The ghost story premise of fraudulent investigators encountering genuine supernatural phenomena is a potent one. Malevolent, directed by Olaf de Fleur, takes this well-worn formula and sets it in a very bleak Scottish context where the trauma of the past is simply not going to be buried. It works very well as a horror film, though it does at times wobble between the more conventional haunted house territory and the genuinely disturbing.

Set in 1986, the film follows Angela (Florence Pugh) and her brother Jackson (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), who make their money by going round to grieving homeowners and convincing them they can communicate with the dead. It’s a fairly sophisticated con, involving recording equipment, a performance and Angela’s so-called psychic powers. Jackson’s mounting debts mean they have no option but to take on a very lucrative job at a remote former orphanage where the owner, Mrs Green (Celia Imrie), is apparently being haunted by the voices of the murdered children.

Malevolent is in full swing now. The location is a perfect setting for the kind of supernatural horror we’re after: a run-down building with long dark corridors, complete silence and a very unpleasant past. De Fleur is very much a man of the subtle, and the early scenes are excellent at creating that sense of dread without any need for a jump scare. You can absolutely feel that Angela is being watched, even when there’s no actual sight of her.

Florence Pugh gives by far the film’s most convincing performance, with real emotional range and nuance. Her performance as Angela (the vulnerable, increasingly uncertain woman) is absolutely convincing. Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Jackson is less compelling, though his self-interest and desperation are evident and do drive the story forward. Celia Imrie is absolutely terrifying as Mrs Green.

The problem comes in when the film starts to show its teeth. What starts as a fairly standard supernatural mystery takes a distinctly more brutal turn, and while that shift is certainly a surprise, it also completely undermines the atmosphere the first half so carefully established. Some later developments feel rushed, and the script makes several interesting avenues completely irrelevant.

Despite that, it’s a film that will appeal to genre fans. The Scottish locations are atmospheric, the acting is generally good, and the story is willing to go slightly disturbing when it needs to.

Malevolent doesn’t do anything new in the haunted house genre, and its limitations are clear from the outset. It’s a fairly competent horror film, though, with a reasonably good atmosphere and, at times, genuinely creepy moments. A three-star rating feels about right. It’s an atmospheric, occasionally disturbing piece of cinema which just doesn’t quite live up to what you might have hoped for.

Similar Movies

1. The Awakening (2011) – A sceptical ghost investigator visits a boarding school to expose a supposed haunting, only to encounter something she cannot explain.

2. The Others (2001) – A mother and her two children live in an isolated country house where increasingly disturbing supernatural occurrences suggest they are not alone.

3. The Orphanage (2007) – A woman returns to the orphanage where she grew up, only for her young son’s disappearance to uncover disturbing secrets about the building’s past.

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