Friday 4 August 2017

Malady (2015)

                                                                         
MOULD-9LAURELS



Online screener 


Written and directed by: Jack James

Stars: Roxy Bugler, Kemal Yildirim, Jill Connick 

Official Trailer













I was really pleased to hear from Jack James regarding his evocative psychological thriller Malady with the chance to check it out/review. 

Roxy Bugler stars as Holly in an uncompromisingly morose and brittle role - Holly is broken by the death of her mother and deeply lonely. Its this vulnerable state of being that leads her to the enigmatic Matthew (Kemal Yildirim) a fellow solitary soul  which leads the two to enter into a passionate and unsettling relationship. When Matthews mother Lorelei (a terrifying Jill Connick) falls seriously ill he and Holly travel to her home to care for her during what will be her final days.  Its safe to add that Lorelei is by no means a nice person, in actual fact shes spiteful and cold and has somewhat of a twisted hold on Matthew.

The plot unfolds slowly and eerily and to Jacks absolute credit, Malady is by no means an 'easy' film. There aren't any jump scenes, fake-out scares or the like but it is nonetheless a captivating journey into a true family nightmare. The film is also lacking in dialogue, not that this need be a bad thing. As a film that  does not offer everything on a plate,viewers need to work with it in order to go along for the ride.

As mentioned Roxy Bugler nails the role of Holly but both other actors Kemal Yildirim and Jill Connick are also outstanding. The character of Lorelei is impossible to love but easily the most fascinating of all. Jill Connick really gives a direct, glaring performance of a character who could have easily been of the mustache twiddling variety in different hands.  Kemal Yildirim plays probably the most complicated of characters with the audience never quite sure what to make of him and does an excellent job of maintaining the mystery which surrounds Matthew.

Its a wonderfully made film using  beguiling colours and distorted shots to creepy effect. Malady shows amazing promise for Jack James' future in film, I hope he stays aligned with the thriller/horror genre as I would expect he has many more tricks up his crafty sleeve. 

Malady  was released on VOD  on the 11th July and is available in both the US, UK and more.  The film can be purchased/rented via the usual outlets such as Amazon, iTunes, GooglePlay, VUDU so whats stopping you?