This movie was actually okay, but not very scary.
I love a great backstory which this movie does not provide, this is more of a gore type of movie.
This movie left me with alot of questions and thoughts.
Spoilers ahead :)
1. I was hoping for a flashback type of thing to actually see what happened to the girls
2. Same thing with the mother, what exactly did she see that made her kill herself?
3. Where was Mrs.Green's son (Herman) the whole while when they were going through the house, I suspect he was in the east wing somewhere based on Mrs.Green's reaction when they headed that way.
4. The girls ghosts still had scars and such, but when we saw Jackson's ghost he wasn't beaten up at all. Did he pass peacefully? How? What was the whole thing with the shed about, how could he pass peacefully if murdered like this??
5. How the actual heck did Elliot survive all of that?? First he breaks his ankle, then the car crash, then he gets hit with a shovel, crawls his way back to the house, gets hit by whatever object Mrs Green was holding, and in the end he was still alive?
The movie wasn't all that slow if i'm being honest and I enjoy that but I would really like to know more of the backstory!
282 Reviews
Decent horror flick, hampered by tepid pacing, buoyed by Florence Pugh.
msghall6 October 2018
There were moments during this horror flick where I was fully engaged but then found myself struggling to keep interested. The pace is uneven and the dialog stiff and unnatural. A big part of the problem is actor Ben Lloyd-Hughes. Perhaps it's the fault of the filmmakers for making this Brit actor an American caritcature, cartoonish in his immorality, bullying with denim shirt sleeves rolled up like a 50's Kerouac character, but most of the fault likes with the actor himself. Lloyd-Hughes prefers bludgeoning the viewer instead of giving us muted shades. On the other hand, Florence Pugh is a revelation. Whereas Lloyd-Hughes's portrayal lacks subtlety, Pugh is all nuance. Silent through much of the movie, the director lets Pugh's face tell the story. She has a way of barely moving her facial muscles to convey a great deal. At one point early on, a friend asks a newly-haunted Angela if "she's on something." Her reaction perfectly captures that look narcotic drugs can bring to a person; it leaves the viewer with no doubt to her changing state of mind. A wonderful moment. As for the film itself, it avoids many of the genre's repetitious gimmicks, relying on our imagination to fill in the blanks. For that alone, and Pugh's remarkable performance, I enjoyed "Malevolent," despite the lagging moments, weak dialog and Ben Lloyd-Hughes.
Almost.
cole-edwards-118 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Cinematography was decent, makeup was good, Florence Pugh and Celia Imrie were wonderful to watch, but the writing and directing overall lacked in a big way. When the writer and director don't respect their characters enough to give them basic common sense there's a problem...
For example if you have the jump on the maniacal duo obviously brutalizing your hopeful girlfriend maybe don't announce your presence right when you get within striking distance, maybe just strike. And if you manage to escape with all your friends alive and even manage to drive through Tammy the friendly ghost (and take out the gardener, that's who that was right?), maybe don't loose control of your car for literally no reason at all. Give your characters more credit. Your audience will thank you.
And ghost girls, ya'll really need to pull your weight. Obviously you had stake in this scenario and had the ability to exact revenge at any point, so why the heck did this storyline even need to take place?!
I think the most disappointing aspect of this film was the character development. There was so much potential for a great story here and I felt that it was blatantly squandered. There isn't a character in this film that underwent more development than a naming and a brief introduction to their role (and sometimes that's not even clear). Even in regard to the villain the most development that took place was when she implied she was the villain (wayyyyyyy to early).
Along with not building characters there was very little suspense building as well. In fact while the characters seem to know a lot about the grim past they are stepping into the audience is given very little information on said past and the film never fully delivers on that aspect of the story either.
I love horror (I've had the opportunity to teach critical analysis courses on the horror genre) and it kills me when a fun idea comes along (coupled with pretty good acting) and it's botched due to a lazy execution, and that was the problem with Malevolent. It was lazy.
