I Was So Hooked By David Duchovny & Jack Whitehall’s Prime Video Thriller That I Didn’t Want It To End

Several tales have been told of people charming their way into the lives of a mostly idyllic family in an effort to bring someone down, generally the father. Whether it’s the various versions of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle or the endlessly unpredictable Dan Stevens vehicle The Guestit’s a full structure played with time and again. Unfortunately, it’s been mostly mixed results, as the end almost always turns out the same.

thank you Malice is here and ready to shake up the formula. Created by Quacks‘ James Wood, the Prime Video series begins near the luscious Paros, a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea, and centers on the Tanners: husband and business mogul Jamie, wife and stepmother Nat, and their three children. While on vacation, they are introduced to Adam Healey, a charming tutor working for their friends with a good handle on working with kids.

Although displaying some odd behavior, Nat shakes it all off and invites Adam to come work for the Tanners as a full-time manny in London for their youngest, Dexter, with whom he formed a bond in Greece. As Adam becomes more entrenched with the family, Jamie and their friends, Damien and Jules, begin to suspect darker ulterior motives, turning into a tense game of mental chess.

Led by four-time Emmy nominee David Duchovny as Jamie and Jungle Cruise‘s Jack Whitehall as Adam, Malice proves to be one of the most effective takes on the family infiltrator genre yet, and that’s largely down to just how much of a slow burn it is. There’s never a clear moment in which the scales feel shifted in anyone’s direction, particularly Adam’s, and yet it always feels like the family is a few steps away from disaster, allowing us to relish in the madness.

Malice’s Pacing Is Magnificent

While it can often be utilized for some disposable thrills, Malice proves that its central concept is too often wasted on film. By the time the movie’s third act rolls around, things have either escalated to a point of extremism, to the point of camp, or a more sudden explosion into a high-stakes brawl between its central characters. Sometimes, it’s a point of cathartic release for all the tension built up to that point; in others, it’s rushed to the point of leaving us more numb than engaged.

With six 50-minute episodes, Wood makes far more effective use of the shady dynamic between Adam and the Tanners to mete out the tension. We get glimpses of insight into why Whitehall’s character has pushed himself into the family, and moments of shocking decision-making on everyone’s part left me wondering when the ball would drop and how damaged the family would find themselves by the time Adam’s endgame came into focus.

Even more enticing is the way Adam plays with the already-cracked base of the Tanner family. Rather than any conflict feeling forced, Jamie is instantly shown as a borderline chauvinist. His hints at extramarital attempts from Adam’s suggestions are organic, as do Nat’s complex view of her relationship with her husband, and eldest son Kit’s rebellious attitude only needing a slight push to enter dangerous territory.

That is, of course, right up to the show’s finale, which goes for the aforementioned rush to conclude its story. The threads certainly come together in a fascinating way, and, without diving into spoilers, we’re left on a surprisingly ambiguous note as to the final outcome of Adam’s reign of terror on the Tanners. But in trying to give audiences a mostly satisfying conclusion, Wood finds himself cramming an extra episode or two’s worth of stories into one.

The Cast Is Downright Elegant In Their Performances

What really helps Malice‘s story is the cast of characters, particularly that of the central antagonist. Start off on an awkward note, and it’s too easy to believe their eventual villainous turn. Come off too affable, and the villain more or less defies belief when they start ratcheting things up with the family they’re infiltrating.

As such, Whitehall proves to be a truly remarkable choice for Adam. He certainly displays some questionable personality beats in the beginning, both in view of others and in private, and yet when he puts up the façade to hide his ulterior motives, it’s all too easy to believe he may genuinely be a kinder person. It’s a wonderfully magnetic departure from many others with roles such as his, particularly Maika Monroe in the new one Hand That Rocks the Cradlewhose cold personality felt like a predator waiting to pounce on their prey.

Contrasting Whitehall’s personality-shifting performance are David Duchovny and Carice van Houten as the troubled yet loving couple Adam seeks to destroy. The pair is remarkable in their complex roles. The The X-Files alum truly relishes the moments in which he gets to cut loose and showcase Jamie’s seedier underbelly, but also makes his undercurrent of pain around his strained relationships with his children feel authentic, even if he doesn’t fully outgrow them.

The Emmy-nominated Game of Thrones alum, meanwhile, really makes the most of her role as the stepmother and business owner who so often finds herself disrespected and undervalued by Jamie. Van Houten doesn’t completely let Nat feel like a victim, breaking free from these restraints with agency.

I only wish there’d been some better character growth in the show’s final two episodes. Apart from Kit, everyone still felt the same as they were when the show started, something that may have been beneficial for keeping things unpredictable, but ultimately makes things less well-rounded.

Although Wood may not entirely overcome some of the rockier bits of his vision, particularly some story threads that are abandoned or thrown in, he has still put together a truly sumptuous treat with Malice. The slow burn keeps us guessing all the way to the end, while the gripping performances and dark sense of humor underlying certain sequences keep me glued to the screen to the point of wanting much more.

Malice is now streaming on Prime Video.

Release Date

November 14, 2025

NETWORKS

Prime Video

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  David Duchovny

  Jamie Tanner

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  Jack Whitehall

  Adam Healey

Pros & Cons

• The pacing slowly metes out the tension across its six episodes.
• The story always shifts away from atypical genre tropes to remain unpredictable.
• The cast are all magnificent, particularly Jack Whitehall as the game-playing Adam.
• The show’s more seductive beats work in aplomb.

• There’s a lack of major character development for much of its roster.
• Adam’s motives may not be necessary, but they will take a little too long to come into play.