For almost two decades now, James Wan has made a name for himself as the horror connoisseur of the 21st century. With franchises including Saw, The Conjuring and Insidious under his belt, as well as a handful of one-time-only entities, his filmography is packed to the rafters with frights and scares. Promising that his new feature, Malignant, is his craziest yet, can he scare up the same success he has had throughout his career?
A traumatised young woman begins to have visions of people getting murdered, only to realise that the events are happening in real life. Wan directs an original screenplay written by Akela Cooper, which stars Annabelle Wallis as the lead.
A genre flick intent on paying homage to the Giallos that inspired it, Malignant wears its influences on its sleeve - to rather mixed effect. While this demonstrates stylistic confidence from Wan - a man whose expertise and resources have granted him a comparatively high production budget that he splashes on the screen - it can be distracting, frustrating and (dare one say) boring, with the flood of genre references resulting in a greater focus on style over propelling the plot forward in the first hour of the drama. As such, the film's 111-minute runtime feels overdrawn and unbalanced, with a far tighter cut existing that would reduce these flaws.
What must be commended, though, is Wan's big finale twist: a somewhat foreseeable, soap opera moment but executed with enough rug-from-under-the-feet gusto that it lands with genuine thrill, managing to paper over most of the mistakes from the first two thirds. Some will see the reveal as a ridiculous revelation, but as someone who spent most of the runtime eager for the film to finally deliver on the promise of its wildness, it will be a relief to know that it at least manages to grip in the final stretch. With this final act being home to some surprisingly gory moments that were perhaps undersold going in, it's further proof of Wan's impressive versatility within the genre wheelhouse.
Thankfully, Annabelle Wallis steers the ship with enough poise and control, managing to ground the film throughout its chaos. Because Wallis' Madison is drawn sympathetically, we feel the terror of her situation with richer detail; horror often works best when the threat is universal, but while her situation is unique, Wallis' commitment to her character, as well as Wan's immersive direction and special effects, really absorb you into her situation. Maddie Hasson is the other standout, with the film's theme of sisterhood thriving due to the chemistry and relationship the pair craft.
With everything but the kitchen sink thrown into its chaotic finale, Malignant is a loaded horror film that bites off more than it can chew but, through sheer force of will and a committed finale, can at least attest to being memorable. It's unevenly paced and too disorganised to go down as one of James Wan's stronger genre flicks but it is refreshing to see a horror flick go-for-broke when it matters.