Overall, fun watch, but amature in a genre that doesn't demand a whole lot of its audience anyway. Even if you're an expert at suspending belief, you may find yourself celebrating the much deserved misfortune of these characters suffer throughout the film. Not even my yelling, "WAY TO ANNOUNCE YOUR PRESENCE YOU DESERVE TO HAVE YOUR MOUTH SEWN SHUT!" Could wake the moderate viewers who had slipped into deep slumbers by about 20 minutes in. Folks who worked on this project, keep going, you're almost there.
For example if you have the jump on the maniacal duo obviously brutalizing your hopeful girlfriend maybe don't announce your presence right when you get within striking distance, maybe just strike. And if you manage to escape with all your friends alive and even manage to drive through Tammy the friendly ghost (and take out the gardener, that's who that was right?), maybe don't loose control of your car for literally no reason at all. Give your characters more credit. Your audience will thank you.
And ghost girls, ya'll really need to pull your weight. Obviously you had stake in this scenario and had the ability to exact revenge at any point, so why the heck did this storyline even need to take place?!
I think the most disappointing aspect of this film was the character development. There was so much potential for a great story here and I felt that it was blatantly squandered. There isn't a character in this film that underwent more development than a naming and a brief introduction to their role (and sometimes that's not even clear). Even in regard to the villain the most development that took place was when she implied she was the villain (wayyyyyyy to early).
Along with not building characters there was very little suspense building as well. In fact while the characters seem to know a lot about the grim past they are stepping into the audience is given very little information on said past and the film never fully delivers on that aspect of the story either.
I love horror (I've had the opportunity to teach critical analysis courses on the horror genre) and it kills me when a fun idea comes along (coupled with pretty good acting) and it's botched due to a lazy execution, and that was the problem with Malevolent. It was lazy.
Overall, fun watch, but amature in a genre that doesn't demand a whole lot of its audience anyway. Even if you're an expert at suspending belief, you may find yourself celebrating the much deserved misfortune of these characters suffer throughout the film. Not even my yelling, "WAY TO ANNOUNCE YOUR PRESENCE YOU DESERVE TO HAVE YOUR MOUTH SEWN SHUT!" Could wake the moderate viewers who had slipped into deep slumbers by about 20 minutes in. Folks who worked on this project, keep going, you're almost there.
Had potential but annoying bad in the second half
De-da-759367 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This film had all the ingredients for success. But the complete lack of urgency of the characters will have you giving out to your telly. Sure, I mean some real stupidity at the end there. The case of the character having an in-depth, heartfelt conversion with another victim instead of finishing off the bad one. Knowing full well the bad one was right be hide him. You can guess what happens next. The female lead having moments of reflection as she knows her brother is in a bad spot and the bad lot are looking for her. Boggles the mind so it does. Did they bother to screen test this??
The purpose of a film is the suspension of disbelief. In other words believable enough to keep you entertained. This fails miserably in the second half. Avoid the frustration. Watch something else.
The purpose of a film is the suspension of disbelief. In other words believable enough to keep you entertained. This fails miserably in the second half. Avoid the frustration. Watch something else.
Good start, bad ending
greatbigdumb5 October 2018
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.
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.
Disappointing.
hawkknight88-17 January 2019
It was a decent plot. Acting was great. I thought the cinematography was impressive.
But the absolute idiocy of the characters later in the movie is just too frustrating. They move slowly, and they make illogical decisions. I thought the ending was really lackluster. And the use of jump scares a few times came off as cheap.
But the absolute idiocy of the characters later in the movie is just too frustrating. They move slowly, and they make illogical decisions. I thought the ending was really lackluster. And the use of jump scares a few times came off as cheap.
I am not certain what movie others watched. This is a decent horror movie.
the_hawk86 October 2018
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.
