Les Mauvais Esprits

I really looked forward to Malevolent, particularly when I read the outline and saw that both Celia Imrie and James Cosmo were in it.

The script is a really good one, the plot is clever, and is probably the film's biggest asset, the performances are good, and at least the film manages to surprise you, as you watch it, you think you know exactly the direction the film is moving in, you quickly discover you were wrong.

It is definitely flawed, at times it seems not to make sense, almost as if scenes were cut, but it hangs together well, and after a pretty tame start it transforms into a much grittier, darker film.

Fine performances, Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Florence Pugh were particularly good I thought, Celia Imrie is excellent as always, a great chance to witness just how wonderfully talented and versatile an actress she is, what a difference to her character in Acorn Antiques.

It never looks high budget, but it's an enjoyable watch, 7/10.

While far from being a great example of the genre, this haunted house / survival horror film is saved from banality by two things. Firstly, its sound design, which makes good use of the period setting to build atmosphere through the scratches, clicks and distorted audio of walkie-talkies used by the team of paranormal investigators. But secondly, and most importantly, by strong performances from Florence Pugh and Celia Imrie (who is able to bring depth and feeling to a character that could have been a paper cutout in the hands of a less skilled actor). The plot also teases at some parallels between the personalities and motivations of these two characters, both in their relationships with their mothers and their desperation to hold onto what remains of their families.

Maybe I don't expect to see a Citizen Cane level movie when I am watching a Netflix horror film. Some of the reviews make it seem like they watched a different movie. It is a decent horror movie. It won't blow you away, but the story is original enough and acting good enough that it is an enjoyable movie to watch. It's on Netflix give it a shot.

Starts out good enough. Your average horror film. Decent actors, Ok plot. a little bit of Occulus mixed with Grave encounters and other films.

And then, the ending. Wtf. I can't find any words for it. It is truly horrible. How did they not come up with anything better?

Minor spoilers ahead:

1. They show way (waay) to much. Not a scary ending. 2. Elliot can apparently survive anything.

In mid-eighties Glasgow brother and sister, Jackson and Angela Sayers, run a fake ghost busting service. They, and a couple of associates turn up with various impressive looking pieces of equipment and Angela, with the 'gift' inherited from her late mother persuades the ghosts to leave. On their latest job she thinks she really saw something. Their next job takes them to a large country house which was once an orphanage. Owner, Mrs Green, tells them it is haunted by the ghosts of girls murdered by her son many years before. Jackson sees it as a great opportunity to make a quick buck to pay off his debts but things soon look more scary; Angela sees the girls, with their mouths sown shut and one of them is hurt in an accident... things will soon get much more dangerous for them.

This isn't a great film but it is solid enough. There is a decent twist and the end is suitably disturbing, and quite violent. The setting is good although I'm not sure why we are told it is set in the eighties as it doesn't really have a feel of that time; it could have been set anytime in the last forty years from what we see. The cast is impressive; Florence Pugh is great as Angela, I've yet to see her not impress; Ben Lloyd-Hughes is solid as Jackson and Celia Imrie is impressive as Mrs. Greene. The scenes in the house are nicely creepy and there are some decent jump scares. Overall this isn't a classic and those involved have starred in better things; however if you want a ninety minute horror film you could do a lot worse.