nitsuamahp
Not much going on throughout the movie... or I simply stopped paying attention. Alexandra Daddario is a beautiful actress with quite a few big movie roles under her belt; however, in this movie her character wasn't very bright and would progressively become more and more annoying (with the way she acts, she should've been dead 40 minutes in). The protagonist, Allison, pretty much becomes that one girl who is always going to be endangered no matter who comes to save her or how many times she escapes because of a villain known as MR. BAD PLOT... and I guess her own stupidity. How does she react when the killer or something bad appears? "Ahhhhh!" or she starts to cry. Next time try not to be so loud when your goal is to survive in a horror flick (SPOILER: Allison doesn't get another chance to redeem herself RIP). I swear I saw her going for a run early on in the movie, so why isn't she running now? (Rule #1 of horror 101: RUN RUN RUN!) As for the villain, he's... well, he's kind of lacking as he doesn't have a strong presence (he's not scary). The killer also didn't have a real advantage over any of the other characters, so I'm not sure why none of them were able to fight him off (seriously, it's just one guy). The guy seemed slightly below average in size (body mass), why is he overpowering everyone with such ease (1 jab knocks a girl out cold). The supporting cast didn't really add much substance to the narrative either and I didn't really care when or how they bit the dust. Another major character in the film is a boy named Martin who is kidnapped by our killer and latter becomes his successor in the movie Malevolent. This makes Bereavement a prequel that tries to explain why Martin turns into a murderer but fails to explain why this actually happens. How does the kid somehow inherit the killers traits? How does seeing a goat-head-thing translate to him gaining the mindset of a killer? Why was his transformation so quick (he did a complete 180)? These questions are never really answered, it just kinda happens because... you know... PLOT. The story failed to convey a smooth viewing experience, in fact, it was pretty bland and just seemed to drag on from start to finish (a bit slow for my taste). Overall the story deserves a 1.5 star, but the girl is quite the looker *cough* with massive assets *cough* and her aunt and uncle seemed like really cool people so I added another 3.5 stars.
vengeance20
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!
BA_Harrison
Kudos to writer/director Stevan Mena for making Bereavement, his prequel to the impressive Malevolence, such a downbeat, mean-spirited and bloody little psycho flick, and also for casting delicious Alexandra Daddario in the lead, an actress who deservedly finds a place in my 'Big Breasted Babe In A Small Vest' Horror Hall of Fame. No such praise, however for Mena's woeful script, which is both incredibly clichéd at times and deeply flawed, making the film frustratingly mediocre as a whole.First and foremost, why did Mena have his serial killer drive around in a truck that reveals his identity on the side? Loitering outside schools, driving slowly down suburban streets, and prowling round parking lots for victims are the kind of thing best done in an unmarked vehicle (or so I am lead to believe—ahem!); nut-job Sutter has his name painted on the door of his distinctive rusty heap and would surely have been the prime suspect for any local disappearance. Amazingly, though, he continues to abduct and kill with no interference from the police. And then there's the little matter of Sutter's lair, a dilapidated meat packing factory which sits next to a main highway and yet has never aroused the suspicion of anyone passing by, despite screams clearly being audible from the road; incredibly, the place even has power and a fully functional furnace!!!Considering the sheer stupidity of this basic set-up, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to learn that the characters act as though they have sawdust for brains. Track star Alison (Daddario) has obviously never seen a horror film in her life, since she is happy to continue exploring the creepy meat factory even after finding pools of blood and a scrapbook full of newspaper cuttings about missing local women. Alison's boyfriend William suffers the ultimate price for displaying a similar lack of self preservation, as does a waitress who makes so much noise while attempting to escape from Sutter that it's not long before she's hanging from a meat-hook. Hell, it's almost as though people actually want to be killed by this guy.Unfortunately, that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the idiocy on display in this film, with moments that will make you want to scream at the screen in frustration coming thick and fast, right up to the bleak and bloody finale that could have been avoided if only someone had just displayed a little common sense.
rivertam26
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.