“Malevolent” is a film that isn’t smart, but it is smarter than most big-name blockbusters that will overshadow it at the box office—I’m looking at you DC and Star Wars. The film is a horror movie with an interesting premise that follows Florence Pugh and her brother, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, as they go about their ruse as fake paranormal investigators.

One of the many “twists” in this film is that these fake paranormal investigators ultimately encounter a real paranormal encounter, although anyone with a working brain could see this coming just by opening their eyes.  The driving forces of engagement in this film are the acting, the music and the atmosphere.

In particular, the acting by everyone involved is excellent and will generate some investment in characters that lesser actors would struggle to generate.

But the great acting in this film, unfortunately, serves only as patch work over a plot full of twists that come at you louder than a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant.

Perhaps you are thinking that the twists in this movie can’t be that obvious. Here’s an example: the investigative team is sent out to a mansion where a dozen-or-so  orphans had their mouths sewn shut and were killed by a serial killer. This serial killer was the son of the woman who has contacted the investigative team.

During our first encounter with this woman who has employed them, she persistently tells members of the team to either “shut up,” “be quiet,” or “I hear voices of the girls.” If this doesn’t hit you over the head harder than a  sledgehammer to signal that she is the one who sewed their mouths shut, then you will probably thoroughly enjoy this movie.

In some regards, these sections almost seem like a parody. The twists, and there are multiple, in this movie are propelled by logic that is third rate at best.  

In another section, all three of the surviving characters are incapacitated in a car accident on the property, yet the killer who is pursuing them decides to leave two of them perfectly alive and unwatched on his lawn.  And then when these two characters come to save the day, he acts surprised—as if this wasn’t going to happen.

The film is about as stupid as the end 40-minute fight scene in “Man of Steel.” And this stupidity is unfortunate because the acting is top notch.  

There are also scenes in this film that are nicely shot and will stick with you after watching, such as the lip sewing sequence. This sequence is great, but then you remember the logic that has propelled this scene and your excitement dwindles to a soft whimper.

My best advice for enjoyment of this film is when you press play: just unplug your brain- trust me.

Rating: 5.41/10