Malignant

Earlier this year when I saw the third installment of The Conjuring series I lamented James Wan’s absence. That’s his universe, and he has the best handle on it. However, I had guessed that The Devil Made Me Do It’s loss would be Malignant’s gain. I was excited for this film because it was going to be an original horror movie from a filmmaker who’s a master of a certain aspect of the genre. He gets a bad wrap due to too many Conjuring imitations, and while some of the worst offenders come from films he’s produced, I can’t blame him as a director. Saying all of that, Malignant was NOT what I was expecting it to be – I figured what we’d get would be an original story in the vein of what Wan has done before; what we do get is an intentionally absurd “B-movie” with nods to Argento and DePalma in its lighting and body horror. For those expecting another horror house of jump scares, be aware that this is something else.

Malignant begins In 1993, with Dr. Florence Weaver and her colleagues treating a psychiatric patient named Gabriel at Simion Research Hospital. Gabriel has special powers like controlling electricity and broadcasting his thoughts via radio waves. One night, Gabriel turns violent and kills several staff members of the institution, resulting in Dr. Weaver wanting to “cut the cancer out.” We then jump twenty-eight years later with Madison Lake (Annabelle Wallis), a pregnant nurse. She gets into an an argument, with her husband who smashes Madison’s head against a wall. With Madison locking the bedroom door and Derek downstairs in the living room, she has a dream of a man entering their house and violently killing him. Except it isn’t a dream; her husband is dead. The killer, still being in the house, attacks Madison, rendering her unconscious. The next morning, Madison wakes up in a hospital and is informed by her sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson) that her unborn baby didn’t survive the attack. Eventually Madison sees more murders happen at the hands of the same figure, one she refers to as Gabriel.

Because I was expecting something similar from Wan, it took some adjusting to what kind of movie Malignant is…and then you have throw that all way in the film’s final act. The first two-third’s of this movie has some solid gore and one genuinely scary sequence in an underground tour of Seattle, otherwise it just wasn’t doing it for me. I liked the style in some scenes, the homages to the film’s influences, and I always enjoy intentionally bad acting. The problem is that it all happens within a narrative that never really takes off. The plot hinges on a mystery that I felt like had a handle on…well I didn’t.

So, the big reveal in the beginning of the final act threw me completely, and it’s not because I didn’t guess the general idea, it was because I didn’t think it would be so visually literal. From there on out, which is roughly the movie’s last half-hour, Malignant is completely bat-shit ridiculous. What was once a huge let down for me is now something that I have to recommend people just so they can see how bonkers it is. It contains scenes of over-the-top violence that put a tremendous smile on my face, and even some great one-liners that top those scenes off. I also must single out a moment where someone kills everyone in a room, and then proceeds to throw a chair before they leave to absolutley nail the two people still breathing. This person did not have to do this, but they did, and I found it hilarious. The film has zero explanations for why the killer communicates through electronics, why the killer has super strength, and why the killer knows parkour. I didn’t care in the end, I was still laughing at the chair throw.

Annabelle Wallis is wide-eyed as hell in her performance, which fits the movie she’s in. I liked Maddie Hasson as Madison sister as well, and bought the relationship as the heart of the movie. I also have to single out Mckenna Grace as young Madison, who gives a better performance than every one else in the film.  In the end Malignant was worth it on HBO Max, especially it’s finale. For Wan, it ends up being something different, and I’m glad. FO6r those expecting more of the same…look out for that chair.

Grade: B-