Image courtesy of IMDb
Hello, everyone. For my first review of 2023, this is one of those times where I decided to review one movie I have really wanted to cover ever since it came out. I figured what better time to do so than now, since this shares the same writer as the first major release of the new year, that being M3GAN.
I have decided to start the year off with a horror movie, much like the release slate itself usually does. After branching out into action movies with Furious 7 and comic book movies with Aquaman, director James Wan returned to his roots with a bang, and what a bang it was.
Folks, I finally bring to you my review of his most ambitious horror movie to date, and that is Malignant.
Before I get started, I must forewarn you of a few things. 1: Though I of course will not divulge why, if you’re expecting or planning to be, I would strongly advise against seeing this anytime soon (otherwise, you’ll never look at pregnancy the same way ever again). 2: If you’re squeamish, this is not for you. 3: If you’re sensitive to flashing or flickering lights, or anything else, this is definitely not for you. Granted, it’s not as bad as how it was in, say, Halloween Ends where it’s a strobe light effect. It’s not like that at all; I’m mainly talking about lights being blown out and some flickering.
Therefore, for any horror or non-horror fans where any or all of the above apply, I would suggest reading with caution (though I usually do my best to avoid going into spoilers anyway) or turning back now and waiting for when I’m not covering a horror movie or even certain types of thrillers.
With that out of the way, on with the review.
The film follows a woman named Madison, and she seems to be living a normal life in Seattle with her abusive husband Derek, and she’s wanting to have a child. Unfortunately, an altercation occurs that results in her being hospitalized and Derek being killed. After coming home, Madison begins experiencing visions of gruesome murders as they happen. As she comes to realize these are occurring in real life, a more shocking truth slowly begins to unravel.
What Worked: While the cast all give great performances, it’s the lead performance from Annabelle Wallis (the 2017 Mummy reboot*) as Madison herself that really sells it. She is outstanding in this. This is a character that while you obviously can’t relate to her situation, you certainly can relate to her. No matter how hard you may try to live a normal life, how reality plays out in front of you is unpredictable, and it can spiral out of control at any time, sometimes to where you can’t do anything to resolve it, even if you have people to try to help you. She does a fantastic job conveying that, and throughout the movie, you feel her pain.
You also get some great supporting performances from Maddie Hasson as Madison’s sister Sydney, George Young as Detective Kekoa Shaw (yes, that’s his name), Michole Briana White as his partner Detective Regina Moss, and even Jake Abel as Derek (as brief as his screen time is) and Jacqueline McKenzie (who you may remember from Deep Blue Sea). Of course, there are others, but with one exception that I’ll get to later, those are the main ones I can mention without giving too much away.
What I can say is that the story itself is brilliant. Even if you set Madison’s situation aside, which in reality can be pretty frightening, as mentioned earlier, putting a supernatural or psychological spin on it just elevates it that much more. That’s one reason why James Wan is such an icon in terms of modern day horror filmmakers. I thought that was such a great idea for him to bring to the table here, with the help of his wife, Ingrid Bisu (who also has a small supporting role in the movie), and especially up-and-coming screenwriter Akela Cooper.
Speaking of the latter, it says something when a horror newcomer can make a twist so good it puts even M. Night Shyamalan’s best twists to shame. Even if you think you can figure it out, it’ll still catch you off guard with how shocking it is. It’s also surprising when you realize she did so on her second film.
Even leading up to said twist, James Wan’s direction on its own is so unsettling in its own right. Not only that, there are some really cool shots in this. One particular sequence involves Madison running down a hallway, and it’s shot from above her in a tracking shot, and how he pulled it off is very impressive. Also, without giving too much away, there’s a sequence in the third act set at a police station. If you thought the police station assault in The Terminator was crazy, the one in this movie might top it for you, as it’s done all in one take. Be on the lookout for moments like those.
The biggest things that stood out to me aside from the twist were the music and the level of violence in this. Joseph Bishara’s score is really good, but there are two separate tracks in particular that will really stick with you. One is “When Your Walls Fall” by Celldweller, whose music was very popular trailer music in the 2000s, most notably “Switchback”. When this song kicks in, it hits hard, and in saying James Wan came back to horror with a bang with this movie, that statement especially applies there. The opening scene is shocking enough, and then the song slowly builds up into the excellent opening credits sequence, and then it really kicks in and doesn’t stop until the sequence ends. It’s not the only time, either. It comes back again later and it feels like the unofficial main theme of the movie.
The other one is a cover of Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?”, which even thematically is a perfect fit. For those who remember Fight Club, which made that song more popular, you might like the cover here.
Now for the violence, to say this is brutal is an understatement. This does not hold back with the kills. This is a bloodbath. The killer will not let anyone get in his way. If the deaths alone don’t get you, his look, weapon, and voice certainly will. Other than the blood and gore and the transitions to each murder scene (which are among some CGI courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic), the effects are mainly practical, particularly his appearance. Simply put, every aspect of how they brought him to life is brilliant.
There are a couple other things I will mention before I go into the biggest aspect I wanted to address and then close this out.
While very consistent in tone, it does have some humor, usually from the police. However, it never goes to where it detracts from the overall very serious tone.
The other thing I can mention is that there are some genuinely effective scares in this. Usually in horror movies, especially now, they rely on cheap jump scares for the sake of having them in the movie. That’s not the case here, because James Wan knows how to do it right. He builds up tension, and then gets you when you least expect it. He definitely showed that in the first two Conjuring films**.
Before I close this out, here’s the biggest thing I wanted to address. There’s an argument that I had seen some make that this is an absurd, over the top, cheesy horror movie, with aspects that are meant to be taken as such. Sure, there are some things that can be viewed in that context, but for me, it didn’t feel like that. It felt more like a flat-out insane horror movie with a supernatural or psychological twist to it (no pun intended).
Overall: Malignant is a triumphant return to horror for James Wan as a director, and it feels like he’s still got it. It also shows he’s willing to take risks, because he presents an original idea, which can go either way for anyone no matter what genre it is, and he still manages to pull it off.
As a result, this turned out to not only be one of the most unique horror movies I have seen in a long time, but also one of the craziest. Usually when others try to do that, it’s shock value for the sake of shock value with no real purpose to it. Here, it feels genuine, and it has a purpose with actual buildup to it, which is how it should be done, but in reality not always is, especially in recent years.***
The real surprise of the movie comes from how well crafted its story is and how well executed it is, while delivering great performances and compelling characters through a brilliant script from a very promising writer in Akela Cooper.
Despite Malignant not doing too well on release, it does have an audience. Give it a few more years, and it’ll have a following that it rightfully earned.
With how this turned out so early in her career, though, I’m glad she’s been getting more work, and it seems to be paying off with the success of M3GAN, so she did bounce back by making a movie that felt more mainstream.
Now, with that having been said, I’m even more excited to bring you my review of M3GAN, which I hope to put up very soon.
*Speaking of The Mummy, if you remember the 1999 version with Brendan Fraser and its sequel The Mummy Returns, Patricia Velásquez makes an appearance at the beginning of this movie.
**I know that it’ll seem odd having done this before any of his previous horror films like those, especially given the Intro and Outro of this review, but again, the main reason I chose to cover this now is more so because of the writer, who happens to have her latest project out right now in theaters.
***What I mean by that, folks, is something that’ll be elaborated further in a type of post I haven’t done before, but have wanted to do for some time. As for what that is, you’ll have to wait and see while I’m working on it.