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MALIGNANT – Review – We Are Movie Geeks

Review

MALIGNANT – Review

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By Marc Butterfield

The Halloween season kicks off with director James Wan’s MALIGNANT.

The story is about a woman, Madison, played by Annabelle Wallis. Madison’s husband is killed in their home by an intruder and she’s left for dead. She’s pregnant and she loses her baby in that incident. She experiences major traumatic emotion from the incident and ends up developing a psychic connection to her attacker. She starts having visions of the attacker and his murderous deeds. Now she’s trying to help the police capture this killer whilst trying to unravel the mystery of why she is connected to the killer and at the same time, trying to not get herself killed in the process. It is a unique take on the “seeing through the eye of the killer” sub-genre.

Let me start by saying that whatever your expectations of MALIGNANT are, they are probably not correct. The movie starts off with a long scene set in the past that reminds one of “The Re-Animator” in both quality of set and acting, but that is not to say that it’s a bad thing. In fact, it may be the perfect way to set up the whole movie. There are a ton of clues, but also a ton of misdirection, and things that don’t make sense later do, and things that start off making sense at some point stop.

Wan himself has called this a “gender-bender” and a “genre-bender”, and both are accurate. It’s difficult to say too much about this film without giving it away though. The star of the film is Annabelle Wallis, and she does a great job here seeming at once to be both determined and terrified. She pulls the range in from each end, and you feel like she’s a victim who wants to come out of this alive, but also believable as a real woman, not a superhero. Determination, after all, is a great trait, but if you’re one hundred pounds, you are NOT a combatant. The rest of the cast are great supporting players. Her sister, played by Maddie Hassan, shows a constant, deep love for her sister, supportive and protective, even though she is the younger sibling. George Young and Michole Briana White are the detectives trying to get to the bottom of the murders, playing competent, yet sometimes incredulous cops. The pair are great at helping move the story along, and you sometimes feel like they are aiding the audience discount some clues, while also misleading you with their conclusions.

The last 20 minutes felt like non-stop action, which is well choreographed, and over-the-top violence that was almost cartoonish, and even a little darkly amusing. The talented artisans’ phenomenal work include director of photography Michael Burgess and editor Kirk Morri (“Aquaman,” “The Conjuring 2”), production designer Desma Murphy (art director, “Aquaman,” “Furious 7”), as well as costume designer Lisa Norcia (“Insidious: The Last Key”). The movie is made much more sinister with a score by Wan’s longtime collaborator Joseph Bishara.

Don’t miss out, it’s one of Wan’s best yet, and a story that you’ll be discussing with your friends who saw it. Filled with campy surprises and jump scares, MALIGNANT is colossal fun.

3 1/2 out of 4 stars

MALIGNANT is in theaters now and on HBO Max. Rated R for strong horror violence and gruesome images, and for language.