Speedy Read Reviews

James Wan’s newest edition in his horror collection, Malignant, opened in theaters and became available for streaming on HBO MAX September 10. The story revolves around our main protagonist Maddie (Annabelle Wallis), and an ever increasing dark presence that has come back in her life. She begins to experience strange phenomena, like witnessing several murders without being at the actual scene of the crime. She has also been attacked by a dark shadowy figure in her house. After talking with her mother, she finds out that as a child she had an imaginary friend named Gabriel (Marina Mazepa and Ray Chase) and he talked Maddie into doing naughty things. Is Gabriel causing the strange and brutal murders? Or is it all in Maddie’s head?

So, did it scare the pants off of me?

Short answer: nope.

Spoiler Warning below for the movie Malignant and Basket Case.

The movie trailer set the film up to have a much darker tone than what was actually shown. After watching the trailer for Malignant I was really hoping that this film would be the true start of the Spooky Season and be at least a little terrifying. After being disappointed in the lack of scares in August’s horror movie showcase (The Night House and Candyman 2021) I was pulling for September’s first showcase to deliver. Unfortunately, it fell flat on that promise and wound up being a little disappointing. There were dark elements in the film, sure. You can’t have a horror movie without being a little dark. However, what dark tones were there were quickly swallowed up by silliness. In the opening, we see a chaotic situation in the hospital where Gabriel is being held and studied in the early 90’s. We see hospital staff and guards being flung in the air and slamming hard into walls and doors. One security guard opens a gun case and pulls out a rifle and several tranquillizer darts. He is ordered to fire at Gabriel (who is off screen) and as he takes aim through a slightly opened door his arm is pulled into the room. We hear a loud CRACK and the guard pulls back a badly broken arm. His eyes bulge as he sees the break and then lets out the most laughable scream. *sigh*

With that said…

Once the initial disappointment came it left just as quickly. This film reminded me of the schlocky 80’s B horror movies that I fell in love with as a kid. This movie had all the cheese in most of it’s line delivery and gifted us with goofy cartoony quotes such as, “You’ve been a bad bad boy Gabriel” and “It’s time we cut out the cancer.” I think it’s safe to say that horror fans will be quoting this movie for years to come.

The action scenes are about a 50/50 split for me. Most of the action sequences are thrilling and on point, but become a little soured when horrible CGI flashes on screen. I do understand that the character of Gabriel (especially after you witnessed that killer twist) would have to have some CGI rendering, but what we got looks rushed and takes away from the excitement of the action.

I’m not the biggest fan of the detectives. Look, I know I know, cops in horror films are almost always stupid and fail at their jobs, but I feel like the two main detectives in this film are just awful at their jobs. Detective Kekoa Shaw (George Young) seems too busy looking at Maddie’s sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson) to be bothered to do any proper investigation (Hypnotherapy here’s looking at you.) He also fails to call for backup multiple times while confronting Gabriel in the foggy abandoned underground city of Seattle. Detective Regina Moss (Michole Briana White) is too preoccupied delivering the films many quips and one liners to actually give a damn about the strangeness of the crime scenes. Their characters felt forced together and didn’t have any chemistry for me to care about them. If the writing would have molded these two characters into a duo that actually worked cohesively instead of seeming like moody strangers, I wouldn’t be praying to see them killed off quickly due to my boredom with them.

I love the Italian Giallo film influence. From the use of vibrant reds and cool blues (Suspiria vibes) to the sudden jarring almost out of place catchy soundtrack. The music choice may leave you a bit dazed and confused, especially when an operatic “ahhhhhhh” blares through the speakers after something “scary” or unnerving happens. Trust me, you’ll come to love it.

All in all, if your looking for something to scare the pants off you then I would suggest choosing another film in James Wan’s repertoire, like the first Conjuring film. Though if you love schlocky horror or are willing to sit through an interesting yet clunky first act and a tedious second act you will be supremely awarded with a really WTF third act. Hear me out, that third act really makes up for all the good and bad this movie throws at you.

In ending, I would highly suggest watching the 1982 horror classic Basket Case after viewing Malignant. Both films deal with a meek adult navigating life with an annoying and violent family “problem.” The key differences between both movies can be summed up as “one” is parasitic while the “other” is not. Also, Malignant is like Basket Case, but instead of the whicker variety a human body is the basket.

We need a Maddie and Duane Bradley crossover event ASAP!