Violent and twist filled home invasion movie Malicious explores themes of power, punishment, and manhood with equal parts blunt-force trauma and psychological thrills.
Family getaways are a time for relaxation and reconnection. Director John Fallon (The Shelter) takes that notion is a different direction with Malicious, his second film behind-the-lens that is as bloody in its violence as it is a compelling study of man as savage and protector.
Malicious begins with embattled governor William McCabe (Nick Baillie) and his family settling into their lakeside holiday home. While the immediately unlikeable William sips back his whiskey with condescending disdain, wife Lauren (Melissa Anschutz) soaks in his brutish behaviour with uncomfortable ease, while daughter Erin (Alix Lane) seeks solace in her room. A sex scene between William and Lauren is suitably uncomfortable and crude and speaks to how those in positions of power use sex as a tool of subjugation, even within a marriage.
A knock on the door reveals Jesse (Kevin Interdonato) a stranger in need of help after his car breaks down. It is from here where Malicious takes things up a notch with the family drugged and tied up on the sofa as Jesse looks on with contempt. The McCabe family don’t know it, but they are about to face the ultimate judgement.
Interdonato (who also co-wrote Malicious with Fallon) steals the show in his portrayal of the ultimate wild card: one moment playing the role of prying inquisitor; the next an executioner daring to put heads on the chopping block. Built like a brickhouse and seeping with masculine intensity, Interdonato plays the part of savage with a cause, where even the simple act of eating a steak is done with violent intent.
Fallon interestingly evokes Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) by consistently having his actors perform straight to the camera in close-up shots. It is an effective tool, with the viewer at times transitioning from the role of voyeur to participant in this vengeful fuelled version of a kangaroo court. A twist filled script engrosses with its unpredictable nature.
The role of men and manhood in the family and positions of power is of particular focus in Malicious. Where William represents the sleazy predator, Jesse counters the other end of the spectrum as testosterone fuelled justice dispensed with savage brutality. During this time of increasing commentary on the state of men and “toxic masculinity”, Fallon’s take on the subject is confronting and thought provoking.
“A real man will repent for his sins” says Jesse at a crucial point in Malicious, a film about man as predator and prey, castigator and corrupter, and the breaking points in between.