Did I fall asleep?
jenniferlynn-4955521 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Seriously, did I? After the guy fell through the hole, grandma started acting weird, Beth is gone and then there is a car accident where an old man was hit. Who was that guy anyhow? At the end when the broken ankle guy has a chance to save the day, he has two choices, either untie the girl quickly and escape or take out grandma. He does neither, he spends it making googly eyes with small talk, so grandma gets him. She has what looks like a blade from a paper cutting machine and she's repeatedly hitting him with it. We never see him so you assume he's getting jacked up but later we see no wounds from that. I know he had a rough day but he got over powered quite quickly by her. Anyway, it was not what I expected and not in a good way. It could have had better delivery. It was very slow and the scenes in the first half, well, most of it seemed unnecessary. Also, it was confusing when she did see stuff all while pretending to see stuff. If it was a new gift, wouldn't she have had more emotion with this new found sight? I would have freaked out. It fell flat. The brothers story was half told as well. I will give it a 3 because to be honest, the scene before the title actually creeped me out and I did jump. Not because of a loud noise either, it was truly scary, which led me down the path of thinking finally, a good scary movie! Sadly, another disappointment in the horror genre.
A rather good watch, despite its obvious flaws.
Sleepin_Dragon10 October 2018
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.
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.
Ugh, these Netflix originals!
Aaron137522 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I saw the Netflix film, The Ritual, a while back and it was a rather good horror film. I've watched a couple of others, not so much. This one falls into the latter category as once again something promising is wasted due to simply dreadful choices and bad plot twists. Seriously, I was hoping for a creepy ghost story, with perhaps a demon being present, not another in a long line of ghost films where the ghosts are poor lost souls who have been wronged. So the rather good setting of the house that also served as a schoolhouse is completely wasted on this stupid, slow moving film!
The story starts out with a brother and sister who like to con people by making them think that they are helping guide spirits to the other side. Well, many subplots later the two go to a house along with a tech geek and the brother's fiance or something to try and help this old woman who is having trouble with ghostly children. Of course, it is not the children who are the problem, but rather the old woman and her son who like sewing mouths shut while someone moves as slowly as possible to the rescue!
The only good thing this movie did was set the film in the 1980's because it would be very difficult for the brother and sister to con people in this day and age of the internet. Other than that it went in the wrong direction too many times. So many subplots that went nowhere such as the gambling one, the grandfather one, and the sister being in school for some degree. We finally get to the house where the ghost action is rushed in record fashion and we cut right to the culprit being the old woman and her son who somehow isn't in prison or something.
So, no, not going to be able to say this Netflix film was all that good. The settings (the date and the schoolhouse) are the only positives of this one. With a title like Malevolent I was sure this one would have something demonic about it, but it is another in a long line of ghosts trying to get their message across haunting film. The main characters could have easily escaped numerous times but one tends to forget how to drive during these situations and do not get me started on how slowly that sister moved while her brother is getting his mouth sewn shut pointlessly as they kill him afterwards. Why not just kill him? The movie did dispel the horror movie person with an injured ankle is useless thing though...
The story starts out with a brother and sister who like to con people by making them think that they are helping guide spirits to the other side. Well, many subplots later the two go to a house along with a tech geek and the brother's fiance or something to try and help this old woman who is having trouble with ghostly children. Of course, it is not the children who are the problem, but rather the old woman and her son who like sewing mouths shut while someone moves as slowly as possible to the rescue!
The only good thing this movie did was set the film in the 1980's because it would be very difficult for the brother and sister to con people in this day and age of the internet. Other than that it went in the wrong direction too many times. So many subplots that went nowhere such as the gambling one, the grandfather one, and the sister being in school for some degree. We finally get to the house where the ghost action is rushed in record fashion and we cut right to the culprit being the old woman and her son who somehow isn't in prison or something.
So, no, not going to be able to say this Netflix film was all that good. The settings (the date and the schoolhouse) are the only positives of this one. With a title like Malevolent I was sure this one would have something demonic about it, but it is another in a long line of ghosts trying to get their message across haunting film. The main characters could have easily escaped numerous times but one tends to forget how to drive during these situations and do not get me started on how slowly that sister moved while her brother is getting his mouth sewn shut pointlessly as they kill him afterwards. Why not just kill him? The movie did dispel the horror movie person with an injured ankle is useless thing though...
