Malefice - A True Story of a Demonic Haunting

Director - Billy Lewis (The Terrible Two, The Jailhouse)

Starring - Sean Austin (Ghost Loop), Eric Conner, and Dave Spinks (Paranormal 911, Ghost Nation)

Release Date - 2021

Genre - Documentary/Horror

Tagline - "If you take a soul away from the devil, there will be hell to pay"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Several years ago I was working my day job when a customer came into the store.  I sparked up a conversation with him and discovered that he was a paranormal investigator.  I told him about Horror Society and I was soon sharing news about his upcoming investigations, books, and television appearances on the site.  That man was Dave Spinks and since that day, almost ten years ago, I've become good friends with him.  Sometime back he reached out to share the trailer for a new documentary he was in titled Malefice - A True Story of a Demonic Haunting.  The trailer was very popular on the site for a short time so Dave reached out to me to review it.  I'm not much on the paranormal and as an atheist I struggle when sent overly religious films but for Dave I agreed to check it out.  Thanks Dave for reaching out to me to check it out.

     The film follows paranormal investigators Dave Spinks, Sean Austin, and Eric Conner as they return to a home that Sean had previously investigated several years back.  During his initial visit they uncovered that the home may have a demonic presence with several tormented female souls.  He prayed for the female souls to be set free which unleashed the wrath of the demonic presence.  Now, they return to put a stop to Sean's nightmares before it drives him to the brink of madness.

     It's not often that I get to review a documentary but they do pop up every now and again.  It's usually the newest release from Small Town Monsters or a random horror doc but the fact that I've reviewed two docs in just as many days it a bit strange for me.  Regardless, I've had fun with both even though they were docs I would typically look over.  However, Malefice was pretty entertaining.  The interviews in this one is very one sided but I enjoyed them.  The film is more like a reality show meets documentary but we do get interviews in and between the footage.  We get a lot from the film's three stars along with a few other people who had personal experiences with the home.  With that being said, I would have loved to hear some about the home from someone that is a skeptic or doesn't believe.  It would have made for a very interesting documentary to see both sides of it.  The topics discussed pertain to the locations history and current investigations.  The movie is focused more on the current investigation and the ridding of the demon but I found myself fascinated by the properties backstory.  I would have loved a biggest segment on that and a little less on the ghost box portions.  The static and mumbling gave me a little bit of a headache so I couldn't imagine the migraines they had from being there with it.  Finally, the doc is put together very nicely and it one of the better edited documentaries that I've seen.  We have great pacing and some smooth transitions that makes it a joy to view.  Overall, Malefice isn't something that I would have watched on my own but given the chance I really enjoyed.  As I stated earlier, I'm not a believer and I think some of the scenes in this one may be scripted but I enjoyed it.  It has some great eerie atmosphere and the tension at times really worked in the film's favor.  Fans of the paranormal should really check this one out.  You will not be disappointed.