Malignant

Malignant is a special one. Coming from acclaimed horror master James Wan, this isn't your typical horror flick, and it certainly isn't something you're used to getting from said director in the likes of Conjuring, Insidious etc. Malignant shares the same vein with Evil Dead and the many B-grade monster movies, in other words, camp horror - a subgenre that has the self-realization of what it is and completely embraces that fact with no qualms or pretentiousness, which in turns allow them to go completely, unchained batshit crazy!

The courage that comes with camp is admirable, but it is one of those things where a normal audience member would question the reason for its existence. Deliberately done poor performances and awful dialogues is confusing, in the sense that it toes on the risky line of being camp or an actual bad film. While it's appreciated that Warner Bros. allowed James Wan to do a project he wanted to with full creative freedom, it's confusing why they didn't market the product as how it is. If the studio wasn't sure how to promote a camp horror or didn't want to do so fearing it would look like a terrible motion picture, it begs the same question again - why produce a film as such for a whopping 40 million dollars? With these queries out of the way, let's talk about the motion picture itself!

Malignant's high concept is fascinating. The plot is intriguing and it never ceases to have your attention! The plot is essentially a revenge drama surrounding one Mr. Gabriel (voiced by Ray Chase, physically performed by Marina Mazepa) aka the parasitic twin of our protagonist Madison (Annabelle Wallis). He is a severe case of teratoma; an incomplete growth suppressed within her, precisely at the back of her head. Due to him being labeled as cancer, he's out for revenge and reminder that he exists! You get the answer for why Madison keeps losing her fetus. You get the answer for who is the lady kidnapped in the beginning. In a fantastic reversal, James Wan makes sure you believe the villain wins the day only to upend it just the way Gabriel would on Madison! Primary reason why Malignant works as a functioning film is because beneath all the camp and over-the-top crazy concept, it achieves a good character arc for the protagonist at the end.

Just a little press and you could guess what's happening since the clues are obvious, but regardless, the actual reveal of Gabriel during the police station sequence is truly terrifying and bonkers, even though the prelude bully setup seems to happen just because. By far the most impressive fact about this whole double body act is when Gabriel controls Madison and the entire body motion is backwards! With a combination of wonderful prosthetics and action choreography, it's nothing short of brilliant!

Apart from the deliberately painful dialogues, acting performances which can't be enjoyed no matter which lens you view the show from (except for our lead Annabelle Wallis, she's amazing!) and the pointless flirting attempts, everything else about Malignant is pretty much bang on! The expensive cinematography, corpse and gore prosthetics plus the production design (particularly for the sewer chase and hypnosis sequences) are downright bliss! And James Wan never disappoints with his genuinely frightening scares, and for the way he creates brilliant atmosphere!