Malignant – Will Strike Fear in You
Director: James Wan
Writer: Akela Cooper (Screenplay) James Wan, Ingrid Bisu (Story)
Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, Michole Briana White, Jean Louisa Kelly, Susanna Thompson
Plot: Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.
Tagline – A new vision of terror.
Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Malignant starts as we meet Madison Mitchell (Wallis) who finds herself being paralyzed into the world of violent murders, needing to dive into her past to learn the truth about the figure that has been committing these crimes. Joined by her younger sister Sydney (Hasson) and with Detective Shaw (Young) and Detective Moss (White), trying to learn who is behind the horrific murders.
Thoughts on Malignant
Characters & Performances – Madison is a woman that finds her life turned upside down, when she finds herself being thrown into the mix of a serious of murders that she must watch the killer commit the crime of, struck down with fear, she must look into her past, a past she doesn’t remember to learn the shocking truth about her connection to the killer. Annabelle Wallis does a brilliant job in this film, her character must go through so much, with her handling everything perfectly. Sydney is the younger sister of Madison, she always turns up to support her after the first incident, helps her look into the past, while getting a couple of great comic relief lines in too. Maddie Hasson is great to watch, bringing a lighter side to the horrific moments Madison must goes through. Detective Shaw and Moss are leading the investigation, giving us sceptics to everything Madison is claiming, they will reply with a dry sense of humor to certain lines too, while still trying to get to the bottom of everything. The supporting cast across the board are strong for the most part, despite a couple of really iffy reactions in the opening sequence.
Story – The story follows a woman that finds herself becoming paralyzed into a series of murder sequences, that needs to dive into her past to learn what her connection is to the killer. This is a story that is best experienced, because it will go in a direction that you would never imagine, keeping plenty of the plot secretive in the trailer. I will keep the main points out of this review, instead talk about certain other factors in the story that are enjoyable. The chemistry between the cast, that will give us a natural reaction to what is going on is great to see, even if too many people willing walk into dark rooms. Part of the story does feel like the story doesn’t want to commit to just one set of events driving the story, which does hold certain parts back, but could also be used to give us two different views on how things are unfolding.
Themes – Malignant is a crime horror that will blend both sides perfectly, with the spooky movement of the killer, the idea of being transported into the killing location, along with the idea a serial killer is on the loose, needing to be stop. We have expectation use of music that will give each scene a bigger impact. The locations are used brilliantly too, with the Seattle underground being used for the atmosphere, the home having an ariel shot of Madison going around the home and one location with is everything you would imagine creepy haunted location would be. The special effects will need to mentioned with what we see as some of the best of the year, the transitions Madison goes through, as well as the movement of the killer, leading to one of the best fight sequences you will see this year.
Final Thoughts – Malignant is going to go down as one of the best horror movies in modern times.
