Strong and Moving!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Martin Bristol brilliantly portrayed by (Spencer List), a young boy with congenital analgesia, is kidnapped by psychotic and deranged Graham Sutter (Brett Rickaby) . Over the next five years, Graham brutally butchers several young women, forcing Martin to watch. Throughout the film, Graham talks and argues with the skull of a bull hung on the farmhouse wall. This compelling story delves into the mind of a madman and the torture the young boy not only witnesses but has to endure. The casting could not have been more appropriate as on a $2million dollar budget the film was well paced and edge of your seat style. The editing and cinematography were perfectly wound together. This will for sure be a great cult classic in terms of psychological thrillers. A solid 6 almost 7 for me out of 10.

It's been a few days now since I watched "Bereavement", and the more I contemplate about it, the more I have to reckon that it was a unique viewing experience for me! It's a really good horror movie, and simultaneously it's a very bad horror movie. Usually you spot a couple of strong aspects in an overall bad film, or you find a few things disappointing in an overall good film, but "Bereavement" is quite different. The good aspects are truly great, whereas the bad aspects are incredibly bad and, in the end, I can't decide what to think of it! Therefore, and for the first time in IMDb history, I'll be writing a schizophrenic/Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde review! Dr. Jekyll says: "Bereavement" is a downright fantastic experience that you simply must watch in case you're a seeker of genuine and unhinged horror! For the first time in decades, we are faced with an atmosphere that is authentically grim and petrifying, and a screenplay that is vile, shocking and completely devoid of taboos or political correctness. Stevan Mena is the guy who finally dared to write a film about subjects that really scare people! Sick individuals prowling around in their eerie old cars and abducting defenseless young children, endlessly exposing fragile & undeveloped young minds to extreme violence, honest and good-hearted people getting slaughtered in front of their loved ones without reason, etc. "Bereavement" is one of the bleakest and nihilistically primitive stories ever and even the most experienced horror fanatics with strong stomachs and steel nerves are likely to be astounded by the brutality of this film. The remote locations (like the ramshackle meat & poultry abattoir) and set-pieces (like Sutter's van) are shivering and the total absence of comic relief makes the tense ambiance even more unbearable. The killings are relentlessly mean-spirited and there is a lot of graphic and uncompromising gore on display. It's always excellent to see Michael Biehn in a thriller/horror film, and his performance is reliably forceful as usual. Young heroine Alexandra Daddario is a stunning beauty with one of the brightest pairs of blue eyes I have ever seen, but with a breast size like hers, I would advise her to wear a sport bra when jogging. You're going to get back problems, girl! Mr. Hyde says: how far does writer/director Stevan Mena expect us to push our suspension of disbelief? The screenplay of "Bereavement" is utterly ridicule and implausible. I reckon there aren't any policemen in Pennsylvania, because the least inconspicuous child abductor/serial killer in history can carelessly remain at large for a period of at least five years! This guy slowly drives near schools and playgrounds with an eye-catching pervert van that even has his actual name written in bright white letters on the side. Stranger danger, anyone? Five years later, he's still driving the same damn piece of wreckage, even though you can clearly read in newspaper clipping that an old black van got spotted at the house where the quiet kid was kidnapped. His liar, a narrowly demolished family company abattoir, also isn't exactly a secure hideout. It's located right next to the main road, and practically all the widows are broken, so at some point, please tell me that someone must heard the screams of tortured girls or smelled the stench of rotting corpses? Apparently, nobody in this godforsaken hole bothers to call the authorities or search for missing persons, like the waitress, and even cool dudes like Michael Biehn make dumb decisions. The teenage girl (and also her boyfriend) is the dumbest of the bunch, since she solely ventures into the cellars and corridors of a nasty slaughterhouse that is full of blood puddles, body parts and torture devices. Without once looking over her shoulder! Oh well, what do you expect from a chick with a D-cup size who doesn't wear a sports bra when she goes jogging? I could raise several more examples to point out the characters' stupidity, but the message is clear: the script of "Bereavement" is an insult to the intellect of every self-respecting horror fan! Eventually, Dr. Jekyll narrowly wins the mental battle (hence the 6/10 rating) because I still principally respect the fact that Stevan Mena has the courage to bring a cruel and unrelenting fright-story.

This nutjob kidnaps a small boy to be a kind of mute companion / trainee / witness to his bloody murders. He kidnaps a screamy teenage girl (one of many, this one is particularly screamy, though), but her family (all people who have never seen a horror film before) come to rescue her one by one, and don't notice that the nutjob is creeping up behind them as he despatches them in unpleasant ways (except for Uncle Jonathan who he murders quite nicely with a shotgun). But the nutjob gets killed and the teenage screamy girl escapes, except she doesn't because the small boy knifes her multiple times, the end.This generic mad killer / slasher horror is slightly below average of its type, but gives the impression it thinks it is actually rather good, which it isn't. Michael Biehn and John Savage, a couple of decent actors, are both in it: this doesn't help. Brett Rickaby (of whom it has been said, "Who?") plays the nutjob. He is not very good (this is me being kind about his performance). Alexandra Daddario plays the main protagonist / victim. You will notice her very very blue eyes, her constant ear-splitting screaming and her impressively proportioned and vigorously nippled bosom. And not necessarily in that order.

I was a big fan of the fllm Malevolence of which this film is a prequel too. Well despite some better production values it doesn't even hold a candle to that film. Filled with an unnecessary amount of violence overkill we learn the roots of how the killer in the first one came to be. The other actors/victims in the film are decently developed and are surprisingly solid for a genre film. The direction and screenplay are the problem film. Besides looking gorgeous the film doesn't any real gratification the killers story is somewhat developed but the real truth is never explored. The film is kept as realistic as possible and is very mean. Building characters only to tear them down brutally for no real reason. the evolution of the events aren't very satisfying and the over abundance of shameless gore and pointless nudity feels crude. The best thing I can say about the whole downer experience is that it's well made and looks pretty besides that there's not much to offer here that you haven't seen before and explored more in depth and less bitingly.