Malum - Recap

It's Halloween and at an elementary school, the new boy Justin carves the letters "MAI" into a tree. The neighborhood kids tease him and notice he has a knife. Another boy, Ryan Carver, tell them to leave and a teacher. Mr. Arnold Jefferies, tells them to leave. He warns Justin about the fact he's not allowed to have a knife and takes it away. However, Justin's father Ezekiel, who is the school janitor, tells Jefferies to give it back. He reluctantly does so and Ezekiel warns him that he'll suffer.

That night, Jefferies is patrolling the school grounds when he hears a whispering noise. He sees something and screams. The next morning, another janitor goes up to run up the flag... and finds Jefferies impaled on the top of the flagpole.



The Present

Carl is in an interrogation room when a detective comes in to talk to him and get his input on the case.

The Past

Carl relates how a week ago Jefferies was supposedly struck by lightning and thrown 30' onto the school flagpole. Carl points out that the lightning marks indicate he was struck too low for the effect to be natural, and there was no indication of a lightning strike within 10' of the school. They go to the school and Jain notices that a nearby tree has the same root structure as the lightning mark on Jefferies. Carl notices the "MAI" while in the school, a teacher has the students draw what they're feeling. Carver tells Justin he needs to tell someone about his dad but Justin refuses. Justin finishes drawing a picture showing a dead man lying by a tree with a car nearby.



Ryan approached Carl about Ezekial and tells him about how Ezekiel got mad at Jefferies. Ryan's father Dan Carver, who is with the LAPD, comes over and Ryan tells him what he told them.

The Present

The detective talks to Carver, warning him he'll be going to prison and wanting to know how Carl talk to him about possession and demons.

The Past

Carl and Perri go to the Seavers' old house and talk to the next door neighbor, Mona Sampson. She claims Justin snuck into a neighbor woman's pool, and after the woman complained to Ezekiel, an accident with an electrical wire caused her to boil to death in her pool. Perri is skeptical but Carl is determined to keep someone else from dying.

Ryan again tells Justin to talk to someone, but Justin is more interested in Ryan's father. Justin notices a welt on Justin's wrist. Carl talks to the grief counselor, Dr. Lawrence, and she dismisses the rumors about Ezekiel. Carl believes Ezekiel is abusing Justin but Lawrence refuses to say anything to the press. Ryan then has Justin show Dr. Lawrence the welts not only on his wrist but all over his back. Ezekiel is called in and warns Justin that he'll be taken away and that he's doing everything for Justin's benefit. When Lawrence comes in, Ezekiel claims that Justin is allergic to peanuts and has him show Lawrence his back: the welts are gone. Lawrence doesn't believe it but Ezekiel takes his son home.



The Present

The detective notes that Dan Carver heard about the incident from his son. Carver heard about it but by the next morning, it was too late.

The Past

The night of the incident, Lawrence studied the report at her home but as she studies it at her kitchen table, the overhead fan comes loose, falls, and decapitates her.



Carl gets hold of the confidential file and reads about the welts and their disapparance. Perri has discovered that Ezekiel adopted Justin three years ago, and all of his work has involved high-voltage electricity. She figures Ezekiel has staged the deaths to make them look like accidents. Carl goes to the school to talk to Carver while Justin and Ryan play together, and warns him that Ryan may be in danger for helping Justin against his father.

The Present

The detective thinks Carl messed with Carver's head, but Carver asserts he didn't believe Carl.. then.

The Past

Ryan goes into the woods and is hit by something and taken away. Carl discovers Ezekiel was previously Arthur Soames, who was studying to be a priest but was evicted from the church for conducting an exorcism. He tried to drive a spirit out of a woman, Janet Seaver, who died of starvation and dehydration. The woman left her son Justin in Ezekiel's care, and Carl believes the spirit jumped into Justin.

The Present

Carver admits that he came to believe what Carl was claiming. The detective then confronts Carl with the fact that he broke into the Seavers' home, and the reporter figures he's being set up for inciting Carver.

The Past

Carl breaks into the Seaver house while Jain tells Perri that Ezekiel has been released by the police. They go to the Seaver house while Carl goes into Justin's upstairs room and finds religious statuary and paintings. Ezekiel returns home with Justin and hears footsteps overhead. He goes upstairs but finds nothing: Carl is hiding in the closet. Perri arrives to distract Ezekiel while Jain gets Carl out the back. As he leaves, Carl notices the word "Malum" carved into Justin's bed. As he leaves, Ezekiel sees them all go.



The next day, Carl translates "Malum" as Latin for "wicked" or "evil." He examines the photo of the tree and notices the "MAI" and figures Justin is responsible. He figures Ezekiel considers himself a watcher of lost souls and that Justin is keeping Ezekiel prisoner, and framing Ezekiel for the murders to get rid of him.

Ryan is tied up in an old car in the woods near the Seaver house when Justin arrives with some food. Justin refuses to untie him, saying his father would kill him. However, he promises to tell Dan Carver where Ryan is, then leaves him some Skittles. Justin rides off and calls Carver, while Ezekiel notices him and goes into the woods. Meanwhile, Carl figures that Justin wants a new father and brother: the Carvers.

Dan Carver meets Justin the nearby woods and the detective promises that Ezekiel will never harm Justin again. Justin takes Carver into the woods while Carl and the others go to the Seaver home and find Justin's bags are packed. They overhear Carver on the woods and go after him, while Ezekiel finds Ryan in the car. Ezekiel is overwhelmed by whispering noises but takes out a knife and advances on Ryan. Carl hears Ryan screaming but Ezekiel is freeing the boy, and Dan Carver arrives on the scene. As Justin looks on, Dan Carver pulls his gun, sees Ezekiel with the knife, and shoots him down as Carl looks on.



The Present

The detective examines the picture that Justin supposedly drew of the forest, the car, and the body. He notes that Carver was cleared of any wrongdoing in Seaver's death but Carl didn't let it rest. Carl insists Carver didn't believe him.

The Past

Carl talks to Carver, who has been appointed Justin's temporary guardian. Carl tries to explain that Justin was responsible for everything but Carver doesn't believe it. He drives away with Justin and Ryan.

The Present

Carver admits that he found the picture, and then Ryan claimed Justin was going to kill him. Carver held Justin down and killed him with Ezekiel's knife. The detective believes Kolchak convinced Carver to kill the boy. The detective then goes to Kolchak and tells him he's free to go and doesn't want to see him again. As Carl leaves, he notices Carver in the other interrogation room and goes in to talk to him. Carver admits he's taking the blame as it was his fault. Carl asks one more question: why did Carver kill Justin where Ryan would find him. Carl says he knows who killed Justin Seaver: Ryan.



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