<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Directed By: Stevan Mena<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Spencer List, Brett Rickaby, Michael Biehn, Peyton List, Nolan Gerard Funk, Valentina de Angelis, Kathryn Meisle<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Bereavement<\/span><\/em> may be a prequel to the 2004 film Malevolence<\/em> and share some concepts and characters, but otherwise, it’s an entirely different film. Not only is it an incredible improvement in terms of camerawork, score and performances, but Bereavement<\/em> paints a horrifyingly vivid picture of the mind of a psychopathic killer whereas in Malevolence<\/em>, that element is missing entirely. It’s one thing to watch victims lose their lives one-by-one, but it’s a completely different experience when you’re well aware of what makes the villain commit such heinous crimes. Bereavement<\/em> puts the frames of minds of its killers in the forefront and boy are they powerful. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Bereavement<\/span><\/em> basically kicks off where Stevan Mena’s first film, Malevolence<\/em>, began, but rather than jumping ahead 20 years after poor Martin Bristoll’s kidnapping in 1989, we linger a bit and get a much deeper look at exactly what happened to the six-year-old boy when Graham Sutter (Brett Rickaby) snatched him up. Martin (Spencer List) wasn’t just one of Graham’s many victims, rather an apprentice. Martin has a condition called congenital insensitivity; he can’t feel pain, an attribute that’s key to Graham’s psychopathic and somewhat transcendental methods.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Now here comes the time-lapse, but this time around, we fast-forward just five years. After a family tragedy, 17-year-old Allison Miller (Alexandra Daddario) is sent to Minersville, Pennsylvania to live with her uncle Jonathan (Michael Biehn), right down the road from Graham Sutter himself. An avid runner, Allison’s only athletic outlet in the tiny town with a high school sans track team is a five-mile run around the neighborhood. Little does she know, her route takes her right by the rundown Sutter family meat packing plant, the building in which Graham continues to teach Martin his horrific ways. It takes just one glimpse of Martin through the broken window to stir her curiosity, drawing her in to the point at which running away is no longer an option.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s impossible to call Bereavement<\/em> an enjoyable film because it\u2019s so damn brutal, but Mena\u2019s focus in bringing us back to Minersville is to scare the crap out of us and in that sense, he succeeds immensely. Mena\u2019s a sick guy \u2013 sick, but extremely talented. He juggled a number of jobs while making Malevolence<\/em> including directing, writing, scoring and editing, but the final product didn\u2019t really justify that he had true ability in any of those areas. However, apparently Mena learned a thing or two from the experience because Bereavement<\/em> is so above and beyond its predecessor, it really does prove that Mena is a fantastically versatile filmmaker.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n First off, the characters are more engaging this time around, which makes the story far more interesting. Allison is an excellent protagonist \u2013 likable yet conflicted and interesting. As for Martin, he gives off an incredible duplicitous vibe. On the outside, he\u2019s just a poor little boy who\u2019s been taken away from his family, but there\u2019s also always the sense that he could be harboring some of his mentor\u2019s value. The two of them are surrounded by clich\u00e9, but wholly necessary characters. We\u2019ve got the town bad boy with a sensitive side eying Allison (Nolan Gerard Funk), the kind-hearted uncle who\u2019s trying to lay down the law while keeping his niece happy and, of course, the quintessential horror movie madman. The balance between the players is nearly perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n One thing that\u2019s a bit difficult to digest is Graham\u2019s evil side. No, not his love for stealing the town\u2019s women and stabbing them to death, but his relationship with an evil bull skull that talks to him. On the bright side, this talking isn\u2019t literal; Graham is basically having a one-way conversation, so it isn\u2019t terribly ludicrous, but it is an element that could have been replaced with a more realistic concept or perhaps just developed a bit more to make it more impactful.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n As easy as it is to say some of the people in Allison\u2019s life aren\u2019t fully formed characters, that\u2019s kind of an asset in Bereavement<\/em>. What sets this film apart from others of its kind is Mena\u2019s complete lack of restraint. Suspense certainly builds from beginning to end, but scene-by-scene, time spent waiting for blood, is time wasted. Graham is no glorified serial killer. He knocks off one victim after the next without hesitation. He\u2019s so clearly established as an unbelievably volatile man that that\u2019s almost all that\u2019s necessary when it comes to keeping the suspense level high. On the other hand, there\u2019s just so many stabbings a viewer can take. Yes, this constant killing generally works in the tone of the film\u2019s favor, but for some, it can certainly be a bit too much. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n As clear as it is that Mena made major improvements, the success of the final product is also due to a stellar cast. There\u2019s no other way to say it; the actors in Malevolence<\/em> just weren\u2019t very good. Their performances are unconvincing and amateurish. Well, here, either Mena learned a thing or two about casting, maybe a little something about directing his actors or perhaps the performers are just immensely talented, but from an acting standpoint, everything works. List certainly earns a place on the list (no pun intended) of creepy child actors and his little sister, Peyton, does a fine job playing Allison\u2019s rather annoying little cousin. Rickaby made an impressively lasting impression even with minimal screen time in 2010\u2019s The Crazies<\/em>, so it\u2019s no surprise that he makes for the perfect psychopath here. Both Biehn and Funk are a little bland in their roles, but that seems to be due to their formula characters more than anything.<\/span><\/p>\n
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