Probably the biggest horror franchise in the world right now is “The Conjuring.” After two main films, with three spin-offs, the stories of married ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren have become incredibly popular among moviegoers. Based on a “true story,” many people either think the Warrens are the real deal or the world’s biggest con artists. However, that doesn’t stop people from buying tickets. In the new film “Malevolent,” Netflix takes a cue from “The Conjuring,” but asks the audience — what happens if the ghost hunters are fake, but the haunting is real?
Actors Florence Pugh (“Lady Macbeth”) and Ben Lloyd-Hughes (“Me Before You”) star in the newest horror film to hit the streaming service. The duo plays a brother and sister team of ghost hunters that con their clients into believing that the sister has a gift of seeing ghosts and communicating. However, they lie and just “put on a show” for their clients and collect the paycheck. That is, until they go to one house and realize that maybe there are real ghosts.
“Malevolent” is written by Ben Katai and Eva Konstantopoulos and directed by Icelandic filmmaker Olaf de Fleur.
“Malevolent” hits Netflix on October 5.
Here’s the synopsis, as well as the new trailer:
Brother and sister team Angela (Florence Pugh) and Jackson (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) are nothing more than scam artists. Preying on the grief stricken and the vulnerable, they convince the bereaved that Angela has the ability to contact the dead. It’s a simple con, until Mrs. Green (Celia Imrie) summons the pair to her home — the orphanage that was once stage to a string of murders of young girls — and Angela grows less and less certain of what’s actually real. The fake paranormal investigators suffer the ultimate reality check when they are confronted by the true horrors and terrifying past that lie hidden within the haunted orphanage.