Malevolence 3: Killer (2018) User Reviews

If you like slasher films, especially 80s, you'll like it

[pdg-55625 · 6/10 · 11 November 2023]

I would have given it a 5.5 if I could, but since we round up here on IMDB I went with 6. Many of the commenters are right when they say it has strong "Halloween" vibes. Sure it's a bit cliche at times, but it's a slasher, and an homage to 80s slasher films, so that's to be expected. It's apart of the genre. I liked it in general. The acting was good and certainly better than most 80s slasher casts. Story was solid enough. And as someone who's always liked 80s horror it was nostalgic. People giving it a 1 are just trying to manipulate the rating in my opinion, and if you like 80s slasher films, I think you'll like it.

Again

[Balaprabu · 4/10 · 26 October 2018]

So he goes on a killing spree and finally escapes. Never seen an ending like this. Good job

A Killer Comes Home

[craigamissey · 6/10 · 16 October 2018]

First off I have been patiently awaiting this film for years and was saddened to hear it was on hiatus for personal reasons. The first two films were such an vital addition to the slasher genre. I was astounded to finally see we were getting a final cut. The film starts out in the middle of the action where we left off with Malevolence. Martin disappears into the woods and the FBI go on the search for the money from the robbery and of course they realize they have a killer on their hands. Not giving anything away in the story I will move on to my thoughts. First the not so good. The film to me is a slight step back from Bereavement and is more on par with Malevolence, at least to me. I was hoping for a bit more of the bull god and it's influence on Martin because it seemed to have a much more deeper meaning in both Malevolence and Bereavement. A lot of the false scare scenes had a bit too much ummph in the score. There were a lot of camera angles and it kinda made it hard to keep up with the cinematography. The ending went on a bit too long without a big payoff and could've just ended when I thought it was over, which was about ten minutes before the actual ending. The good: an amazing final girl who sold this film. Adrienne Barbeau having an appearance and doing stellar. The tone again like Malevolence had a very strong Halloween vibe and sometimes with the following camera on Martin it felt just like that. The score outside of the false scares was definitely on point. For a third installment this felt very big and very good sealing these three films as one of the best slasher franchises since A Nightmare On Elm Street. I hope to see a fourth film and really hope Martin comes home to mom and she becomes a killer protecting him and then he kills her further showing he is emotionless.

Big disappointment

[jokeritt · 2/10 · 13 October 2018]

Bad budget, home made camera, bad acting, bad execution and terrible ending. The film had a good idea and i been waiting for this film for years. I enoyed the last two. I wanted to see Martin reunite with his mom. I was unsure why Martin's mom didn't go with the agent at the end to confront Martin. I would have had the mom knock out the agent and the film ends with her protecting her long lost son. I expected more. I thought Mena was ending this series. Looks to be another sequel. The actor who plays Martin looks like a young Norman Reedus.

Ignore the high rating

[dusan-22 · 1/10 · 18 November 2018]

The movie director has seen Halloween for sure and was pretty inspired but didn't really know how to express that. This is why he made such a dull and ridiculous film. It was an amateur attempt to make a fiction movie. Malevolence 3: Killer is full of bad acting, bad editing and pretty long scenes that look like a first movie making task at film-making school. If you are a horror fan, don't waste your time on this pile of rubbish.

Padded out

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 18 December 2018]

MALEVOLENCE 3 is the third and thankfully last of the indie film sequence, a serial killer story emphasising 'torture porn' and little else. This one has a psycho coming back to his childhood home to attack the current occupants, including Adrienne Barbeau among their number. This is slow, slow, slow stuff indeed, without a drop of tension throughout, merely family melodrama and lots of padding.

Compared to the first two parts, this one is a big letdown.

[Fella_shibby · 7/10 · 28 May 2020]

The first two relied more on psychological study, character development, intense brooding tension n the juxtaposition of tranquility (amazing photography) and underlying danger, this one is a straight up slasher filled with cliches. Saw this last nite n was disappointed.

So aft his lair gets busted n two people survive the harrowing nite, Martin while on the run from the FBI, somehow tracks the two survivors with their wallet. A big question. Why werent the survivors given ample security. How did Martin get hold of the wallet. Towards the end too, a survivor is left without any security inspite of the survivor's phone taken away by Martin while the same FBI guy is pursuing the case. Martin is shown as an introvert, illiterate, traumatized n homegrown boy but he manages to track down his original address while our FBI guy later realises that Martin's mother has relocated. The killings get lousy as none of the victims puts up a fight n it gets filled with cliches. This time the cinematography ain't that great n a sex scene with nudity is added to titillate. Generous with 7 for Mena's effort n his one man show with tackling different technical aspects of the films.

