Directed by James Wan, Malignant (2021) is an epic horror film that does not follow typical patterns of the genre. The main character, Madison, portrayed by Annabelle Wallis, starts to have dreadful visions of brutal murders only to come to the horrendous realization that these murders are taking place in the present. With the sheer terror of these revelations revealed, Madison learns that there is, indeed, some link to the perpetrator with her, but one that is nothing short of sickening. The film delivers a roller coaster filled, rather artfully, with violent psychological trauma, the paranormal, and an unforeseen twist towards the end that makes everything feel unreal.
What really amazed me in Malignant is its willingness to try something new and risky within the standards of the horror genre. The Beginning of the movie seems to be more of a typical supernatural horror genre but as the film unfolds it plunges into crazy and even surrealism. It’s safe to say that this demonstration of Madison’s relationship to the killer was more than jaw-dropping and out of context in recent horror films, combining two directions – body horror with improvement which only a kin to science fiction could teach. The creator of The Conjuring and Insidious franchises James Wan departs from his usual pattern with Malignant and brings something absolutely fantastic.
An interesting detail about Malignant in fact is its overall budget was close to 40 million dollars, and even though it experienced some problems with the release during the pandemic, it still managed to get more than 34 million dollars overseas with a good number of hits on HBO Max. I like the fact that the film was polarizing among audiences and critics — it is the charm of the movie for me. Sometimes, it is one of those ‘love it or hate it’ type of films. I liked its bold creative decisions. It was an oddly delightful chaotic mess in the relams of modern horror. In particular, the last portion of the movie was a fusion of horror and action that left me stunned and entertained both at the same time.