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...