Ignore the Phony Reviews

[arfdawg-1 · 2/10 · 4 December 2018]

If you look not so carefully you'll note that qll the reviews that give this a 9 0r 10 have similar headers. FAKE REVIEWS.

This is my HONEST assessment of the film.

The production values are better than a lot of the really bad horror films out there but that doesnt make this a good movie.

In fact, it's pretty awful.

The acting is atrocious and the directing is that of a high school student. One has to wonder how someone put up $750K for this crap.

And folks, can you stop with the brooding music already? It's been doe over and over and now it's just annoying. Stephen Mena should not be allowed to make another picture

Back to Form

[broadway_boblowe · 7/10 · 20 April 2020]

Malevolence 3 is a worth follow up to the first film (the second was a prequel). Once again we get way better acting than we normally do in these smaller independent movies, great photography, a good script, and a good continuation of the story. The gore quotient is upped in this movie (as is usually the case with sequels) but is still not completely over the top. Once again we rely more here on suspense than an "ick" factor. I really enjoyed this movie and will definitely return to these movies time and again. Highly recommend!

DONT WATCH IT

[anivia · 1/10 · 17 November 2018]

DONT WATCH IT. ITS AWFUL. DISSAPOINTMENT. TRASH. COMEDY. BAD COPY OF HALLOWEEN WITHOUT A MASK.

Mena at his finest..

[jkeys-25864 · 9/10 · 1 November 2018]

I have watched all 3 Malevolence movies and to be honest I have seen a lot of bad horror movies come out repeating the same stories over and over again to make a buck. I'm not here to slam them so they will remain nameless. The best thing about this trilogy is its originality. Sure it borrows some cinematography from great ones but the storyline is original even if some of the scenes are intentional. The best in the series I think was the second which was the prequel to the first with a outstanding performance from Brett Rickaby playing Graham Sutter. Now as far as this movie Malevolence 3 is concerned I am just happy we all got to see it noting that this film was shelved for a long time....The film pic ks up where the first Malevolence left off and continues from there. Stevan mena's score from the opening credits lets you know that we are back in Martin Bristol's world and the story continues.... Only problem i had with the movie was 2 things Martin should have retained the mask from the first to keep him a little more menacing and mysterious like in the first.. Also correct me if i'm wrong, the issue of Martin not being able to feel pain was lost in this movie and because his mother was in it i felt it should have been touched upon. I loved this trilogy and I salute Stevan Mena for coming full circle. I know some people may disagree with my take and that's fine we all have different viewpoints. I just hope we have not seen the last of Stevan mena even if he goes forward with something completely new... I will always be a fan.

FINAL CHAPTER?

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 7/10 · 21 October 2019]

I've written about both MALEVOLENCE and MALEVOLENCE 2-BEREAVEMENT. Both are solid horror films from director Stevan Mena that are worth of viewing. Both are also being re-released to coincide with the release of this film. Does this one match those two efforts? Let me suggest again, if you haven't seen those two films then stop reading since there are definite spoilers for those films mention in discussing this one.

Rather than moving back in time this film begins where the first one left off. We now know that Martin Bristol (Jay Cohen) was the one behind the murders in the first film as well as some in the second. We also know that original serial killer Graham Sutter is dead and Martin has been living alone in the slaughterhouse. Police at the end of the first film discovered the multiple victims of Martin and Graham and are now searching for Martin.

Having been forced from his home Martin's first victims are Samantha and Courtney from the first film. This was alluded to at the end of that film, but now we know for sure. He then is determined to find the mother he thinks left him years ago.

Special Agent William Perkins (Kevin McKelvey), seen at the end of the first film, is the agent in charge of capturing Martin and taking him into custody for the multiple murders they found at the slaughterhouse. Not only did they find the bodies but Perkins has discovered a journal that Graham kept describing what was taking place and how he was training Martin.

We're introduced to a trio of young girls who live in a house while going to college. Violinist Elle (Katie Gibson) roommate Lynn (Alli Caudle) who seems to want to sleep her way through life and Tara (Kelsey Deanne). What the girls don't know is that the house is the home where Martin grew up. And he's looking to find the mother he thought abandoned him.

Meanwhile Agent Perkins has tracked down Martin's mother (Ashley Wolfe) and grandmother (Adrienne Barbeau). He lets them know that they've found Martin but that he is not the same young boy that was kidnaped all those years ago. He takes his time but informs them of what has taken place with him since his disappearance.

The stage is set for a confrontation among all parties concerned. And eventually you know that many will die and Martin might or might not be captured. As many have said the MALEVOLENCE series feels like a combining of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and HALLOWEEN and yet has its own universe to contend with. While paying homage to those films these are their own pictures.

The acting is great here from all involved. In particular look for Gibson down the road. She seems like a star waiting for the right role. The film adds nudity this time around which the previous films didn't bother with.

