The South African film Gaia (2021) feels very familiar. With the recent release of The Last of Us (2023), and considering that series being rooted in the 2013 video game of the same name, many of the aspects of Gaia could be considered straight-up copies of some of the ideas and imagery. Directed by Jaco Bouwer, Gaia demonstrates that it’s not always what you show on screen, but rather, what it means. Whereas The Last of Us tells a tale of survival in a world gone mad. Gaia instead tells a story of a disrespected mother hell bent on revenge. Berand, Stefan and Gabi discuss the rape o ..read more

6 Essential Found Footage Horror Films Welcome to Malevolent Dark’s 6 Essential Found Footage Horror Films! Found footage is a film-making technique in which all or a significant part of a film is presented as if it were recovered or discovered footage, often left behind by missing or deceased individuals. The footage is usually shot from the perspective of one or more of the characters in the story and is often shot using handheld cameras or cameras with a first-person perspective. The technique is often used in horror, science fiction, and mockumentary films. The use of found footage can cre ..read more

Here we go again. Welcome to the sequel of Maniac Cop – Maniac Cop 2. How very original. Will the movie be just as interesting? There’s only one way to find out. Read on, my friends. WARNING: As my editor is currently overnighting at Camp Crystal Lake with a gaggle of horny teenagers, I will be spoiling plot points (such as they are). Maniac Cop 2 – Wash, Rinse, Repeat Maniac Cop 2 begins with the ending of the original. But of course, no one finds Matt Cordell’s body from the big blow out, though we do see a lone cop car drive away from the wreckage. Even if we can’t see the person behind the ..read more

“When an evil is too great for man to judge, the Windigo is called upon.”  So begins The Windigo, a stark but emotionally charged tale of vengeance run amok. Directed by Gabe Torres and written by Brent Jordan, The Windigo was officially released January 9, 2024, and is available on all video on demand platforms, including Amazon Prime, VUDU, and Apple TV. Shot in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the movie’s runtime is 81 minutes.  The film stars Marco Fuller as Ry, a teenager who – with help from his grandmother – resurrects an ancient demon called the Windigo to protect his fami ..read more

Alan Wake 2 and The State of the Scene For many, the mid to late 2000s were the golden age of gaming, with 2010 being a particularly memorable year. Not only did 2010 see the release of icons such as Red Dead Redemption, Halo: Reach, and Bioshock 2, but games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Heavy Rain were redefining what horror games could be. In the midst of all of these groundbreaking releases, Remedy Entertainment dropped Alan Wake, a game that appeared, on the surface, like your standard 3rd person shooter. However, as players began to dig into the game it quickly became apparent that ..read more

Back in January, Doug Roos reached out to Malevolent Dark with his recent film, Bakemono. The film tracks the events that occur to several residents that stay in a Tokyo AirBnB. Unaware, each of the tenants encounters an evil presence that uses their deepest fears to terrorize them. Accordingly, the horrors that befall each tenant each manifest in strikingly unique ways. The Japanese word “Bakemono” refers to supernatural monsters, and Writer/Director Doug Roos gives us a fantastic practical effects monster. Bakemono makes great use of light and contrast to accent both the highlights and the d ..read more

MALEVOLENT DARK HORROR FICTION TOP 25 MARCH 2024 EDITION Check out the chart for February and January 1. The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz Koontz, a four-time Bram Stoker Award nominee, writes a different kind of thriller about a perpetually nice man named Benny who, after losing everything, receives a strange inheritance from an unknown uncle in the form of a giant crate, which houses a seven-foot-tall entity named Spike whose mission is to help people who are too good for this world. With the help of Spike and a waitress named Harper, Benny plunges into an adventure to discover the ..read more

The life and times of the infamous Wisconsin graverobber and murder, Ed Gein, permeates the world of modern horror cinema. Devout horror fans with a morbid curiosity need no introduction to Gein. Ed lived in Plainfield Wisconsin. Long tormented by his mother’s unhealthy disgust towards women and her oppressive projection of this hatred, Gein developed an unhealthy relationship with the ladies of Plainfield… to say the least. This psychosis manifested itself in the most morbid ways. He would develop a sort of twisted sexual confusion that leads him to cosplay in the leathered skin of recently d ..read more

c In fact, Kristy is earnest enough to be on any list of the best horror movies set during the Thanksgiving holiday. Directed by Olly Blackburn (Donkey Punch) and written by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows), Kristy stars Haley Bennett (The Girl on the Train) who delivers an outstanding performance as the gritty final girl Justine. With the emotional weight of the entire movie on her shoulders, Bennett deftly handles the role and makes you care about the fate of her character. Kristy also features a strong supporting cast, including Ashley Greene (Twilight), Lucas Till (X-Men: Apocalypse), and ..read more

Happy nearly ¼ of the way through 2024 folks. My drinking game has gotten off to a weak start this year but here’s to hoping it improves. Or worsens, depending on your POV. I figured for my next series review here at Malevolent Dark, I should probably pick something that’s relatively short. Aka a franchise with fewer than 27 sequels and prequels and remakes and re-imaginings. Anything with five or fewer flicks should work nicely, yes? So let’s get started with the three-and-out Maniac Cop franchise. Spoiler Alert: My editor has taken a sabbatical to hitchhike across the United States with a bu ..read more