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.

Back in 2003, director Steven Mena made an ultra low budget slasher effort called Malevolence, chronicling the brutal crimes of a kidnapped child named Martin Bristol, who grew up watching his abductor commit heinous murders in front of him, and as such became a monster himself. The torch of evil was passed, but we never got to see those early years and the inciting incident which led to such madness. Cue a prequel, entitled 'Malevolence: Bereavment', a detailed, suffocating and very, very disturbing account of Martin's childhood initiation into the life of a serial killer, under the wing and at the hands of a madman named Graham Sutter (Brett Rickaby, a walking nightmare). He snatches 6 year old Martin (Spencer List) from a backyard swing, with designs on naming him as both protégé and acting as mentor, kidnapping locals in the area and subjecting them to unspeakable acts of violence and psychological experimentation, all in the name of some illusory philosophy that only makes sense in his diseased psyche. Meanwhile, a young girl (early work from Alexandra Daddario) moves into town to stay with her estranged uncle (Michael Biehn) and his family. While she tries to wade through a romantic coming of age story involving a local boy, events surrounding the killer's actions get perilously close to everyone, and erupt into one of the most stressful, harrowing chain of events I've ever seen in a horror film. Biehn is Hollywood's resident badass, but the genius in casting him here is that not even he is a match for Sutter's tedious reign of terror, and it's in such contrast that the film strikes despair right down to the bones. Sutter is barely human, with ninety percent of his dialogue spent on indecipherable rambling, making us feel all the more alienated by the fact that the only other human being around to soak up this toxic output is poor young Martin, on a clear path to mental destruction. These scenes are as lonesome and depressing as the acrid rural vista in which this all unfolds, and while we're thankful for atmosphere and setting, we can't wait to get out and breathe fresh air by barely the halfway mark, lest we choke on such overpowering despair. Keep an eye out for genre legend John Savage in a crotchety cameo, providing the film's single iota of comic relief. As much of a vicious little sleeper as the first film is, nothing quite compares to the sheer bleakness and soul dampening evil they achieved this time around. Don't go onto this one in a bad mood, it'll mess you up.

Apparently BEREAVEMENT is the prequel to another slasher flick, MALEVOLENCE, although I haven't seen that film. Not that I'm missing much, as this turns out to be the most routine horror film ever. The story tells of a guy in a 'creep van' who rides around abducting young women and murdering them in an abandoned slaughterhouse. There's a twist involving the killer's abduction of a small boy who he plans to make his apprentice, but it's hardly much of a twist; the ending is predictable from a mile off. So what do we have in a film devoid of originality, interesting characters, and entertainment value? The answer is Michael Biehn. The TERMINATOR star plays the supporting role of the heroine's uncle, proving solid amongst a mix of humdrum acting turns. Although, I have to say, that Alexandra Daddario stands out (for a couple of prominent reasons) as a modern-day scream queen, playing virtually the same role here as her later one in Texas CHAINSAW 3D. The actor playing the villain is weak, though, and the kill scenes are vicious, mean-spirited and unappetising, with little of merit for anyone who's seen anything even halfway similar.

So, after watching Malevolence. I watched this prequel which in this film, follow the events of how Martin Bristol became a killer & where he learnt the twisted techniques in committing these acts!The film wasn't a disappointment! It was gory! It was intense & lives up to it's 18 certificate! The stabbing scene near the end with Allison proved that! The torture scenes were a far better improvement! The death scenes overall were intense & bloody! Just how I like them to be!I also liked how this film shows what became of Martin & how a boy with no feelings became a killer! I also liked the references to Psycho & Texas Chainsaw massacre & how they pay homage to them!Overall a 10/10! This was ace!