“Malignant” (2021) focuses on Madison (Annabelle Wallis), who is trying to recover after a violent home invasion. After she figures out that she is connected to the intruder and can see his misdeeds, she reports it to the police, who consider her the lead suspect. Will she be able to clear herself and stop the killer before he hurts more people that she loves? James Wan directed this horror movie and is best known for the Saw and Insidious franchises and creating the Conjuring Universe. After directing the disappointing “Aquaman” (2018) and “Mortal Kombat” (2021), he decided to return to his horror roots.
Despite adoring horror, I have never seen a single installment of Insidious or Saw, whose concept I find distasteful because it sounds like torture porn, but I understand that my impression could be mistaken. I did see “The Conjuring” (2013), which I enjoyed when I first saw it when it was called “The Amityville Horror” (1979). I am officially a cranky old lady telling kids that they don’t know good music and his films are just watered-down retelling of classic supernatural horror films. Despite my love for Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, I realized that I had to love myself more, recognize that I am a completist and not aggravate myself further; thus opting out of going any deeper in that universe. I understand that people who belong to younger generations think that Wan’s catalogue is filled with quality classics, and I am happy for you. I will just stay over here and advise you not to watch older films so you can continue to have a good time.
I was willing to see “Malignant” because it was a horror film that was not a part of any of these ATMs, and the film had a woman protagonist. While watching the film, I made a few educated guesses regarding the cause of Madison’s travails, especially since the film reminded me of a cross between “Patrick” (1978) meets “Carrie” (1976) with a Jekyll and Hyde twist. Close, but no cigar! Though I cannot remember any movie titles, it also reminded me of those films where a person develops a split personality to protect the character from abuse. Again, no. I am impressed that I never figured out the mystery before the film was ready to reveal it, and I see a lot of movies. I am usually a solid predictor.
I cannot recommend “Malignant.” Every actor looked familiar, but I did not recognize them, which left me with a nagging feeling, and while they were fine, sometimes they wandered into the vicinity of overacting, which is probably direction considering the denouement. Wallis reminded me of Sarah Wayne Callis from “The Walking Dead” and “Prison Break,” and I did not recognize from Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy” (2017). Maddie Hasson, who plays the protagonist’s sister and best friend, reminded me of Taken’s Maggie Grace. Jacqueline McKenzie who plays Dr. Florence Weaver does not look like, but reminds me of the spirit of Scandal’s Vice President Kate Burton. I did not recognize Susanna Thompson, who plays Madison and Sydney’s mom, but is better known for being Oliver Queen’s mom in Arrow. Casting Jean Louisa Kelly as a tour guide was perfect.
The cityscapes in “Malignant” looked computer generated though I liked the atmosphere that they struck. It was distracting how huge the protagonist’s home was considering that her husband did not seem employed, and she was wearing a uniform that screamed, “I’m underpaid,” then never went back to work the rest of the movie. Are homes cheap in Seattle? It really bugged me when the film reveals that she had better digs than another doctor in the film whose apartment was perched across from a huge red neon sign.
Considering the bananas denouement, the writers, Wan, Ingrid Bisu, who also appears in the film and is Wan’s wife, and Akela Cooper, who has worked as a writer on some of my favorite shows (“Grimm,” “The 100,” “Luke Cage” and “Avengers Assemble”) and is a black woman, missed an opportunity to reinvigorate horror tropes and explore themes earlier that land in the denouement and are more provocative than the entire movie. With a run time of one hour fifty-one minutes, every minute that passed felt wasted, and I began to regret my life choices with the repetitive nature of the film until………the sister starts investigating interspersed with a jail fight scene!
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“Malignant” is never scary, but it does excel at embracing its bonkers premise, which is based on an urban legend, Edward Mordrake-Google! Taking a page out of “Nightmare on Elm Street,” Madison had a conjoined twin, Gabriel, who could speak through technology and affect technology. They were conceived through rape and given up for adoption. He would take over her body until they surgically removed as much of him as they could when he became dangerous. When her husband slammed her against a wall, he woke up Gabriel, who took over her body and fooled her into thinking that she was awake so do not confuse Gabriel as a protector. Gabriel, like her husband, is responsible for her miscarriages and living off of her. There is an intriguing concept of a young girl growing up into a woman accustomed to men using her body and putting her in a dissociative state like Get Out’s Sunken Place while using her power against her, but because the filmmakers misdirect us to believe that it is Madison’s suppressed rage, the point does not get conveyed until the eleventh hour.
Wan said, “It’s definitely not a superhero film.” Well, it could have been. Straight out of Supernatural’s Lucifer storyline, Madison reclaims her body and traps Gabriel in her mind. She has an epiphany. If Gabriel could perform all those impressive acrobatic and strength feats, she can too. We discover that Madison could be a superhero! The movie finally gets intriguing, and it is over! Now I want a sequel with Madison hunting down her father! Madison is Unbreakable! Also side note: her poor biological mom.
The denouement is completely so over the top and ridiculous that it is funny and fabulous. My favorite aspect of “Malignant” was the found footage moments of recordings from the institution. It is interesting that this movie and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” (2021), are set in the nineties in institutions that are supposed to serve children, but only damage them. Having the adopted mom and sister screaming once they and the audience discover what has been happening to Madison was a perfect audience surrogate moment. The jail fight scene was so aggressively retro and exploitive as if it was from the seventies. I am so impressed that an actual person, Marina Mazepa, played Gabriel, not special effects because Gabriel rapidly moved backwards! How!?!
“Malignant” is not a good movie yet it still managed to impress me. It ended strong, embraced the madness and showcased some genuine talent that the average bad movie could not do. I even got some genuine laughs, which some comedies cannot coax out of me. If you have something better to watch, don’t waste your time, but if you have a high tolerance for crap, give it a shot.
