Malignant Review

I dunno what I expected by a film named "Malignant," especially when you consider it's from director James Wan, who also produced and has "story by" credit. His penchant for bloodshed and plot twists is on full-display with his latest efforts, and even when they don't work, I found myself disregarding my standard "taste" and just went along for the twisty and twisted ride.

Annabelle Wallis plays Madison, a would-be mother who's abusive husband meets his due early in the runtime by the title villain. Who this unknown killer is eludes both Maddy and deputies Shaw and Moss, who are now on the case for his death. More people die of course, I mean, its a horror movie, but whole gimmick this time is that our title heroine "sees" the killings as they're happening. The cops don't believe her of course, and we the audience wonder if she's telling the truth, just crazy, or the murderer herself.

The answer to that loaded question might not come as a surprise, especially to any seasoned slasher flick fan, but what's commendable is that there is any sort of mystery here; in an age where so many supposed scary pictures hide from any actual explanation under the guise of god and religion, it's a genuinely good feeling to be watching something that expects me the viewer to piece together the subtle hits ahead of the end's big reveal.

None of that would matter if this was a cheapo geekshow, but it's not- Wan fills many frames with weird camera angles: some swoop overhead others spiral sideways, digging deep into the filmmakers bag of old tricks and exploits them to create something that's so heavy on style it is practically dripping. Sure, it is at the expense of some substance, but hey, that's what the surprise ending is for, providing the illusion of meat on this lean skeleton of a script. 

I won't spoil what actually happens, which means my synopsis of the plot is relatively light, and that is OK. I sat on my couch and pressed play on HBO Max having no real context, which is probably the way to go. It lured me in with a first-act straight out of "The Conjuring" universe, only to swing hard in a completely different direction. Things escalate quickly, becoming bloody and boggling, and its nerve to suddenly shift gears left me guessing what else it had in store. Turns out, we have enough time for a violent, "John Wick" style gunfight in a police precinct, a visit to a spooky, decrepit medical center, plenty of body-horror, as well as a riff on the actual definition of the word "malignant." Is that a spoiler? Only if you've seen a lot of movies.

I am not, however, saying this is a "smart" piece of cinema.

Characters still wonder in dark hallways after hearing a strange noise, cops are unable to hear gunshots from inside their own jail cell, and hospitals with plenty of patients become seemingly empty once inside. These moments are what reminds of what could have been and not what we actually have, resulting in a series of individual highlights surrounded by boilerplate.