Movie Roundup: The Silence, Bedevilled, and Return of the Living Dead 3

The Silence (2013)
The title "The Silence" actually works very well to describe the movie itself, as it is one of my favorite kinds of movies to watch sometimes - a slow and methodical but incredibly powerful drama. This tale out of Germany is about young girl who goes missing, her abandoned bicycle found in the exact same spot that another girl was raped and murdered 23 years ago. The movie focuses on how this story affects all involved - the police officers who handled both cases, and the parents of both girls - but most interestingly, it follows one of the men who was involved in the first murder, and his hidden past and relationship with a pedophile buddy who is trying to draw him out. This very much reminded me of movies like Seven Days or Mystic River, being a drama with very dark themes but one that handles those same subjects with dignity and intelligence. The Silence is not graphic, nor overly disturbing but it still has power and raises some interesting questions. Definitely one that stuck with me for a couple days after watching it.

Bedevilled (2010)

The description given for Bedevilled was interesting enough to make me watch it, but it really undermines what the movie ends up being. A woman from Seoul goes to visit a childhood friend on a small island, where the inhabitants' isolation apparently allows them to do whatever the hell they want. There are only about 10 people on the island and they have singled out the very kind Bok-nam for relentless abuse. Her husband beats her, his brother rapes her, and the group of older woman call her a whore and treat her like the island's personal slave. Of course, something horrible happens to push Bok-nam over the edge and she takes wonderful bloody revenge. I really loved this movie, mostly because of the way the characters were presented. Bok-nam's friend was the most frustrating, however, considering her complete inability to stand up against the obvious and rampant abuse of Bok-nam. By the end, her character still doesn't seem to have learned her lesson which is why it pissed me off that she lived and Bok-nam didn't... oops, spoiler. Nonetheless, Bedevilled offers an engaging story that you watch not so much for the promise of Bok-nam being awesome with a sickle (which she is), but for the way it presents its characters and how the actors portray them. Check this one out for sure.

Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)
This has been an interesting series of films so far. Return of the Living Dead was fucking awesome; Return of the Living Dead 2 was pretty good but mostly was exactly the same as the first film; and now Return of the Living Dead 3 is something completely different but still equally enjoyable. What first makes me excited is that the star of this shindig is Melinda Clarke - most recognizable to me from a very memorable performance as Nandi on an episode of Firefly. There is the same story with Trioxin being the catalyst to bringing the dead back to life, but beyond that, ROTLD3 goes much deeper. It refuses the comedic element for something more serious and even a bit romantic, as two star-crossed lovers try to deal with the girl slowly turning into a flesh-eating, self-mutilating zombie. That element was really cool to watch, especially when Julie comes out in full gear near the end. Would love to try to recreate that for a Halloween costume. Anyway, though I missed the laugh-out-loud aspect that I've come to know from the series, I liked the different route that ROTLD3 took and the smart way that it handled that change in pace and tone. The acting is very good and there are even some memorably disgusting zombies, so they didn't completely lose the horror element. This one is a thumbs up for sure.