Malignant Review

James Wan is seen as the modern master of horror cinema. He has mixed critical success and mainstream appeal. Malignant is his latest horror offering.

Madison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis) is a woman who has no memory of her life before she was eight. She’s also trapped in an abusive relationship. After one attack too many, a monster from Madison’s past is released and soon people start dying with Madison seeing the visions of their deaths. Madison, along with her family investigates her past while the police investigate the murders.

The horror genre is going through a renaissance and Wan is arguably one of the people responsible for this. He has kickstarted three horror franchises which is incredible. The Conjuring franchise is one of the most successful horror series currently being released. Wan knows what appeals to horror and non-horror audiences alike.

Malignant seems to follow the trend of many recent horror films. It focuses on a woman being haunted by some presence. There were elements of The Babadook, The Night House, Oculus, and even Wan’s own The Conjuring series. These are good sources to draw from. The questions that audiences will be asking during the film will be what’s is Gabriel and what was his agenda? Some of the answers were surprising whilst some of the twists were telegraphed early. Malignant does twist the haunting narrative that was presented in the aforementioned films.

One of Malignant‘s major features was the violence. It was one of the bloodiest horror movies I have seen in recent memory. It earned a rare 18 rating in the UK for violence. The film opens with a prologue in a children’s hospital and shows people been killed and a guard getting his arm broken. It was bloody fun. Malignant also goes into body horror territory which led some to grotesque body horror. It was like something from a David Cronenberg film. The scene where Madison’s partner pushes her into the wall was one of the most shocking moments in the film even if it was one of the less bloody.

Malignant also had some classic horror tropes which gave the film a gothic feel. Madison lived in an isolated house and one of the characters has to go to an abandoned hospital.

As well as working in the horror genre, Wan has made strides with action films. He had a billion-dollar success with Aquaman. Wan brought some of his action experience to this film. Gabriel moved like he had superpowers and one of the highlights of the film was when Gabriel faced off against a whole police station. He moved around like he was V from V for Vendetta. He moved with speed and agility as he wields a knife.

Wan was able to compel with the mystery presented and offers a lot of misdirection. He leads the audience to come up to a certain conclusion so he can provide a twist. For the most part it works but the film does raise some questions and plot holes. Audiences will go with the flow during the course of viewing, but these questions will come up if you think about Malignant afterward. Asking these questions cannot be raised in this review because it will lead to spoilers. Wan does leave the door open just enough in case a sequel is commissioned.

Wan ensured there were moments of levity in Malignant. The police detectives offered some more light-hearted antics. Kekow Shaw (George Young) and Regina Moss (Michole Briana White) had a fun back-and-forth and some humour derived from women liking Shaw. Madison’s sister, Sydney (Maddie Hasson) also provides a bit of humour. One of her first scenes was seeing her visit the hospital in a princess dress and tells the police Madison is a psychic. There was an over-the-top, cheesy quality to the prologue, especially with Dr. Weaver (Jacqueline McKenzie) telling off Gabriel, saying ‘time to cut out the cancer’ and a guitar riff starts up afterward.

Whilst Wan gets a lot of praise for his work, Wallis also deserves attention. She gives an excellent performance as a tragic figure due to the abuse she suffered, her miscarriages, and Gabriel’s torment. Madison was a likeable presence who had suffered a lot. You will route for her because of all her suffering. Madison had a character arc due to her want for a baby that she can’t seem to have and wanting a biological connection. Wallis did look so different with brown hair instead of her usual blond.

Wan is still able to make a film that was an effective horror film and a rollicking good time due to all the violence and action. Wan shows he still has a gift for horror.