abducted as a child.[d] Tortured and raised as the accomplice of his captor, a serial killer named Graham Sutter, Bristol's psyche has been damaged beyond any sense of sanity. Upon returning to his family home, he is angered to find that it has been turned into a rental with various young women now residing as tenants. Ellie and her roommates quickly begin to realize that they are the targets of the murderer who has moved into the area, unaware of his identity and history.
With police officer Special Agent William Perkins on the trail of murders left behind, the Bristol family works together to find Martin and convince him to end his murderous rampage. As they draw closer they work frantically against time knowing that more innocents will die, while Ellie fights to survive the night.[25][26][14][11][27]
Main cast and characters[edit]
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
- An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- A indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio.
- C indicates a cameo role.
- O indicates an older version of the character.
- U indicates an uncredited appearance.
- V indicates a voice-only role.
- Y indicates a younger version of the character.
| Character | Films | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malevolence | Maleveolence 2: Bereavement |
Malevolence 3: Killer | ||
| 2004 | 2011 | 2018 | ||
| Principal cast | ||||
| Martin Bristol | Jay Cohen David K. Guida IIY |
Spencer List Chase PechacekY Jay CohenOAC |
Jay Cohen | |
| Graham Sutter | David K. Guida | Brett Rickaby | ||
| Courtney Harrison | Courtney Bertolone | Courtney BertoloneAC | Courtney Bertolone | |
| Samantha Harrison | Samantha Dark | Samantha Dark | ||
| Julian | R. Brandon Johnson | R. Brandon Johnson | ||
| Allison Miller | Alexandra Daddario | |||
| Ellie | Katie GibsonV | Katie Gibson | ||
| SA William Perkins | Kevin McKelvey | Kevin McKelvey | ||
| Supporting cast | ||||
| Marilyn | Heather Magee | |||
| Kurt | Richard Glover | |||
| Max | Keith Chambers | |||
| Sheriff Riley | John Ingram | John IngramCU | John Ingram | |
| Jonathan Miller | Michael Biehn | |||
| Wendy Miller | Peyton List | |||
| Karen Miller | Kathryn Meisle | |||
| Katherine Bristol | Ashley Wolfe | |||
| Georgianna Pritchett | Lynn Mastio Rice | |||
| Meredith Bristol | Adrienne Barbeau | |||
| Tara | Kelsey Deanne | |||
| Lynn | Alli Caudle | |||
Additional crew and production details[edit]
| Film | Crew/Detail | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies |
Distributing companies |
Running time | |
| Malevolence | Stevan Mena | Tsuyoshi Kimoto | Stevan Mena & Eddie Akmal | Mena Films Inc., Painted Zebra Releasing Films, The Solari Group, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Magnetic Media Productions, Caffeine Entertainment, Compression Films |
Mena Films Inc., MVD Distribution, Anchor Bay Entertainment |
1 hr 30 mins |
| Malevolence 2: Bereavement | Marco Cappeta | Steven Mena | Mena Films Inc., Crimson Films, Aurilia Arts Productions |
Mena Films Inc., Anchor Bay Entertainment |
1 hr 43 mins | |
| Malevolence 3: Killer | Stevan Mena | Mena Films Inc., Magnetic Media Productions |
Mena Films Inc., MVD Distribution |
1 hr 29 mins | ||
Reception[edit]
Box office and financial performance[edit]
| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Video sales gross |
Worldwide total gross income |
Budget | Worldwide total net income |
Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America |
All time worldwide |
North America | |||||
| Malevolence | $127,287 | $220,085 | $347,372 | #12,140 | #14,586 | Information not publicly available | >$347,372 | $200,000 | ≥$147,372 | [2][28] |
| Malevolence 2: Bereavement | $43,712 | — | $43,712 | #14,935 | #28,357 | Information not publicly available | >$43,712 | $3,600,000 | ≥−$3,556,288 | [3][29] |
| Malevolence 3: Killer | — | — | — | — | — | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | $0[1] | Information not publicly available | [4] |
| Totals | $170,999 | $220,085 | $391,084 | x̄ #9,025 | x̄ #14,314 | >$0 | >$391,084 | $3,800,000 | ≥−$3,408,916 | — |
Critical and public response[edit]
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| Malevolence | 35% (17 reviews)[5] | 43/100 (8 reviews)[30] |
| Malevolence 2: Bereavement | 44% (18 reviews)[6] | TBD (3 reviews)[31] |
| Malevolence 3: Killer | TBD (0 reviews)[7] | — |
Notes[edit]
- ^ Mena claimed in 2018, that there was no studio budget for the third movie, with the filmmaker completing the project on his own.[1]
- ^ As later depicted in the prequel, Malevolence 2: Bereavement (2011)
- ^ As depicted in the events of Malevolence (2004)
- ^ As depicted in the events of Malevolence 2: Bereavement (2010)
References[edit]
- ^ a b Aguiar, Joe (July 9, 2018). "[Exclusive] Director Stevan Mena Updates On 'Malevolence 3'; It's Finished and Trailer is Coming Soon!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Malevolence (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Bereavement". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Malevolence 3: Killer (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Malevolence". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Bereavement (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Malevolence 3: Killer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Miska, Brad (August 15, 2011). "Behind-the-Scenes of 'Bereavement' Slaughter House". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ "Malevolence (2004)". Effed Up Movies. 15 December 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Hughes, Ross (June 11, 2011). "Stevan Mena Talks to HorrorCultFilms: An Exclusive Interview with the director of cult classic Malevolence!". Horror Cult Films. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Blacktooth (August 14, 2019). "Malevolence 3: Killer Coming To Blu-Ray / DVD On October 15th". Horror Society. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Gingold, Michael (November 11, 2010). "Review: Bereavement". Fangoria. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b My Bloody Reviews (September 8, 2016). "Bereavement (2010)". My Bloody Reviews. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Hughes, Ross (September 13, 2018). "Malevolence 3: Killer: The Hughes Verdict!". Horror Cult Films. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Butane, Johnny (September 29, 2004). "Malevolence (2004)". Dread Central. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Jacobs, Evan (May 11, 2005). "Malevolence DVD Review". MovieWeb. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Fulci, Frank (October 8, 2019). "I Don't Wanna be the Wolf Man - "Malevolence" Review". Repulsive Reviews. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Nusair, David (April 10, 2005). "Malevolence". Reel Film Reviews. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ D, Crisco (January 24, 2011). "Malevolence Review". Horror Society. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Yapp, Nate (April 20, 2005). "Malevolence (2004)". Classic-Horror.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (March 17, 2011). "Bereavement: Movie Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Howard, Steph (August 30, 2011). "Review: Bereavement". Daily Dead. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ The Black Saint (April 7, 2019). "Film Review: Bereavement (2010)". Horror News. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Tor (October 28, 2011). "Bereavement (Movie Review)". Bloody Good Horror. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Fulci, Frank (October 29, 2019). "Why Don't You Give Them to Goldilocks? - "Malevolence 3: Killer" Review". Repulsive Reviews. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Hamman, Cody (August 25, 2018). "Malevolence 3: Killer (Movie Review)". JoBlo. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ Squires, John (September 12, 2018). "Stevan Mena's Slasher 'Malevolence' Getting Its First Blu-ray Release This October". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ "Malevolence". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ "Bereavement (2011)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ "Malevolence (2004)". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ "Bereavement (2011)". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 28, 2023.