By Geno McGahee
I realized something when I watched the 2002 suspense/thriller “MALEVOLENT”. Both Lou Diamond Phillips and Kari Wuhrer never really hit their full potential. I know I’ve been ranting lately about Cuba Gooding, JR., not getting his just due, but the same can be said for both Phillips and Wuhrer. Lou Diamond Phillips may be best known for his role in the 1987 film “LA BAMBA,” but, other than that, he really hasn’t done something at that level…at least as a solo act. He was in some horror films that made a little noise, but he could never really capitalize on his big hit. He gets work all of the time, but he probably isn’t as far along in the business as he should be.
I remember Wuhrer from her early role in MARRIED WITH CHILDREN as one of Kelly’s friends, but she got on the map with her gypsy role in THINNER. That movie was terrible but her flirtation and show of her panties to the fat guy was enough for most dudes to say the movie was “so-so.” She has a great look and can act. She also found herself in a lot of horror movies.
The two meet up in MALEVOLENT and make the best of a mediocre script and story. Jack Lucas (Phillips) is a detective that is being investigated after a shootout with some gang members. He is getting a lot of heat. He goes out to his favorite bar and runs into Oliver (Edoardo Ballerina) and the two begin to converse. Oliver tells him about his ex-wife, Jessica (Wuhrer), who is a stripper and a slut, and then buys Lucas a drink. It’s all friendly until Lucas gets groggy and awakens without his gun. This sets into a chain of events that makes him look like a serial killer. Oliver, for some reason, has it out for Lucas and will do anything to destroy him.
Lucas isn’t his only target. Jessica refused his advances at the strip club and had him banned. That did not sit well with Oliver and he is now out to kill her. Jessica and Lucas team up to stop Oliver but to also clear their names. They are racing against the clock. Either they are going to be killed by Oliver or arrested for the murders have already taken place. This leads to a big winner take all showdown and the motives revealed…which are pretty weak, but they needed a motive.
At one point, Oliver crashes through a storefront in his car and I was like: “Where the fuck did I see that before?” They used footage from MARKED FOR DEATH for the finale. I knew it was a Steven Seagal movie… I knew it! I think it would have been cool if the movies collided at the end. Oliver has Lucas right where he wants him and out of nowhere comes Steven Seagal to kick his ass. At this point, Seagal was doing EXIT WOUNDS and he was in decent shape. It would have been great if they got him or at least used shots of him from MARKED FOR DEATH. I guess I’ll just have to watch MARKED FOR DEATH soon to get my fix.
MALEVOLENT attempts to be a thriller with some action and horror elements mixed in. The cast is good and they try their best to make this work, but it has its fair share of issues. The story and conclusion were not very good and the evil killer, Oliver, was not much of a presence. Ballerina did his best but he just wasn’t right for the role. It just didn’t click.
Wuhrer and Phillips worked well together but they didn’t have enough time on screen together. There are moments when the two are interacting and it works but it’s few and far between. The majority of the focus seems to be the police and their suspicions about Lucas rather than the Lucas and Jessica trying to solve the problem. There is not any romantic chemistry either. There were moments when I assumed that it would go in that direction, but they didn’t develop it. Just the facts ma’am.
MALEVOLENT needed more focus. They had the elements to make a good film but it just missed the mark. I recommend it but it will not blow you away.
Rating: 5/10 – Not my Ritchie
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