Malevolent [Netflix] (4/5)

Malevolent is a new Netflix horror movie. This one features an interesting ghost story and takes place in Scotland. Watch it for both the story, several interesting characters, and captivating actors.

Malevolent is one of the better Netflix horror movies and this one features people being haunted. And yes, several ghosts. It seems Netflix is really hitting the mark in October 2018.

Between this movie and the upcoming 10-episode series The Haunting of Hill House by Mike Flanagan, we are Netflix-loving horror fans!

Also read: Our review of the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House >

Brutal and realistic storytelling

The story takes place in the mid-1980s which somehow always improves many stories. Especially since it means mobile phones weren’t readily around.

This enables the story to play out without someone simply calling for help when things go wrong.

Also, the more brutal elements of Malevolent are deliciously simple. If you want to hurt someone, you bash them over the head. No need for anything more elaborate. We’re dealing with people who are either crazy or haunted. Maybe both!

In order for this more realistic approach to work, the actors have to be on point, and they really are.

Florence Pugh is the main lead as Angela. The possibly clairvoyant (and possibly insane) sister, who works with her brother, Jackson, in a “Ghostbusting” business.

Their final client in Malevolent is Mrs. Green, who is portrayed by the brilliant Celia Imrie. She often plays more comedic roles alongside the biggest British actors. She was actually also in Star Words: The Phantom Menace (as Fighter Pilot Bravo 5).

And in Malevolent she is anything but funny. Instead, she’s a broken woman that carries both sorrow and secrets.

The ending of Malevolent

In case anyone is wondering about the ending, we’ve decided to include a spoiler here. This isn’t exactly an “ending of Malevolent explained” but rather a commentary on the ending.

*SPOILER* – Continue reading below the image to avoid spoilers

The ending of Malevolent is very heartbreaking in many ways because yes, the brother does die. When Angela sees her brother, Jackson, outside the haunted old foster home, she immediately realizes that he’s a ghost.

For one, he doesn’t seem to know what’s going on. Secondly, his mouth is no longer sewn shut and he’s simply looking for his girlfriend and seems a little confused.

So who is standing next to Angela in the hospital at the end? Well, our guess is that it is, in fact, her brother. However, it could also be her mother. After all, the siblings’ mother did also have “the gift” and she appeared before Jackson at the house.

It could be either, but from the way the story is told, there’s room to believe both options.

Netflix horror movie hit

Malevolent was directed by Icelandic director Olaf de Fleur Johannesson (he only uses Olaf de Fleur here). I don’t think I’ve seen any of his other films, but he certainly managed to intrigue me with this one.

The screenplay was written by Ben Ketai and Eva Konstantopoulos. It’s based on the novel Hush by Eva Konstantopoulos, who has written her first feature film screenplay for this movie.

If the name Ben Katei is familiar, it may be because he also co-wrote the scripts for The Forest and Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word. Also, he co-wrote the sequel for The Strangers that came out earlier this year with the title The Strangers: Prey at Night.

If you like stories featuring ghosts and want a movie that relies on a good story rather than CGI effects, then Malevolent is an excellent choice!

Malevolent is out on Netflix worldwide now!

Details

Director: Olaf de Fleur
Writers: Ben Ketai, Eva Konstantopoulos
Cast: Florence Pugh, Celia Imrie, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Scott Chambers, Georgina Bevan

Plot

Siblings Jackson and Angela run a profitable ghostbusting racket; swindling the bereaved with fake detection equipment and Angela’s paranormal ‘visions’. Hired to investigate a haunted old foster home, the team uncover its terrifying past: young girls brutally slaughtered, mouths stitched shut; silenced by a sadistic killer. And Angela’s on the edge – sleepless, strung out and losing her mind, no longer certain what’s actually real; convinced she hears the girls crying out to her from the darkness… But supernatural terrors are the least of their problems when they discover the very real evil lurking in the isolated house.