Malignant: Movie Review (No Spoilers)


 

By Michael Momper

 

​James Wan, creator of the Saw and The Conjuring franchises, has returned to his seat in the pantheon of great horror directors after a brief deviation with his direction of Aquaman. His newest film, Malignant, is equal parts horror and thriller, totally bonkers, and a hell of a lot of fun. It is a rocky road at times, with some very campy and stilted dialogue throughout, but given its crazy 1980s horror vibes it is inoffensive enough to overlook. You can say a lot about this movie for better or worse, and it will no doubt be a divisive one, but one thing that is undeniable is its creativity.


​To avoid spoilers, I can’t get too much into the plot because the absolutely insane twist in the back half of the movie is one that absolutely nobody will see coming. A proper suspension of belief is important for a story this ludicrous and fun, even though there are a few very frustrating plot holes here and there. Regardless, this is a horror movie with a fun sci-fi bend to it. The audience is left guessing throughout about the causes of the horrible and gory deaths that are occurring. At times it seems that the paranormal realm is to blame- demonic imagery and supernatural forces are consistently on display, but there is a certain tension below the surface that is a result of the fact that a human seems to be involved too. The performances are decent, and are again over the top at points in true 1980s horror fashion.


​More than anything, it was refreshing to see James Wan’s unique visual style again. His angles are inventive, his stories are twisted and his suspense-building is genius. He is excellent at subverting audience expectations and throwing us off the scent. Because of his knack for twists and doing the unexpected, it leads viewers to often bite hard on red herrings, only to be shocked moments later by a horrific sight or death scene. He moves the camera seamlessly, in a sort of macabre dance, as his push-ins on characters and set pieces build a sense of dread that has viewers on the edges of their seats. Like in the Saw franchise, his color palette and visual style are slick, and though some of the deaths are sickening and repulsive, they are often so ridiculous and outrageous that it invokes a sort of shocked laughter.


​Even for a James Wan movie, Malignant goes a little over the top with the sheer magnitude of kills in my opinion. I found myself taken out of the story a bit near the end because there were so many back to back insane kills that it made me groan a bit (in a similar fashion to how I react when I have to witness a big Marvel battle scene). It just seemed a bit indulgent, as some of the killing would go on for minutes at a time, very palpably striving for a shock and awe factor. This will certainly divide horror fans, as everyone has different tolerance for grisly ridiculousness (even of the self-aware kind, which James Wan certainly possesses in spades). Around this time in the movie some hard-to-ignore plot holes arise, partly because of the sheer excesses of the killing. Again, some people are certainly better than me at suspending belief for a self-aware goofy and crazy thrill ride, but I just found these elements distracting at times given that the tone was serious more often than not.


​It is refreshing that James Wan is making horror movies again. If you like his style, if you have a high tolerance for bloody, gory mutilation, you will likely enjoy this movie. It is twisted and very surprising. I certainly give it points for creativity- its premise is wild and ludicrous, but it commits fully to it with assured confidence. Wan hasn’t lost a single step in terms of suspense and thrilling camera work, so even in spite of its flaws, this movie is reassuring  proof that he has a real knack for unique horror storytelling that hopefully will be spinning many more gruesome yarns well into the future.


Rating: 70/100

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black Panther: Movie Review (No Spoilers)

Image
By Michael Momper Let me start by saying this: Black Panther does not need to be pandered. It does not need a patronizing pat on the back. It is, in my opinion, a very good movie- and that is all that matters in the world of art. Fresh off of his tremendous first two directorial features, Fruitvale Station and the immensely popular Rocky sequel Creed , director Ryan Coogler is back, but in a very different setting. Being that it is a Marvel movie, expectations are sky-high as always- but with those expectations comes the free reigns of a massive budget. This is a sizable challenge for a young director, who has to tell a completely new origin story, make us interested in the character, and rise to the demands of the typical Marvel fandom. As such, Coogler certainly delivered in spades. Black Panther features a different sort of protagonist, one who is decidedly more mild-tempered and noble than the likes of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, etc. For this reason, the human touch a...
Read more

Hit Man: Movie Review (Warning: Contains Spoilers)

Image
  By Michael Momper Can a movie be morally irresponsible? Where should we draw that line? I submit to you that it can, and I think you will agree. Consider two subjects: tone and content. When a movie's tone is problematic, even if the intentions are good, we might have a compromised piece of art. Consider a movie about a real serial killer that fumbles the tone so badly that you actually root for the killer, or find him charming and likeable. Rightfully, audiences call this out as irresponsible filmmaking- the killer had real victims, and likely living, still-grieving families, so whatever the intentions of the filmmakers it is still important to never let the film revel in the evil of its subject. Content is a slightly thornier subject. If you've read our blog, you know that Graham and I are no prudes. We aren't going to call out a film as "morally irresponsible" just for having some nudity and lots of swearing. However, a piece of art that glorifies evil is som...
Read more

Hostiles: Movie Review (No Spoilers)

Image
By Michael Momper The modern Western is oftentimes a movie packed with clichés and tired genre tropes, and most people can probably rattle them off even if they are not fans of the genre: long journeys on horseback or in covered wagons, revolvers being fired into the air, a cast of buff alpha males (luckily we have been spared from Westerns featuring scrawny beta males so far), and at least one damsel in distress. The newest well-reviewed Western to hit theaters, writer and director Scott Cooper’s Hostiles , actually contains every one of these hackneyed plot devices… and yet somehow manages to become one of the best films I have seen in this genre in a long time. Scott Cooper has consistently been able to nab some excellent actors for his projects, including Jeff Bridges, Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Johnny Depp and Benedict Cumberbatch. In Hostiles , Christian Bale returns for his second Cooper feature, alongside fellow talent in Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Ben Foster, and Ro...
Read more