Last Shift (2014) actually happened to be my favorite horror movie of that year. It was a huge surprise watch for me going in completely blind, not having even seen a preview... Malum is a remake/reimagining of that movie by the same writer/director, Anthony DiBlasi. I questioned the existence of this remake after I saw the trailer since it's only 9 years after the original, and I still question its existence after watching it.
Don't get me wrong, it's a decent watch & a solid horror movie with improved production, graphic gore and an expansion of the cult premise. With all of the added aspects it's strange that it's only 4 minutes longer than the original. But I feel like this is an example of "less is more" where the ambiguity of Last Shift worked more in its favor, while the expansion of the lore regarding the cult makes Malum feel more derivative. There is a particular creepy "jingle" that is used in both movies, but I feel it is over-used in this movie. Also, there are certain aspects of Malum where it can't seem to decide what it wants to be. There's just too much here that reminds me of Hereditary (and other movies), which is somewhat ironic since the same evil entity is mentioned in Last Shift, but not in Malum (if I remember correctly).
However, I can recommend this movie whether or not you've seen Last Shift, but you may enjoy it more if you haven't seen it. It manages to be effectively creepy like the original while being more polished. For streaming, maybe wait for the rental price to go down.
I gave Last Shift (2014) a 8/10. I give Malum (2023) a 6/10. A solid effort with improved production, but it overall falls short of the effectiveness of the original. It's definitely not a bad remake, just not a necessary one.
Don't get me wrong, it's a decent watch & a solid horror movie with improved production, graphic gore and an expansion of the cult premise. With all of the added aspects it's strange that it's only 4 minutes longer than the original. But I feel like this is an example of "less is more" where the ambiguity of Last Shift worked more in its favor, while the expansion of the lore regarding the cult makes Malum feel more derivative. There is a particular creepy "jingle" that is used in both movies, but I feel it is over-used in this movie. Also, there are certain aspects of Malum where it can't seem to decide what it wants to be. There's just too much here that reminds me of Hereditary (and other movies), which is somewhat ironic since the same evil entity is mentioned in Last Shift, but not in Malum (if I remember correctly).
However, I can recommend this movie whether or not you've seen Last Shift, but you may enjoy it more if you haven't seen it. It manages to be effectively creepy like the original while being more polished. For streaming, maybe wait for the rental price to go down.
I gave Last Shift (2014) a 8/10. I give Malum (2023) a 6/10. A solid effort with improved production, but it overall falls short of the effectiveness of the original. It's definitely not a bad remake, just not a necessary one.