Malignant | Review
You probably won’t like this film.
That may be a strange way to start off a review for a film that I actually enjoyed, but it’s a sentiment I believe will ring true the more people (hopefully) see it. Admittedly, even I didn't expect to like Malignant, the new horror film from James Wan, one of the genre’s contemporary pioneers with films like Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring. The film’s trailer seemed so generic, which surprised me because I know Wan doesn’t do generic. With the benefit of hindsight, I now understand why the trailer is the way that it is—because it’s hiding so much of the film’s bonkers surprises!
Annabelle Wallis as Madison
Working off a script from Akela Cooper (Luke Cage), from an original story by Cooper, Wan, and Wan’s wife Ingrid Bisu, Malignant follows Madison (Annabelle Wallis), who is in her third pregnancy after two miscarriages, and living in Seattle with her abusive husband, Derek (Jake Abel). After her husband’s latest attack, Madison starts to have visions of the murders of apparent strangers, seemingly happening in real-time. Others drawn to this mystery are detectives Kekoa Shaw (George Young) and Regina Moss (Michole Briana White) and Madison’s sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson). To say anything more of the plot would commit a cardinal sin that would take away from the film’s joyous ride.
Your tolerance for Malignant may depend on what kind of horror film you are expecting and/or what kind of horror films you enjoy. Some enjoy the genre when it’s truly scary, while others enjoy it for heavy themes and politics. Malignant is neither. This is a stylishly entertaining horror flick that’s sometimes gory, but never scary. It derives its thrills from its sense of discovery. The secret to enjoying Malignant is to stop trying to guess where the story is going and just go with it. “Don’t go in expecting The Conjuring, this is a different beast,” Wan wrote on social media upon the film’s release. “Whatever you do, AVOID SPOILERS! Knowing as little as possible is the best way to experience this film.” True to his word, this is no Conjuring; there is no attempt to make this film “realistic” or even serious in tone—this is a film that goes full camp at times, in the best way.
Writer/Director James Wan (left) and actor George Young (center)
Unsurprisingly (this is a James Wan film after all), there’s handsome production design, sound design, lively camerawork, and terrific use of color. There are stunning shots atypical of more generic horror flicks, like the single-take scare sequence shown from bird’s eye view, or when the film turns into a full-blown action movie at a police station. The use of electronic-heavy songs (like Celldweller’s “When Your Walls Fall”) to transition during major reveals is Wan’s way of winking to the camera because he knows you’re thinking to yourself, “What the f*ck just happened?” I couldn’t help but to smile at those moments because it’s just so fun (and silly)!
No matter your taste for his films, James Wan knows what he wants to do and he does it well. From blockbusters like Furious 7 to micro-budget horrors like Insidious, Wan’s films always feel impassioned and never cheap or hollow. The love for his craft is always present. And best of all, his films always feel different from one another, always fresh, never stale. I applaud Wan for pumping out a truly original horror film right after directing the highest-grossing DC film in history, 2018’s billion-dollar-grosser Aquaman. It’s been six years since Wan last directed a horror film, and Malignant shows us why he’s been sorely missed.
