The true horror is having to watch this mess of a film.
“Malignant” is a horror film from director James Wan, known for his work in the “Saw,” “The Conjuring” and the “Aquaman” franchises. It was written by Akela Cooper, who also has a story by credit with Wan and Ingrid Bisu. It was released on HBO Max and in theaters last night.
The film follows Maddie, a pregnant woman hoping to give birth after several miscarriages. But after getting her head thrown into a wall, strange happenings occur as Maddie now experiences the murders of several people at the hands of an elusive killer. With the police suspecting her, Maddie tries to figure out what’s going on as her past catches up to her.
“Malignant” is a two-faced film that doesn’t do anything particularly well. The horror has no weight, the gore is too slick and the modern stylings clash with the retro aesthetics. The random comedic moments and silly plot developments thud on the ground. It doesn’t work.
Annabelle Wallis plays Maddie, and she delivers a bad performance. None of her line delivery lands as she fumbles her way through each horror sequence. The dramatic moments fall flat, and the few physical aspects of her role are ridiculous. If this was a B-horror film, it wouldn’t be out of place. But as much as this movie tries, it isn’t one of those low-budget films.
The rest of the actors don’t have anything to write home about either. Maddie Hasson plays her sister Sydney, George Young plays Detective Kekoa and Michole Briana White plays Detective Regina. Their performances are boring and one-note, technically getting the job done without leaving any impressions.
As the plot develops, the film gets more and more incomprehensible, throwing out several ideas without developing any of them. Everything is treated as if it carries significance, reshaping the lives of the characters. But, like the characters, it’s all hollow, only adding to the “unbelievable” nature of the film for articles to be written about later.
In that field, the horror doesn’t land at all. A few of the sequences early on in the film were done decently, with a good usage of space and framing. But it consistently became moments of weightless action as the killer tore into their victims. The blood in particular looks fake, splattering about in a way that looks almost calculated. It feels like the filmmakers were trying to create a classic 80’s horror film without committing to it.
This all comes to a head near the end of the film, with a full-on action sequence that felt straight from “The Matrix.” It’s an impressive sequence, if you watch it by itself on YouTube, devoid of context. In the film, the stakes have been lowered so severely that the scene washes over the viewer without making a single impact, even though it’s filled with copious amounts of gore.
It doesn’t help that the film has poorly timed and tonally inconsistent comedy. It’s hard to feel the heaviness of the horror while a character tries to flirt with a detective over a brutalized corpse.
The score is also inconsistent, switching from fairly traditional horror strings to “Stranger Things” synthesizers (reinforcing the attempt at making an old-school horror film). It throws the film off-balance as it tries to create different moods.
Finally, there is a rendition of “Where is My Mind?” by Pixies that is awful, especially as it beats the audience over the head with the idea that maybe the main character is losing their mind.
The only two good things to say about this movie are in relation to the cinematography and the editing. The camera work in this film is impressive, with harsh Dutch angles, great framing and a specific overhead shot that is great. The film looks good, even though that clashes with the somewhat retro stylings of the film.
Finally, the editing is quite good at times, especially in the sequences with Maddie witnessing the murders. It works with the camera, rotating as the environment dissolves and it transitions to a new scene. Those are the only good parts of the movie worth noting.
“Malignant” is a failed horror film. It isn’t scary, especially with the ridiculous plot and awful acting. It has no weight, moving from one scene to the next as the audience blends the film in their minds, only leaving a slushy of nothingness.
It’s been a while since a bad horror film has come out. I haven’t seen it, but apparently “Don’t Breathe 2” is pretty bad. At least “Spiral” was a little bit enjoyable.
But “Malignant” has nothing to offer. It exists to land on horror listicles about the “craziest” moments in horror films, without any proper understanding as to why those scenes usually work.
The movie clashes with itself, trying to be a retro and modern horror film, only landing in the middle with nothing interesting about it whatsoever.
The film’s quality is indicative to the fact that the catalyst of the film is a moment of domestic abuse.
1.5 of 5 Torches
