Malicious [2023] – TUBI Review (2/5)

MALICIOUS (2023) is a new Home Invasion Thriller on TUBI, Prime Video, and Vudu Free. A revenge story that gets quite violent and has a few good twists along the way. Read our full Malicious movie review here!

MALICIOUS (2023) on TUBI is a thriller with a Home Invasion plot. It’s also out on Prime Video and Vudu Free, so you can watch it on a few platforms now. Most of the movie plays out in one location and while there is quite a bit of dialogue, the violence is what carries the story forward.

With a runtime of 1 hour and 31 minutes, it doesn’t run for too long, but it could still have been tighter. Still, it’s one of the better home invasion thrillers due to its twists – you just have to ignore the elements that aren’t working.

Continue reading our Malicious movie review below. Find it on TUBI, Prime Video, and Vudu Free now.

Classic home invasion setting

In many ways, Malicious is a classic home invasion setting though with two adults and a teen girl who are not in a harmonious relationship. The McCabe family’s weekend getaway is supposed to be relaxing, but wife Lauren and daughter Erin are on edge and have issues with the patriarch.

He is Governor William McCabe, a supposedly respected politician, who is obviously a creep. Abusive and controlling towards his wife, and very creepy when it comes to his stepdaughter.

What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation – for William, anyway – takes a dramatic turn, when a man shows up at their rental vacation spot. Something is off with this buff guy, but the two female family members are welcoming the added male presence.

Not surprising with how we’ve seen the Governor acting. However, before too long, all three are bound and gagged together, while the man starts asking William uncomfortable questions. All while punishing the wife and stepdaughter, if he doesn’t reply.

Good twists, bad realism

While Malicious has quite a few good twists, it serves them up a bit heavy-handed. Once everything is explained, we see flashbacks to previous scenes in black and white, to help ensure that we [the audience] can keep up.

I get that it can be necessary, and a few of these flashbacks come with added details. It could’ve been more elegant, but I do appreciate the twists overall. There are a few additional characters that appear but are never fully explained. A bit strange when the extra effort is made to explain the straightforward twists!

And while I realize I’m nitpicking in this next part, I need to address it when it ruins the illusion for me; The cooking scenes!

There’s a whole thing with dinner being made which consists of two things; Brussels sprouts getting chopped up into mush and a few pots on the stove and the table. Oh, and also the villain commenting on how good it smells in the house.

When the food is finally eaten, the brussels sprouts are whole and eaten with just a steak. This leaves me with two questions that ruin all realism; First, what happened to all the other pots and the mushed-up brussel sprouts? Second, that steak must have been cooked just before eaten, so only brussels sprouts were cooking.

Anyone who knows anything about brussel sprouts will tell you that whether you like the taste or not, it smells like farts when cooking. So, nothing about the whole cooking ordeal (which takes up quite a few scenes) makes any sense to me.

Admittedly, this is my pet peeve, but I imagine it will be for anyone for cooks!

Watch Malicious on TUBI now!

John Fallon is the writer and director of Malicious. He also plays a small role as one of the two other people who also show up at the vacation home. The buff stranger, who ends up getting the family bound and gagged on the sofa, is portrayed by Kevin Interdonato, who is also the co-writer.

Apart from a few details left unexplained, completely helpless cooking scenes, and over-explained twists, I enjoyed this movie. I know my “issues” with it may sound overwhelming, but the acting worked well for me. In a story as character-driven as this, it matters more.

Despite being low-budget, Malicious has a lot going for it. The make-up and practical effects regarding blood and bruising aren’t among those things though. For a violent revenge movie, this is a shame as it also ruins the illusion.

Still, I think anyone who enjoys home invasion and revenge stories should check it out. Especially since it can be watched for free, and is worth your time.

Malicious (2023) was released on Tubi, Prime Video, and VUDU Free in January 2024. It is also possible to rent or buy it digitally.

Details

Director: John Fallon
Screenwriters: John Fallon, Kevin Interdonato
Cast: Kevin Interdonato, Nick Baillie, Melissa Anschutz, Alix Lane, John Fallon, Danilo Rocha