REVIEW: Malignant (2021)

Movie Reviews

Director James Wan has made quite the reputation for himself in the horror world over the last decade. His first major film, SAW, debuted in 2004, went on to make over 100 million dollars at the box office on a 1.2 million dollar budget and launched a franchise that dominated the horror landscape for the next seven years. Since then, Wan’s movies have made a big impression in Hollywood, kickstarting three separate franchises: the SAW, Insidious, and Conjuring films are beloved by horror fans all over the world. He’s shown himself to be very versatile, directing everything from supernatural horror (The Conjuring, Insidious) to action movies (Fast 7, Death Sentence (2007)), and even brought Warner Bros. a billion dollars at the box office with the superhero film Aquaman.

His newest movie, Malignant, was released in theaters yesterday. Malignant follows Madison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis), who is suddenly plagued by visions of grisly murders after her husband is brutally killed in their home. Her terror worsens as she discovers that these visions aren’t only in her mind; they’re real and dangerous. In the journey to discover why she is receiving these visions, her dark past comes back to haunt her.

The Cons

Wan is one of my absolute favorite directors, so when New Line Cinema announced his new film, Malignant, I was all for it. While I liked the movie well enough, it’s definitely not his best, unfortunately. Malignant’s opening scene makes it feel a bit like it could be a sci-fi thriller, but then the rest of the film is mostly thriller with a little bit of horror thrown in. The storyline is solid enough, but I did ask myself, “Where is this going?” at one point. It comes together in the end, but the journey to get there is a bit jumpy. The killer is made out to be this supernatural type of being, but they never explain why he has these abilities, just that he has them. The plot is slow-paced, and it’s nowhere near as scary as Wan’s usual films, instead leaning more towards thriller rather than horror.

The Pros

Malignant is beautifully shot. Wan does not disappoint when it comes to his directing in this movie. Joseph Bishara returns as composer for the film; he’s a big player when it comes to Wan’s movies, having composed the musical score for six of the Conjuring films and two of the Insidious films. Bishara was also specifically picked by Wan to compose the trench scene in Aquaman. His score for Malignant is great; it’s creepy and full of dread, adding that much-needed intensity to scenes that otherwise wouldn’t be so. The killer in this movie, albeit a bit odd, is creepy and unnerving; he’s definitely someone you wouldn’t want to be a real person. The plot twist is honestly something I did not see coming, and it connects to the title of the film really well. The acting is great, and leads Annabelle Wallis and Maddie Hasson steal the show here. For Conjuring fans, Annabelle Wallis is also the lead in the movie Annabelle, where she was brilliant too. Up-and-coming actress Maddie Hasson plays Annabelle’s sister, Sydney, and she is one to watch out for; she’s great in her role as well. George Young, who plays Detective Shaw, is also a stand-out in this movie. His character is charming, handsome, and the first to believe our main character’s story. I can see his career going places for sure. The other actors aren’t as strong as our two leads, but they hold their own, and they don’t distract from the movie at all. It’s an odd film, with a very different story, which I like a lot.

The Overall

While not awful, I’ve definitely seen better horror films, especially from James Wan. Malignant is an average movie at best; it’s not up to James Wan’s usual standard, and despite the cool plot twist, it can easily wait to be seen on video.