All in all it's a solid movie but at the same time feels like the story has been tapped and it's time to move on. For me it didn't equal the previous efforts in the series but it's still a good movie. Perhaps that's because in watching all three within days of one another and all three being similar it was too much at one time. But still, if you're looking for a good movie to watch or a great movie marathon, these three films would be worth doing so with.

I'm a campy horror movie fan, but...

[Pgalland25 · 2/10 · 28 October 2018]

Bad, just bad. So, so bad.

I'm not sure how so many people found this entertaining.

This does not even quality to be a B-grade movie

[sharath-81901 · 1/10 · 3 November 2018]

This movie is so bad. Please do not waste your time on this.

Not worth of your time

[baris-akan · 1/10 · 3 January 2019]

Don't believe high rating. It has nothing to do with 80's movies. Instead of watching this movie better do something else. Please remember we have limited time on earth. If you really are desperate to kill some time you can always watch movie trailers.

movie down then zero

[salome_badashvili · 1/10 · 18 January 2019]

I haven't seen such awful acting , horrible movie...it doesn't deserve even 1 star ..it's actually should be -0

Michael Myers, Step Aside!

[benjithehunter · 7/10 · 20 November 2019]

Yes, this is possibly the most slavish Halloween rip off since He Knows You're Alone, Final Exam, and Offerings, but it's almost refreshing to see someone focus more on suspense than goofy twists and non-stop gore these days.

Director Steven Mena knows how to build suspense and release the tension with a well timed jolt even if the story itself leaves a little something to be desired. Much like Halloween, it's ridiculously simple with only a few little detours here and there (such as the scenes with Adrienne Barbeau) which try and add a little meat to the story. These scenes end up feeling like an afterthought and could be cut altogether. It's sort of a shame how little Barbeau is given to do considering her scream queen pedigree. Still, it's always nice to see her pop up in something.

While it is a bonafide Halloween rip off, I'd venture to say it's still more effective and frightening than most of the sequels in that franchise.

Weirdo

[mohamdwhab · 1/10 · 28 November 2018]

Do you want best actors in the earth? Watch this movie. Oh gosh, they're just like macdonald the best ever. My dear; just focus on the perfect dialogue, yeah I know it's very very hard.and don't forget to focus on the "robot" walking, this skill like disease and every character having it .. I have more than 1000 great things. But I can't continue because of my sh#### grammar..

This movie reignited my love for horror films. A fantastic piece of nostalgia!

[SMoMoney · 18 October 2018]

As a lifelong horror fan, this movie ranks as one of my favorites. I'm 45 years old and watching Malevolence 3: Killer brought me back to my days in high school reading Fangoria magazine from cover to cover. It reignited my love for horror films. It's fantastic fun from the first frame to the last. The camera angles, the soundtrack (!), the scares, the laughs, the tension, the cast, the action... All of these elements are executed with absolute perfection. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Katie Gibson, the lead actress, is truly a breakout talent. It's also refreshing to see genre staples like Adrienne Barbeau. I can not wait to watch it again. Trust me, if you are a horror fan, this is a MUST! A simply fantastic piece of nostalgia.

Average 3rd Entry

[vengeance20 · 7/10 · 30 December 2020]

Having watched Malevolence & Bereavment back in 2013, I heard this was in the making soon after but was having funding problems, a Go Funding page was set up for people to donate money to the film I myself donated. Then I read via and article that production on the film had been halted due to a death of an actor, the film had been 3/4 of the way done and there was a descision as to whether to shelve the film or go on. I then forgot about the film afterwards as I heard nothing, then suddenly I see the film has been released but couldn't get a copy of it until now.

The film follows Martin Bristol on his killing spree once again.

The film is alright, it isn't as good as Bereavment but it's better than Malevolence. It features more gore here than in that film but not nearly as much as the second entry. There's some icandy here also and some gory enough deaths. It's runtime is alright at 1hr & 25mins, but the pacing at a few points is abit slow for me.

Overall it's an average 3rd entry. 7/10

The worst kind of bad movie: the unremarkable one

[henriquedematos · 2/10 · 23 March 2019]

So, assume the quality of a film can be represented on a spectrum. In one extreme, you have the best possible films, and in the other, the worst possible ones. It sounds intuitive that, as viewers who are looking to have a positive experience, it would be in our best interest to only watch cinema that is closer to the good side of the spectrum, and yet, somehow, most of us can recognize there's actually plenty of enjoyment in watching a distinctively bad film unfold before our eyes. This, I'll argue, often has to do with how raw and genuine the artistic vision of a bad director tends to be: whether it is Tommy Wiseau's "The Room", James Nguyen's "Birdemic" or the entire filmography of Neil Breen, all of these are unified by the fact that they are auteur films where a madman is using his rudimentary knowledge of cinematic language to express his most intimate will, providing us with such joy in the process to the point where watching them might actually produce the same sort of pleasing mental phenomena we get from a genuinely good film, perhaps even raising some interesting questions about the nature of our own aesthetic judgement.