Don't understand the bad reviews
Grimsonia19 August 2021
Creepy Indie Thriller
rolbyh200219 November 2021
A group of 20-somethings pretend to cleanse people's houses of evil spirits and demons in order to make some cash. They aren't real believers... until they are. As you can guess, in the course of performing their con, they encounter a house that REALLY does seem to be possessed, and things go badly from there. I thought it was a good edition to the genre.
Potential Squandered
keelejacob8 October 2018
It starts off good enough, with a lot of potential, but falls apart on itself. It seems like there was a lot of thought on the set up, but the ending was kind of thrown together as an after thought. I didn't care about any of the characters, any background they tried to give wasn't explained very well. Watch if you have nothing else to watch.
Malevolent: A real letdown
Platypuschow15 December 2018
Malevolent is a British made Netflix original horror title starring Florence Pugh and is more than a little of a let down.
It tells the story of a brother and sister who run a sham medium racket where they pretend to exorcise houses of spirits but come across something real.
It's been done before but it started promisingly enough, Pugh is a fantastic little actress who I hope goes far, veteran Celia Imrie is on point, the soundtrack/atmosphere works wonders and they even manage to get James Cosmo in for a cameo appearance.
The stars were aligned for this to be a great little film but sadly the creators decided to take the Hollywood horror route of cliches, genericism and lack of originality. It became apparent about half way through that this was going in direction I'd seen too many times before and I was sadly correct.
Malevolent isn't bad it's just exactly the same as hundreds that have come before it.
The Good:
Great soundtrack
Florence Pugh
The Bad:
Mostly recycled
Questions left unanswered
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Horror as a whole needs a reboot
It tells the story of a brother and sister who run a sham medium racket where they pretend to exorcise houses of spirits but come across something real.
It's been done before but it started promisingly enough, Pugh is a fantastic little actress who I hope goes far, veteran Celia Imrie is on point, the soundtrack/atmosphere works wonders and they even manage to get James Cosmo in for a cameo appearance.
The stars were aligned for this to be a great little film but sadly the creators decided to take the Hollywood horror route of cliches, genericism and lack of originality. It became apparent about half way through that this was going in direction I'd seen too many times before and I was sadly correct.
Malevolent isn't bad it's just exactly the same as hundreds that have come before it.
The Good:
Great soundtrack
Florence Pugh
The Bad:
Mostly recycled
Questions left unanswered
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Horror as a whole needs a reboot
Meh
danielmanson17 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This film just didn't do it for me.
Nothing really happens, there's no real urgency from the plot or characters at any point. There's no real scary moments or anything, you are simply watching to see how the ending is. And my word the ending annoyed me: The character (can't remember name) decided in his infinite wisdom to shout at the 2 people torturing the female lead, rather than simply sneak behind and hit/kill them.... like it baffling, what's the point. Just kill them, free her and escape. But no...
Also the main male lead, Jackson was extremely unlikeable from start to finish. Wanted to punch him sometimes.
I've given it a 4/10, purely because I feel like the film is almost there. Acting was good etc, and with alterations, it could have been great. But, there simply wasn't enough there and the ending just wasn't good enough.
Nothing really happens, there's no real urgency from the plot or characters at any point. There's no real scary moments or anything, you are simply watching to see how the ending is. And my word the ending annoyed me: The character (can't remember name) decided in his infinite wisdom to shout at the 2 people torturing the female lead, rather than simply sneak behind and hit/kill them.... like it baffling, what's the point. Just kill them, free her and escape. But no...
Also the main male lead, Jackson was extremely unlikeable from start to finish. Wanted to punch him sometimes.
I've given it a 4/10, purely because I feel like the film is almost there. Acting was good etc, and with alterations, it could have been great. But, there simply wasn't enough there and the ending just wasn't good enough.
Waste of time
jarid67 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This movie showed so much promise. Instead: Boring. Predictable. Characters actions were nonsensical at times. Close to zero character development. I don't think I can even remember who Beth was supposed to be. The film had a decent, albeit typical, spooky start but then treats itself like a crime thriller. A very dumb one. Then it just ends. Some half assed attempt at being like 6th sense or something. If I wanted to regret watching a Netflix flick, I'd just put on Sandler.
