Malignant Film Review

By now, James Wan has more than proven he has the chops to crank out a big, splashy, family-friendly blockbuster like Aquaman, but many of his fans still love him best for horror masterpieces like The Conjuring and Insidious. This year’s Malignant found him going back to his roots for the first time in a while and trying his hand at another gory, over-the-top horror flick. But is this film definitive proof that he’s still got it, or is Mr. Wan better off sticking to superhero movies at this point?

Malignant is the story of Madison (Annabelle Wallis), a haunted young woman living in Seattle. She works an exhausting job and is well into a pregnancy despite having had multiple miscarriages in the past. Madison also happens to be married to an alcoholic, abusive jerk (Jake Abel) who not only blames her for the miscarriages but abuses her every chance he gets, as well as keeps her isolated from her family.

One evening, after yet another argument, Madison’s husband slams her head against a wall hard enough to leave the wall dented and Madison’s head bleeding. That night, a mysterious, shadowy figure infiltrates the couple’s home before killing the husband. Unfortunately, it also puts Madison in the hospital after knocking her unconscious and causing her to lose her pregnancy.

Now a murder suspect, Madison reunites with her estranged sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson) and looks forward to living an everyday, healthy life. However, she is now plagued by horrible, persistent nightmares that find her paralyzed and forced to witness a series of murders. But the murders are more than just bad dreams. When they turn out to indeed be happening, Madison and Sydney vow to get to the bottom of things, all while dealing with a pair of homicide detectives (George Young, Michole Briana White) who are also bent on solving the cases.

If you’ve seen many horror films, then you probably think you know where Malignant is going with all this. And you’d even be right to some extent, especially if you’re familiar with James Wan’s signature storytelling style when it comes to horror. Even seasoned horror fans are unlikely to guess all the specifics, though.

Thanks to a snappy script that keeps the clues and reveals coming at regular intervals, a lot is going on with Malignant. This is also one of those “go for broke” horror films that aren’t afraid to go over the top – sometimes well over. There are tropes galore to consider, including foggy basements, imaginary childhood friends (that may or may not be so imaginary after all), and mysterious pasts just waiting to be uncovered. There are gory kill scenes. There’s even a touch of comic relief here and there.

If you’ve never uttered an actual “WTF” aloud before while watching a movie, you might want to prepare to do so for the first time while watching this. You will almost certainly wonder whether this movie is actually for real. However, despite all this, the talented Wan manages to keep Malignant from completely falling apart at any point. This is a director who not only knows old-school, over-the-top horror very well but has become unafraid to simply pull out all the stops with it at this point in his career.

That said, Malignant is a wild ride that asks you to suspend a lot of disbelief. But it’s a ride you’ll almost certainly enjoy taking if you’re a fan of Wan’s way with horror. If cerebral, understated genre films that take themselves super seriously are your bag, Malignant probably isn’t for you. But if you’re willing to simply embrace it for what it is, you’ll be glad you gave it a chance.