MALIGNANT (2021)
From SAW (2004) to AQUAMAN, THE CONJURING (2013) to FURIOUS 7, James Wan is a director whose work has made billions of dollars in Hollywood profit. With 2021’s MALIGNANT, he cashed in possibly the most “one for me” credits a director has ever redeemed. In just shy of two hours of non-stop genre bending thrills, MALIGNANT is at the same time a wholly original work and a fan-servicing love letter to a dozen different eras of B-horror. From the lurid gore of ‘70s Giallo films to the self-serious melodrama of early Y2K torture porn, MALIGNANT subverts your expectations by the ways it jumps from subgenre to subgenre with immense love and familiarity for each genre’s tropes. In one moment, the film echoes the aesthetics of a turn-of-the-century Japanese ghost story, and in the next the goopy absurdity of a Henenlotter-style body horror. From start to finish, it is not only the rollercoaster story of MALIGNANT that keeps you hooked, but the wild jumps in the types of horror that it presents.
From the very first shot, MALIGNANT presents its thesis: the aesthetics and tropes of genre film dialed to a degree of glorious excess. We enter on a sweeping low angle landscape shot of Simian Research Hospital, a gigantic compound far closer to a gothic horror castle than somewhere real science is conducted. The opening scene is a masterclass in setting tone, setting up the antagonist Gabriel with truly absurd lines delivered entirely straight-faced; lines such as “electroshock had no effect on him, it’s like he’s drinking the electricity” and the now iconic “it’s time to cut out the cancer.” This dramatic dialogue is emphasized by violent musical stings that burst through melodrama into the realm of absurdity, more closely resembling action movie one-liners than typical horror fare and setting the tone at ceiling height for the reality that the rest of the film will exist within.
It’s rare a credits sequence is of particular note, but the opening titles drive the excitement even higher as Joseph Bishara’s dramatic industrial score blares over a sequence of vague yet eerie stills that seem ambiguous on first viewing but become enlightening details on rewatch. This credit sequence is the first of many examples of how writer Akela Cooper understands the expectations of genre audiences and plays both to and directly against these expectations to create a story that’s a thrilling first watch going in blind and a rewarding experience many rewatches later.
And then back to normalcy as the film introduces its protagonist Madison, as portrayed brilliantly by Annabelle Wallis. Madison is trapped in an abusive relationship with her husband Derek (played by Jake Abel). For a brief moment, MALIGNANT seems to suddenly be a much more serious and grounded affair than before. We watch a shockingly graphic moment of domestic violence when Jake slams the (very pregnant) Madison’s head against the wall of their bedroom, leaving her bloodied and him locked downstairs for the evening to sleep on the couch.
Suddenly MALIGNANT makes the second of its subgenre shifts, as Jake wakes in the night to find himself in what visually resembles a 2010s style haunted house film, the kind Wan himself popularized in his immensely successful film INSIDIOUS, although now accompanied by the kind of dramatic zooms reminiscent of ‘70s supernatural thrillers. Creeping through the kitchen following the sounds of various appliances seemingly starting on their own, James is suddenly stabbed in the head by a figure appearing behind him.
The noise causes Madison to wake up, her head wound leaving behind a blood-stained pillow beneath her. She goes to check on Derek, only to find his broken body lying next to the couch, neck snapped to an impossible degree. A dark, long haired figure looms over him, its appearance in this scene serving as a direct homage to the iconic look of the spirit Kayako in Takashi Shimizu’s classic horror film JU-ON: THE GRUDGE (2002). This ghostly figure chases Madison up the stairs in an action-packed sequence before violently knocking her out once again against the floor.
Of course, now that they’re least needed, the police finally show up and we’re introduced to detectives Kekoa Shaw (George Young) and Regina Moss (Michole Briana White). White’s performance in this film is an absolute standout, with her ‘tired of this bullshit’ attitude and snide remarks earning laughs every single time. Their analysis of this case introduces a new mystery and escalates the horror: Derek was not killed by a spirit but by a corporeal person, one as physically strong as a car crash and whose handprints are upside-down.
Days later, Madison awakens in the hospital and is greeted by her sister Sydney, played in another of this film's standout performances by Maddie Hasson, whose stage-like line readings and melodramatic reactions speak to an intimate understanding of the film’s heightened tone. Madison is anguished to discover that she’s had a miscarriage, which, according to her doctor, is her third in two years.
From here, Madison begins experiencing visions of Gabriel’s murders echoing two Italian horror classics, both THE PSYCHIC (1977) by Lucio Fulci and the opening of Dario Argento’s DEEP RED (1975), two filmmakers whose work has a lot of visual influence on MALIGNANT. The story continues with twist after twist in both style and narrative and is best left unspoiled. But in selling the film, it suffices to say that it also includes:
A ‘women in prison’ scene featuring a cameo from legendary stuntwoman Zoe Bell.
Two extended chase sequences on par with the iconic chase in THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974), including what may be the most elaborate top-down spider cam shot in horror.
A choreographed one-take hyper violent action sequence in a police station to rival the best fights in the John Wick franchise.
A third act twist so thoroughly set up and yet so completely out of left field that the only valid reaction is shock and awe.
If the promise of these moments alone isn’t enough for MALIGNANT to get added to your watchlist, you’re a tough crowd!
MALIGNANT is the rare film able to be both extremely stupid fun and yet wickedly smart in its tight scripting and tenured directing talents. It’s both fan service to the horror cinephile who has seen all the classics, and a crowd pleaser for the casual audience. It’s a film you can throw on at any gathering of horror enjoyers for both shouts and laughs, or rewatch on your own for the 100th time to catch even more subtle details of the shockingly high-effort production. To any movie lover with a sense of fun, MALIGNANT is a delightful time at the movies that earns absolute top marks.