Wouldn't say this was great, but definitely not bad
jwwalrath-227-8548728 October 2018
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.
A decent enough haunted house film
Tweekums2 November 2021
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.
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.
The worst kind of failure
ebeckstr-111 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
For the first 60 minutes, while derivative of other such ghost story flicks, Malevolent is reasonably entertaining, with some creepy moments. While not wholly original, I also like the idea of scam artists faking the ability to rid houses of ghosts, but then running into the real thing.
After the first hour, Malevolent pivots, and becomes awash in physical bloodshed - a boring psycho-killer movie, with shades of torture porn.
Thus, the movie is the worst kind of failure, because it starts out as one thing, and with a certain amount of promise, and then, through a complete breakdown of writing and story conception, becomes doubly disappointing for moving so far off the mark. Malevolent is based on a novel, which I will never read, but I'm nonetheless curious as to whether the novel itself suffers the same failng. I am betting it does because the novelist co-wrote the screenplay.
After the first hour, Malevolent pivots, and becomes awash in physical bloodshed - a boring psycho-killer movie, with shades of torture porn.
Thus, the movie is the worst kind of failure, because it starts out as one thing, and with a certain amount of promise, and then, through a complete breakdown of writing and story conception, becomes doubly disappointing for moving so far off the mark. Malevolent is based on a novel, which I will never read, but I'm nonetheless curious as to whether the novel itself suffers the same failng. I am betting it does because the novelist co-wrote the screenplay.
Good horror flick with some flaws
zack_gideon6 October 2018
Overall a good movie. Good lead actress, she will be a star soon. The plot has holes and there's very little background given on any character. That's the main flaw. Also some scenes could have used better setup and writing.
Given that I gave it an 8. The concept is really really good. The direction and cinematography is good. And again the lead actress is a talent. Watch it. I also like the combo of 80's and the vhs recordings. I think with a bigger budget and better backstory/character development this could have been amazing. Either way worth a watch during Halloween :)
Given that I gave it an 8. The concept is really really good. The direction and cinematography is good. And again the lead actress is a talent. Watch it. I also like the combo of 80's and the vhs recordings. I think with a bigger budget and better backstory/character development this could have been amazing. Either way worth a watch during Halloween :)
Different!
jhmoondance5 October 2018
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.
Another Netflix turd
tonymars-630872 April 2021
Netflix presents: just another ghost movie
youngcollind13 December 2021
I imagine the pitch for this film went something like this:
Director: I want to make a ghost movie!
Executive: Cool! What are you gonna do to make it stand out from every other ghost movie?
Director: Nothing!
Executive: We're in!
What results is a complete paint-by-numbers haunting film. Granted it eventually provides a twist, but it's about as shocking as the reveal at the end of each Scooby Doo episode. If this isn't literally the first horror film you've ever seen, you'll know exactly where it's going at every turn.
That being said, I often find with these straight to Netflix movies that even when they're sub-par, they still have enough backing that they rarely reach student film levels of bad. For all it's predictability, the movie looks good from it's production design to it's effects, and all the performances are on point for the genre. They even roped in a young Florence Pugh right before her career ascended above this level of mediocrity.
Director: I want to make a ghost movie!
Executive: Cool! What are you gonna do to make it stand out from every other ghost movie?
Director: Nothing!
Executive: We're in!
What results is a complete paint-by-numbers haunting film. Granted it eventually provides a twist, but it's about as shocking as the reveal at the end of each Scooby Doo episode. If this isn't literally the first horror film you've ever seen, you'll know exactly where it's going at every turn.
That being said, I often find with these straight to Netflix movies that even when they're sub-par, they still have enough backing that they rarely reach student film levels of bad. For all it's predictability, the movie looks good from it's production design to it's effects, and all the performances are on point for the genre. They even roped in a young Florence Pugh right before her career ascended above this level of mediocrity.
See also
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