Review: "Malignant"

James Wan has made staple horror franchises that have gone on to reinvent the genre. Other directors have tried to take his sub genre of torture porn, like he used in the Saw franchise or even the old familial 70's haunted home sub genre, like The Conjuring and Insidious franchises. He is a very accomplished director when it comes to scares while also delving more into the campiness that is prevalent in today's blockbuster films. That campiness he injected into Aquaman and The Fast and Furious franchises must have crept it's way into the making of Malignant as it is one of the most uneven and campy horror films that have been made in a long time. At times it even feels like Wan is simply playing with his fans and viewers with this wacky, nonsensical film. His eye for creating stunning visual effects is still present as is his ability to film a tense scene in one shot, but and again maybe intentionally, the film never makes sense but at it's core is a rather interesting film.

The plot follows Madison (Annabelle Wallis) as she has managed to lose multiple babies due to unfortunate miscarriages which in turn angers her abusive husband, Derek (Jake Abel). After another miscarriage due to a terrifying night, she is forced to open up her mind to repressed memories as she begins to see horrible, paralyzing visions of grizzly murders taking place nearby. As more memories begin to pour in, she looks to her past for answers.

Talking about this film is increasingly difficult without diving into spoilers due to how wacky the plot ends up going, however, the performance delivered by Annabelle Wallis as the troubled Madison is rather impressive and helps grip the audience's attention enough through an equally troubled plot and script. No matter how crazy things manage to get, she never herself delves into more campy caricatures like the lesser actors around her.

James Wan employs some tactics behind the camera to once again really grab the audiences attention and further immerse them into the world he is trying to create. Much like he did frequently in the original Conjuring film, he has an incredible talent to effortlessly develop a continuous shot is a stand out here. There are multiple scenes throughout that are all done in one take which brings a lot out of his actors and helps add tension throughout the take, even if the actors aren't great. The score does a great job of bringing the audience in as well and surely helps add to the tension once again. However, with the great eye Wan has for building tension, most if not all never have a payoff with a scare which is rather odd for a horror film. Considering this film, in hindsight, wasn't advertised much running up to release on top of a review embargo up until the second Malignant was available to stream on HBO Max is a bit strange. It may just signal that Warner Brothers Studio truly didn't have much faith behind this project even with the likes of James Wan behind it.

The plot is troubling, but the final act in a weird way helps bring it home in a somewhat satisfying conclusion. However, getting there can be a bit of a bore and at times just laughable, which is odd seeing as how it is after all a horror film at heart. Some of the dialogue among the actors must have been incredibly difficult to deliver without cracking a smile or a laugh but at it's heart, this film may just be a joke on old horror films of the 90's or early 2000's. It certainly has some familiar looks to The Ring franchise, as it even is filmed where the original was shot in a cold and rainy depressed filled city. The mysterious murderous monster also invokes some of the same fear that Samara from The Ring had. No matter how difficult it becomes to follow the insanity of the plot, I really cannot drive home that point enough by the way, Wan's talent behind the camera continues to shine as does a surprising performance by Wallis that helps make the film a bit enjoyable. If you love campy horror films too, this film is a for sure watch for you.