DIrector James Wan made a name for himself on horror movies, most notably the first Saw movie, the first two movies in The Conjuring series, and the Insidious movies. He has somewhat recently been more inclined to produce movies in his various horror universes while he’s turned his directing eye on, of all characters, Aquaman. Wan knows his way around horror, and of what I have seen, his ability to build tension until something really off happens is spectacular. The dark basement clapping scene in the first Conjuring movie might be one of the most effective horror scenes I have ever watched.
So, getting him back behind the camera for another horror movie should, at least theoretically, be a good thing. Now he has a new one titled Malignant.
After a cold open in a creepy mental hospital, one where something really strange and wrong is going on, the film introduces us to Maddie Lake-Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis), a woman who we learn in very short order is pregnant but has suffered through numerous miscarriages and her husband Derek (Jake Abel) is physically abusive. But then in the middle of the night, something attacks and brutally murders Derek, and Maddie, after hiding from a human-shaped shadow, wakes up the next day having had yet another miscarriage. Of course, given her history, she is a prime suspect in Derek’s death, but she does have her aspiring actress sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson) to watch over her. But see, Maddie was adopted and something from her past may be coming back that she doesn’t even really remember, and she’s seeing visions of people she may or may not know dying brutal and violent deaths at the hands of the same figure that killed Derek. What is going on and is Maddie next?
Now, a set-up like that, given Wan’s talent and reputation, sure does sound promising. The killer whateveritis seems to short out electrical devices whenever it is nearby, meaning the attacks largely come in the dark, and it appears to possess great physical strength and dexterity. Maddie looks very guilty despite the fact she seems of a much a victim as anyone else. The kills are often gory and brutal, fitting within Wan’s general wheelhouse. There’s just one problem: none of it is particularly scary.
True, Wan does employ a number of nifty camera angles and creative shots, showing backgrounds literally melt away around Maddie as she has another murder appear before her. The killer seems unstoppable and sticks to the dark. It should be scary. It just, well, isn’t.
It really doesn’t help that when the final reveal of who or what is killing people and its connection to Maddie becomes clear is finally out, the audience gets a good look at it and, well, without putting out anything I would consider a spoiler, the thing looks more ridiculous than anything else. It’s odd, but even as I watched it killing people, I couldn’t really help but think it was at best an awkward thing that even suspending my disbelief shouldn’t have been that hard to stop. The trickiest thing to do in any horror movie like this one is to reveal the monster because chances are good the thing in any given audience member’s imagination will never live up to what is actually onscreen. This thing is seen in shadows quite a bit, giving it a definitive shape, and when it finally did come out in all its glory, well, I almost found it laughable, and that’s not a good thing for any horror movie. Wan does have some deft tricks and such on display, the cast is fine if not particularly exceptional, but there wasn’t much here keeping me feeling all that scared.
Grade: C
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