A family goes to a lakeside cabin for a weekend retreat and to reconnect with each other. Once there, a stranger finds his way in the house and things take a turn.
Written by John Fallon and Kevin Interdonato and directed by Fallon, Malicious is a brutal film that has Fallon’s signature violence as seen in other film’s he’s written such as American Muscle and Deaden, with the added personal layer of him directing it. The film plays like a home invasion film, but something is not quite right from the start, there’s something else there and it’s difficult to put your finger on it until the invader starts playing his game of questions to get the truth out of one of the characters. As things unfold, it quickly becomes clear that this is more than a home invasion for the purpose of stealing valuables and that there is something more personal behind this invader’s reasoning. The film here, let’s not kid ourselves, is not going to be for everyone. It’s really violent, but the violence is well-handled. It’s heavy handed at times, but that is needed here, there is a point. It’s in your face, the hits keep coming, and just a few scenes feel out of place, but they take only a bit of the runtime.
The cast here is small, but solid. The lead is definitely Kevin Interdonato who takes control early on and gets the film moving. This was co-written by him, and the part is clearly tailored for his skills and capacities. His work is scary at times, fully showing how far a pissed off man can go and giving him a bit of range as the film goes through its well-calculated coaster of action. Playing the patriarch of sort, the husband and stepfather at the center of everything is Nick Baillie who comes off truly despicable and makes it easier to side with Interdonato’s Jesse. Getting to share a lot of the screen time here are Melissa Anschutz as Lauren, the mother, and Alix Lane as Erin, the daughter. The two of them have more emotional parts with a bit less action, but they really sink their teeth into their respective parts and give their characters depth and something more than being simply the extras stuck in the situation happening around them. The cast here is rounded out by John Fallon and Danilo Rocha who show up unexpectedly and end up in a scene that seems to come out of left field. While both of them do decent here, it feels a bit like the film would have been a lot tighter without these two characters.
The film here is really well shot with cinematography by Samuel Pineault and the editing by Michael Nouryeh helps bring the film together in a way that never turns away from the violence. The film is not only well shot, but also edited in a manner where the cinematography doesn’t get lost in a million cuts in the editing room. That’s one of the strong aspects here, while the violence is brutal, the film keeps its camera very much on it and doesn’t look away. It’s something that shows guts and shows that the filmmakers wanted the effect to be powerful and not just violence for the sake of violence. Yes, it’s in your face, but that’s the point, something the cinematography and editing truly understand here.
Malicious is a powerful film with a message that is transmitted in a violent way. Some will hate the approach, but others will love it. One thing is for sure, the film isn’t shy about its violence and about its message. It’s the kind of film some need in their lives to really push the point across. Of course, violence for the sake of violence can be entertaining when done right, but Malicious does more here than just one man pummeling another on camera. There is a reason for it and that reason comes out loud and clear. The strong performances with the writing, directing, and cinematography elevate the movie here and make it a must-see.