I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I absolutely love horror movies and Netflix has upped their catalog this year which makes me giddy feeling like Christmas came early.
My first watch of Netflix Originals this month is Malevolent. If you are planning to watch it be wary that this is NOT spoiler free.
The movie takes places in 1986 Glasgow and centers around a brother-sister duo who scam people into believing that they can cleanse their homes of spirits that may be haunting them.
The dynamic the two have including their history (their mother gouged her eyes out claiming to hear voices in her head and not being able to take it anymore) provides an interesting look at the two. Angela, the sister plays the role of the ‘psychic’ while her brother is the one to set up most of their gigs. Jackson, the brother, is tied up in some shady dealing with some people that is not explained or explored but it is enough to have his girlfriend wanting to run away back to London and away from all of it the moment she knows they know where they live.
Angela wants to leave the scamming business and continue studying psychology but Jackson convinces her that they need to keep going. After some brutal words said towards Angela and comparing her to their mother, she agrees to take on a gig in an old where three girls were brutally murdered.
At the beginning of the movie, Angela starts having a nosebleed when she experiences a moment in the basement of someone they’re scamming and I love this whole trope of people who pretend to be something they’re not, becoming into that very thing.
I am going to be completely honest, the ‘twist’ (and I use that word lightly here) was predictable and I could tell what was going to happen five minutes into them being at this house. The gore was good, the suspense was okay and the plot could have had a slightly better execution but it was a fun ride none the less. There’s nothing about this movie that really makes it stand out from others but I enjoyed Angela and Jackson’s relationship.
Her constant need to be there for him because “he’s the only thing I have left,” was caring and Jackson’s manipulation of that love was an interesting dynamic to me. Also, the two actors are from the UK and their accents were so good that I thought they were American actors until after when I looked it up (but I am no expert on accents and that’s just my opinion).
This isn’t a movie that I would be clamoring to see again anytime soon, nor it’s really something I would recommend if someone asked what they should watch next. It was a fun ride but not one I would ride again.
Have you seen this? What did you think of it? Any Netflix Originals you recommend?
(originally posted October 2018 on a previous blog that is no longer active)