Malum is an independent film that seems to have a tiny budget. It definitely shows, but it still manages to pull off a cool horror flick.

It's relatively slow but I wasn't bored. The director got what he needed out of his cast, including one really good performance by a prostitute. The dialogue is pretty good.

But the real question is, how is the horror? It's pretty good for most of the movie, then really awesome later in the movie. There are a bunch of super creepy scenes. They do a phenomenal job with the practical effects.

A couple things brought the movie down in quality in my eyes. The first is some really bad editing throughout. The second is the sound design. So many things should have been way louder, like the guns. It felt like it was missing an impact.

One example, a door is about to slam shut. She tries to stop it. The editing goes from door swinging shut to her banging on the shut door. No shot of the door slamming shut. No sound either.

Even with it's flaws, I had a pretty good time with this movie. The payoff during the climax is worth the buildup. Malum is definitely not for everyone. But for a horror fan/movie fiend like me, it satisfied the craving. (1 viewing, opening Thursday 3/30/2023)

What's that saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's true for this film. In Last Shift, the budget was low and the work was honest and true. In the remake, they sweep low for weak scares, explain little, expect us all to just nod and jump. The over emphasis on the stupid relationship with the awful father is yawn worthy. The stupid strict dedication to the police code but she doesn't know any cops but her dad that cops hate? AND she becomes a cop at the office where her father was hated. Brilliant self sabotage. It felt overly produced and just overall not as good as the original and feels more like a money grab that will fail.

As a casual viewer of horror movies, it's quite concerning to see directors resorting to rehashing their own movies, especially when they were mediocre to begin with. Malum, a remake of Last Shift, is just another example of egotistical directors trying to salvage their past failures with bigger budgets. Last Shift had some potential. It's disappointing to see a director not learn from their mistakes and try to make up for it by throwing more money at the problem. The only thing that seems to have improved in Malum is the soundtrack and production value, but that doesn't make up for the lackluster storyline and characters. To be honest, Malum is just another generic horror movie with no real substance or creativity. The constant terror and violence get old quickly, and it's hard to invest in characters that are one-dimensional and uninteresting. It's a shame that there are no fresh ideas or surprises in this movie, and it's certainly not worth the time or money to watch.