Malevolent (2018) surprised me. A pleasant surprise. Netflix is not necessarily known for its bone-chilling, goosebump-enducing original horrors. You just need to think of The Open House and Tau to understand this. But every now and then they seem to pick up a story that is worthy of enticing an audience and they actually manage to execute it well. Alongside films like Gerald’s Game and Hush, Malevolent left me if not euphoric then at least satisfied.

A strong beginning, a decent climax and finally an unfortunate decline – not the most spectacular three-act structure, but it will adequately entertain you during a relaxed, ‘no pressure’ kind of evening. The beginning of the film prepares you well for the rocky road ahead. The shaky hand-held camera creates ample discomfort and instability within the viewer. It feels as if we, the audience, are watching the story unfold from the lens of our own video camera, as if we are living the movie and experiencing the diegesis physically and emotionally.

The calculated, limited use of jump-scares allows for those that do occur to be sufficiently frightening. Olaf De Fleur shows sweet restraint, something that so many horror films tend to lack. Instead of confronting the viewer with a myriad of horrific spectacles head-on from the very beginning, Malevolent only shows you aspects, fragments, hints. What is left just outside of the frame happens to be so much more terrifying when left to our own imagination than when explicitly shown on-screen. Seeing a rapid glimpse of a pair of lips crudely sewn together gives me shivers. When paired with a tasteful setting, classy performances by both Florence Pugh and Celia Imrie, and a plot that plays out on its own with minimal exhausting explanation, this film ticks enough boxes.

Then comes the ending. It’s fine for all intents and purposes. It wraps the film up adequately, crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. Yes, you see it all coming from a mile away but that doesn’t detract from the fun you have had getting to the final act. However, it transitions from psychological/supernatural horror to torture porn. It is easy to mistake the queasiness you feel from the blood and guts for terror, but all you really feel is sick. This is a somewhat disappointing ending to a film that seemed to promise more. Subverting where you were originally made to think the true evil lay was not enough to forgive this film for its lacklustre ending.

Malevolent is not a film oft spoken of in horror circles and it definitely is not one to write home about. But it gets the job done all the same. Don’t play around with forces beyond your comprehension and always question first impressions: age-old morals that have been shared before but still fit comfortable within the horror tradition and Malevolent itself.