![]() ![]() ![]() While stopping short of reaching deleted Event Horizon footage levels, the trip through the station brought back memories of Steven Kostanski's The Void(2016), a film I very much enjoyed. The remake trades in many of the effective psychological scares of its predecessor for a massive increase of gore and horrific imagery, most of which is unleashed in the final 20 minutes. In contrast, Malum saves its best scares for the third act, where the film dives much deeper into The Flock of the Low God's plan for Jessica and the exploration of the police precinct-turned 7th circle of hell. “…trades in many of the effective psychological scares of its predecessor for a massive increase of gore…” ![]() Although a solid movie through and through, the escalation from a few objects moving about on their own to full blown hellish hallucinations is where the film really found its scary sweet spot. Last Shift succeeded as a creepy-as-hell psychological slow burn terror that benefitted greatly from its low budget. While the plot is nearly identical, sometimes right down to the dialogue and pacing, what makes each of them incredibly effective horror films differs wildly. It will be inevitable for those who have seen Last Shift to compare and contrast the 2014 film with this new iteration as every minute unfolds. The first two acts of Malum are closer to a shot-for-shot remake of Last Shift than it is to whole new vison. Gaps in the story that do need to be filled are done so via a combination of snuff films straight out of the Sinister playbook and old interrogation tapes.ġ0 Underrated 80s Slashers You Might Have Missed We fear the unknown, and Malum, in the spirit of its predecessor, tells you just enough to follow along and leaves the rest ambiguous, a choice I appreciated. I'm not sure if Malum is a biblical demon or not, but the choice of a lesser or completely unknown deity parallels with the film's lack of desire to spell out everything that's happening in all-caps. The latter I'm sure is in no part due to the existence of Hereditary. ![]() The brutality of its members and their wicked swag (white sacks with bloody symbols smeared on) really separate it from the more cartoonish cults we typically get.īonus points are in order for co-writer Scott Poiley throwing Satan and Last Shift‘s Payman in the recycling bin for a different demon choice. All horror cults considered, The Flock of the Low God may be one of the scarier ones of the bunch. We are spared much of the “preacher on the mound” dialogue, and there are no “demon birthing from a non-consenting victim” scenes to be had. Horror involving demonic cults tends to fall into the same trope traps over and over, something Malum thankfully manages to evade. DiBlasi and his returning crew from Last Shift master the use of a creepy environment once again, turning the abandoned police station into an atmospheric house of horrors. There's aren't many feel-good moments to be found here, if there are any at all, gifting us a truly refreshing return to nihilism in a genre that has trended towards wanting to make audiences cheer more than scream. Beginning with the newcomers to the scene, Malum delivers an unrelenting 92 minutes of horror. Malum is bound to play wildly different for the two types of audiences who will watch it – those who have seen Last Shift, and those who haven't. “ Malum delivers an unrelenting 92 minutes of horror.” The cult didn't forget the anniversary, and as a result, Jessica's world devolves into a total hellscape where the lines of reality are blurred as evil relentlessly infiltrates the halls of the abandoned station. Determined to learn the real story behind her father's death, Jessica volunteers for the last shift at the precinct, hoping to discover the truth. In a bizarre twist of fate, the captain snapped shortly thereafter, murdering multiple police officers in the station before taking his own life. Captain Loren rescued three girls as the cult was in the process of ritualistically murdering them and was hailed as a hero for it. Exactly year prior, Jessica‘s father and police Captain Will Loren (Eric Olson) arrested three members of the “Flock of the Low God” death cult, including leader John Malum (Chaney Morrow). A re-imagining of his 2014 feature Last Shift, Malum follows rookie police officer Jessica Loren (Jessica Sula) on her first shift on duty, guarding a decommissioned police station on it's final night of service. Writer/Director Anthony DiBlasi returns to a horror story very familiar to him in 2023's Malum. ![]()
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