Rating of
3/4
“Look at what the cancer has become!”
Matthew Brady - wrote on 09/22/21
‘Malignant’, a movie that after some time reflecting on it, I’m still not sure what to think of it. The movie is so messy and becomes all sorts of things, but in some weird way it’s still incredibly well made. This reminds me of when another horror director named Sam Raimi, who after directing three superhero movies like ‘Spider-Man’ then went on to make something like ‘Drag Me to Hell’, a campy horror comedy that nobody was ready for. While ‘Malignant’ is nowhere near as good as ‘Drag Me to Hell’, but I’m glad campy horror movies are not dead yet and I find it amusing how modern audiences, who are more exposed to jump scared horror flicks, are reacting to this.
This movie is so freaking bonkers in every sense of the word. It’s so out there that I found myself laughing at some scenes. The structure is so bizarre and there’s multiple scenes that when given some thought it doesn’t make too much sense. I can’t tell if it’s self-aware or not. It starts off like a creature feature with scientists running down a corridor talking quickly about the “thing” and how out of control it has gotten, while everyone is trying to sedate “it”. Then it turns into a James Wan Insidious/Conjuring movie with the usual build scares scares. But then it becomes a slasher movie with a killer named Gabriel on the loose. And finally, it turns into a campy experimental action movie that goes off the walls.
Either way, I enjoyed it so much that it felt like a breath of fresh air, even if before what I said sounded harsh. I haven't had this much fun with a horror movie in what feels like awhile. I miss these types of movies that we rarely get nowadays.
With this being a James Wan movie, it’s well filmed and he does some amazing things with the camera work, especially with the police station scene, an unbroken long take massacre action sequence, which was beautiful to watch. This is also James Wans most violent movie he’s made, and I freaking loved it. And yes, even more gory than ‘Saw’. A lot of blood and bone breaking.
The trailers and marketing didn't do justice for this movie. I didn't hear anything about this movie leading up to its release. The trailer itself made it look like a generic mid 2000's supernatural horror. But then again, how the hell are you supposed to market something like this.
The twist may or may not be predictable for some, but in terms of how it was executed, not predictable at all.
Overall rating: What more can I say, see it if you’re curious. It grows on you after seeing it.
