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Bereavement - Blu-ray Anchor Bay Entertainment - 2011 Written & Directed by Stevan Mena
Starring
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In the beginning we learn that young Martin Bristol has a rare disorder that prevents him from the sensation of physical pain. His mother has to keep a watchful eye on him since he doesn’t have a warning system to keep him from some great dangers. While she is explaining this to a babysitter she takes her eye off him for a few moments while he is in the backyard, this happens just as Graham Sutter’s threatening black truck pulls up.
The way Mena stages this kidnap is done with mature restraint, slow-building tension, which makes it quite powerfully effective.
Over a few weeks, Sutter murders a couple young women in front of young Martin as he grooms the boy to become the next psychopath (which of course happens in MALEVOLENCE).
While this is taking place, the movie switches focus over to a young woman named Allison (Alexandra Daddario) who is relocating to live with her Uncle Jonathan (Michael Biehn) and his family. Allison has lost both of her parents and has chosen to live in this small Pennsylvania town, rather than New York City , which she says she hates.
Soon after, while Allison is out jogging, she notices young Martin Bristol in a window at the old run-down Sutter meat factory. This dilapidated, unused slaughterhouse is located near her Uncle’s home. This leads to her eventually going inside when she sees they boy a second time, which is the worst thing she could do.
BEREAVEMENT has a lot going for it. The script and this story are done with a great deal of focus on character. This is something lacking in many of today’s scary movies. I found myself invested in the characters so that when they’re put in harm’s way and believe they are, what happens to them carries so much more impact.
It’s like Stevan Mena listened to the criticism of MALEVLENCE and took his skill as a writer-director higher because of it. When it all comes down to it, people care about people. If you have one dimensional card board characters, you are pretty much doomed to fail. And there is none of that problem in this movie.
The way Mena designs the visual look of the movie with Cinematographer Marco Cappeta stands out. Their approach is clean with smooth camera movement, beautiful wide-screen imagery with a big sky. They take advantage of the large fields of wheat & corn and the small town richness of Allentown , Pennsylvania (where the film was shot). The choice of using real places probably stems from the film’s budget, but I’d add no studio or manufactured location would beat it. Also this film isn’t that low-budget. You can feel there was some capital behind this production based on what’s on the screen.
The beauty of scenic Pennsylvania also works great in terms of emphasizing the difference with the dark, dingy slaughterhouse. Once inside the meat house, the light and color changes to dirty (brown) and dangerous (red).
The acting in BEREAVEMENT is another strength that separates it from the pack. It’s always great to see Michael Biehn who’s been one of my favorite actors since seeing THE TERMINATOR in 1984. What I liked best about how Mena uses him is that he has him play a regular guy who has a family and takes his niece to help care for his brother’s daughter. As great as an action figure Biehn is, this was a nice surprise.
Alexandra Daddario is a new starlet in-the-making. The young, tall, brunette beauty with breathtaking eyes and hour-glass figure is destined for big things. She has a natural likable approach as an actress and combined with her jaw-dropping look, she takes the film way up versus the common scream queens used in most horror films.
Brett Rickaby plays the disturbed maniac Graham Sutter with twitchy, unpredictable charisma. You literally didn't know what he’s going to do one second to the next. Yet at the same time, he layers his performance enough that you almost feel compassion for his character’s mental struggle.
Spencer List who plays Martin Bristol gets s across a lot without using words. That in itself is no small feat, especially when considering the limited experience the young actor had to go on.
Anchor Bay does another excellent job with providing worthwhile supplements to give you insight into this production. The Making of Documentary runs 35 minutes which gives the cast & crew the opportunity to share their experience. There are a few things worth noting; Stevan Mena standing in front of the ram shackled slaughterhouse and admitting it’s crazy to think how much time this place has ate up of his life over the past ten-years. And Michael Biehn’s honest feeling about what happens to his character and his warm regards for this crew. There’s also a quick little First Look featurette that gets dwarfed by the making of doc.
I noticed Stevan Mena also Directed 2nd Unit and I’m convinced this helps elevate this film. Not only does it give the film continuity visually, but he takes the time to get those wide-open country shots that establish the various locations used in the film. This is something missing in most low-budget horror films because of short shooting schedules and lack of money. I wouldn’t be surprised if he accomplished this when most of the cast & crew were already done and maybe even did pick-ups later after principal photography was complete.
Deleted Scenes – there about 10-minutes worth that mostly involve William (Nolan Gerard Funk) and his bitter handicapped father Ted (John Savage). I don’t think there’s anything cut that should have stayed in. Stevan Mena’s Commentary is optional on these scenes.
Director’s Commentary – Steven Mena provides good insight into this film’s production as well as talking about the many connections with MALEVOLENCE. I enjoyed listening to him speak and that’s not always the case with commentaries. Trailer, TV Spots, Still Gallery and DVD-ROM of Screenplay round out the extras.
www.anchorbayentertainment.com
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