The problem is, there's clearly an artistic vision behind Stevan Mena's Malevolence 3: it's trying really hard to be a throwback to 1980s slasher horror, with the antagonist fundamentally being a legally distinct version of Michael Myers and the narrative sharing the same sort of structure you'd expect from a Friday the 13th film, and yet, somehow, it never gets to the point of actually invoking that sensation of authorship. The direction is profoundly incompetent, on the first 10 minutes alone you'll find everything from poor editing choices (the film starts with a static frontal shot of a house and then cuts to a pan that goes from a tree to the exact same house, as if it's only now establishing a location) to poor performances (the very first line delivery sounds hilariously unnatural) and the occasional rubbish ADR (two characters have a conversation where one of them was clearly recorded in post with an entirely different microphone), however, despite these blunders, the actual camerawork and sound quality is just average enough to pass for an actual movie - and interestingly, that's actually to its detriment, since it turns a potential so-bad-it's-good experience into one where it's just a bad film plagued by jarring issues all around.

Narrative-wise, Malevolence 3 can be boiled down to every single slasher movie ever made, like it's built around a generic blank slate that's the filmmaking equivalent of a videogame asset flip. There's a mysterious mute killer on the loose in a small suburban American town, and there are a couple of teenagers who decide to spend the night over together, and I mean, it's not hard to see where it goes from here. Unsurprisingly, most characters have no more development than the most basic stock archetypes - you see, one of the girls dresses immodestly and has loud sex in her bedroom, which means she's the extroverted dirtbag character, whereas the other one reads books and refuses to engage in premarital intercourse, which means she is the pure and kind-hearted one! - and their arches primarily consist of being inert cannon fodder for the really bland and rudimentar kill scenes, eventually leaving no room to any actual character growth. Equally pitiful is the attempt at trying to establish a historical setting: apparently, the film is meant to be set during the 90s, and director Mena seems to think that merely adding an old iMac to the protagonists' bedroom and having some characters driving around in a Mercury sedan is enough to fully convince the spectator of that, never mind the obviously contemporary fashion, interior decoration, dialectic mannerisms and the 2010s police Dodge Charger just all making their way into the frame throughout the length of the film. And although I guess directly commenting on the ending would no longer make this a spoiler-free review (as much as there's anything worth spoiling), it might suffice to say that, if you've watched any sequel to a slasher that's trying to set itself up as a franchise, you probably know exactly how it's going to go.

The final product, above all, feels like an attempt at trying to appease to an old school crowd that grew up with the traditional 80s horror formula whilst failing to understand how that exact same formula is still in excessive use today, making this an utterly pointless effort in trying to recapture something that's already over-saturating cinema in the first place. It's not that throwback retro horror is inherently bad by itself, David Robert Mitchell's "It Follows" is an excellent example of that exact same sort of nostalgia done right: it retains the atmospheric wide shots, the night lighting and the hard synth soundtrack that wouldn't be out of place in a John Carpenter film, but it backs all of that with a far more sophisticated use of movement, composition, sound and editing, coupled with a narrative that explores some philosophically introspective reflections about sexuality and mortality, in a way that actually outgrows most of Carpenter's filmography and instead becomes its own thing. Ultimately, the fundamental difference between the concept of these two films is that Mitchell primarily took the aesthetics of his reference and added his own substance into it, while Mena is stuck with the vague ideal of a slasher movie that cannot have any more substance than its basic layout. In the end, it's no surprise that the result is just dull, derivative and painfully unremarkable.

classic slasher throwback!

[ddaly2112 · 9/10 · 13 October 2018]

Saw the premier last night and loved it. A must see for fans of classic 70's and 80's horror films. They don't make them like this anymore. I was a fan of the previous films in the Malevolence trilogy and this doesn't dissapoint. I recommend this one as well as the others in the trilogy. I will definitely add this dvd to my horror dvd collection.

It's about as exciting as watching paint dry.

[vidyajit_bonny · 1/10 · 16 October 2018]

Horrible script, plot ,story line, acting and in everything. Must have been a good movie though if you were to watch in early 40s or 50s but definitely not for 2018. It was written, directed and cast by those people who will never have a brain tumor in their lives as they don't have one. I was so bored out of my skull watching this and stopped after the first 10 minutes.

Stupid movie

[scm-24792 · 1/10 · 9 November 2018]

Rating 8 is very missleading!! Boring movie . If u like horror movies u will find this more than ridiculous

Wast of the time

[bandit-26905 · 3/10 · 1 November 2018]

Cheap story. The funny thing is nothing can hurt the killer seriously.