By Gabby Foor
If you looked at Malum’s poster or trailer and thought it seemed familiar, you’re not wrong: you may have seen some of these haunting images before in its origin story, Last Shift. A vivid, gory, and lore-rich reimagining of the 2014 single location psychological thriller, DiBlasi’s Malum sets a more definitive tone with more commanding visuals and richer cinematography than its predecessor, as well as decidedly fewer divided ratings upon its release (also likely due to Last Shift’s polarizing conclusion, loathed by nearly half of viewers on Rotten Tomatoes). With our lead heroine recast, some familiar faces returning, and a plot that treads more deeply into the predatory cult that plagued the first film and left Officer Loren and her father’s legacy shrouded in mystery, this terror wastes no time exploring dark topics. Malum isolates some successful aspects of what makes its source material terrifying, and inserts imaginative twists and family lore to make the haunting all the more personal. Put on the original if you need a refresher, because it’s going to be a long night.
A familiar, haunting song follows us into this film as we enter Langford Police’s evidence footage of the Malum Flock Compound. A Satanic-looking throne is briefly seen, before frolicking bathers, observed by the camera, are brought into view. We see them marching to a farm, appearing giddy, stoic, sceptic or scared, depending. These mixed emotions are soon understood: some girls are here willingly, others are here to be sacrificed, as a man with a blurred face utters incomprehensible words and horrific violence ensues, between cuts of animals and Satanic imagery scored by strings and screams. This horrifying memory is broken and we sit with Will Loren (Eric Olson) a hero in his colleagues’ eyes but a failure in his own, for saving three girls at the compound when he believes it could have been four. Suddenly at the firing range, during a playful conversation between colleagues, right before the title rolls, the scene explodes into brutal gore. Officer Loren is the one holding the gun, murdering his colleagues. Moments after the title fades, as his fellow officers close in, Loren says to tell his family he’s sorry, that he’s in the hands of his master, and he turns the gun on himself.
One year later, Jessica Loren (Jessica Sula) is donning her uniform and, much like in Last Shift, is hard at work studying and using her oath ‘to protect and serve’ as a mantra to prepare. A sunny visit to the cemetery to speak to her father is interrupted by a drunk Diane (Candice Coke), her struggling, and disapproving mother trying to talk her daughter out of her first shift. After some harsh words, Jessica is off, and we see her father’s tombstone is anointed with blood and a satanic looking symbol. As night falls, scenes of urban sprawl seem to signal danger as Jessica heads to her post under taunts of “watch it piggy,” prying eyes, and jeering smiles.
Jessica arrives at the police station, which is quiet at first, until she hears a tirade of swearing and battering coming from the back as an officer stumbles into view. Almost identical to the opening in Last Shift, Loren is asked to turn around and stop by her commanding officer Grip Cohen (Britt George) and scolded when she walks. Only after this exercise in power, and expressing his contempt with the remainder of the cult which has planted its roots on the new precinct’s front steps, does he try and get her prepared. Weird, hierarchal machismo aside, Grip leaves his number with the warning “no girl talk” and some simple directions to run the station. However, upon realizing she is Will’s daughter, Grip gets hostile, and with contempt he says if he cared any more he would get her job taken, but, seeing as he doesn’t, he simply directs her to stay out of holding, and leaves.
Left in peace, she explores the station until she finds her father’s locker, permanently sealed, until strange sounds lead her back out into the hallway. In the gym she finds the basketball which officer Cohen had been hurling, neatly placed, and a figure in uniform startles her before vanishing. Loren is suddenly interrupted by an alarm as a man, who appears homeless, bangs on the door, looking for someone. She offers to help but the man soils the floor and wanders off, leaving Loren to clean and field prank squealing pig calls.
This movie is best left without too much more description. While maintaining many of the narrative similarities to its source, Malum deviates, story-wise, to realms unexplored. With her father’s tragic past and the introduction of a sinister villain in John Malum (Chaney Morrow) in place of the cheesier, prominently featured Manson-esque trio of the Paymons we received previously, we get more depth and a more frightening turn of events that, once again, takes the psychological horror turn: is what we are seeing real or is the psychological weight of life’s horrors taking a toll on Jessica’s sanity? The frights are well placed, pacing nicely into an explosive, paranoid final act which ranges from your classic haunted fare, call-backs to Last Shift, and some shocking original imagery bolstered with jarring effects and costuming. The cast are dead serious with their roles, especially an impressive Sula with a standout performance, and even during a dicey final portion that sometimes threatens a well-built foundation with its intense shift in tone and delivery, especially if you’re making comparisons. This shift in its final act could also be a good thing for viewers if you were one of those that saw the ending of Last Shift as a disappointment.
This was a solid reimagining, sequel, whatever you want to call this instalment of film. I can say the things that may have held Last Shift back from reaching its full potential were most certainly realized in terms of story here, including some interesting depth into the politics of the police, scares that range from the familiar to the Hellraiser style bold, and bloodshed to satisfy the gore hounds. While the closing portions may be slippery, literally and figuratively, I think Malum creates its own space aside from Last Shift, sharing just enough similarities to call it a reimagining, with good bones, but with such diverging stories and hallmark details included that they can’t be called the same movie. With positive reviews rolling in, you can add this one; this is an unyielding psychological thriller with edge that builds on an existing story and retells it with vivid detail and brutal visuals, making it a go-to for a back-to-back feature, if you ever find yourself alone one night…
Malum (2023) is available to stream on all major platforms now.