Malicious and Pretty in Pink have two things in common. The first is lead actress, Molly Ringwald. The second is both are good. In fact, Malicious is surprisingly good. The main thing that I like about this movie is it isn’t your typical Molly Ringwald film. To sum it up, she’s downright evil and pretty damn good at it! While this is a very predictable movie and it’s been done before, this does not detract from the fact that I really did enjoy Malicious.

I was expecting something bad. Molly Ringwald has always been the precious princess for me. I loved her in Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, etc. because she was so good at playing the good girl. She was our poster child, as 80s children, for the slogan “do the right thing”. Essentially, she was a happy go lucky, John Hughes kind of film girl. So, when I heard she was playing a psychotic girl in Malicious, I was both intrigued and frightened. As frightened as I was when I heard Anthony Michael Hall played a serial killer.

Malicious is about a one night stand gone wrong. Molly Ringwald plays Melissa Nelson, who is a seemingly normal med student. Melissa hooks up with Doug Gordon (Patrick McGaw) at a party. They drive to the baseball field where they have sex. From there, they meet and have sex again (so technically it’s a two night stand, but who’s counting?). Melissa swears that she doesn’t have a problem with Doug’s steady girlfriend of three years, but it’s obvious she wants to be more to him then just a “sex buddy” and a med school tutor, since she has offered to help him improve his grades.

When Doug rejects Melissa, or she begins to feel rejected, she snaps. Her stalker tendencies seem a little odd, though Doug dismisses them as harmless. He has no idea what she is capable of and trust me, she’s a loony. From her personal life to her “relationship” (in her head) with Doug, Melissa is in need of severe psycho-therapy.

The acting is what makes this movie. This is like many other movies before it, except where the acting is concerned. Molly Ringwald had to sell me not only on being a psycho, but on playing this part. She does both and made me realize just how diverse her acting range is. If I wasn’t a Molly Ringwald fan, I would be after watching this movie. The other actors including Patrick McGaw are excellent and suit their parts. I am surprised McGaw doesn’t get more roles, because he’s a great actor.

The image looked pretty good on my screen. Visually, it was obvious that it was not made with the same kind of camera a blockbuster of today is made of, but it wasn’t grainy or old enough to bother me. The film may have had a slightly low budget feel, but it did transfer well into full frames at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The audio quality is also good. I watched this on my big screen TV. The audio is relayed in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound, which is common for older and lower budget films. The only disappointment is that Malicious does not have any special features. I would have liked to see a Molly Ringwald interview or some behind the scenes footage.

Bottom Line: For what it was, Malicious was a good movie. Don’t expect an Oscar here, but if you’re looking for a stalker flick, Malicious provides what you’re looking for and just a little bit more.

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Technorati Tags: Malicious, DVD Review, Molly Ringwald, Horror, Stalker Film, Fatal Attraction