Malevolent

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.

Malevolent, which just premiered on Netflix, is about a phony ghost-hunting crew in the '80s who encounter a real haunted house. I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews for this. Thought it wasn't half bad myself. Sure, it doesn't really do anything new and the story and direction is average, emphasis on AVERAGE. This is a competent film, and I was entertained enough for the running time. The cast is game and sells this. Also, there are a couple of interesting song choices that did catch me by surprise and added to the creepiness.

Florence Pugh always delivers. You any fault her as an actress, she's just so natural and she's does a great American accent.

The same cannot be said for Ben Lloyd Hughes. His American accent comes & goes (not helped by the somewhat clunky script he has) & he really just isn't leading man material. Albeit very much a support to Florence anyways but he's just not very good. I realise his character is meant to be somewhat unlikeable but he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Maybe he's a better actor than I am giving him credit for on that basis alone.

I know from the music and the Walkman / phone / phishing machine etc that this is set in the 80's but it doesn't have an 80's feel to it...it's like they are just using retro items...can't quite explain it...doesn't have the feel.of.a different era.

But I am giving it 8 stars cos I can't fault Florence!

A simple idea but easily to determine how it's going to end. Good acting but sometimes a bit stiff. Some scenes were gruesome but overall an ok 'ghost' story if you have a spare hour or so to watch it. Nothing to keep you on the edge of your seat.

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.