Malevolent

(spoiler free)

Florence Pugh, who first came to our attention in the fantastic period drama ‘Lady Macbeth’ is centre stage once again in new Netflix Original Film, ‘Malevolent’. She stars as one half of a brother sister duo who fake paranormal communication in order to extort those seeking an encounter with or peace from spirits they believe are present. However, these presences begin to feel more and more real for this pair and their team with one case in particular increasingly developing into something far more sinister than they ever expected.

The narrative here comes courtesy of seasoned horror writer Ben Ketai whose work has already graced the silver screen earlier this year with sequel ‘The Strangers: Prey at Night’. Whilst not quite as fun or atmospheric as said sequel he still presents an intriguing enough story in ‘Malevolent’, albeit featuring quite a few horror cliches. The horror elements aren’t overly scary with it being jumpy more that terrifying, however it doesn’t rely on the jump scare technique too much and there are some unnerving moments achieved. As the film creeps through its relatively short running time it quickly descends into something far more threatening which truly earns ‘Malevolent’ its horror status. With a bigger budget certainly more could have been achieved but director Olaf de Fleur Johannesson does well using practical effects and clever camera and editing techniques to create the most tension and horror possible without reducing the quality of the picture.

Ketai sets up his group of characters well but doesn’t really do much with them, as a result the young group of performers don’t have a whole lot to work with but nonetheless come across well. Pugh confidently leads the young cast who have a good level of chemistry and show promise. We’ve seen these performers deliver in their previous roles; Pugh’s unforgettable turn in ‘Lady Macbeth’ and Scott Chamber’s impressive work in ‘Chicken’ immediately spring to mind. Therefore it’s a shame that their characters are just a little underwritten here which does prevent them from fully excelling despite their obvious efforts. Aside from the younger cast the film also features better known stars James Cosmo and Celia Imrie. The former has a blink and you’ll miss it part but makes the most of the it creating one of the films best scenes. Whereas, Imrie has a larger role and brings a good presence to the film giving a solid performance somewhat against the grain of her usual characters which makes for an engaging watch.

‘Malevolent’ is solid B-movie horror, it’s got great foundations in terms of its writing, setting and performances but fails to fully build on these to elevate itself into anything more remarkable. Nonetheless, it’s executed methodically and shows great potential for all those involved. With further fun or horror injected into the screenplay it would have been more memorable however ‘Malevolent’ still offers a worthwhile aside into the genre with enough to offer to warrant a watch.

Written by Hamish Calvert

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Rating – 6/10

Question: What is your favourite Netflix horror film?
(Leave your answers in the comments section below!)

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