559: Malignant

[00:00:00] 265, let's get to Malignant from 2021. It is directed by James Wan, co-written as well by him. Stars Annabelle Wallace, Maddie Hassan, George Young, Nicole Breonna White.

[00:00:19] And the synopsis is, 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.

[00:00:36] I had been meaning to get around to this one for a while. Overall, I like James Wan a lot.

[00:00:44] He has some misfires like Aquaman 2, Furious 7 isn't that good. I think in general he should just stick to horror.

[00:00:57] The first two Conjuring films are fantastic. The first Saw, and he very much is an auteur.

[00:01:07] I can usually recognize if it's a James Wan movie fairly early on. When it first started, even though at this point I'll say I enjoyed the movie a fair bit,

[00:01:22] the first act, no matter what, is pretty underwhelming. The setup was this young woman who's traumatized, has this abusive boyfriend or husband,

[00:01:36] the house is full of demons, and it haunts her. She's having to deal with people believing her, and I was just thinking,

[00:01:45] okay, if this is what this movie is going to be, this is going to be rough.

[00:01:49] However, when it picks up, and it gets into the woman, and spoiler warning here, when it gets into Annabelle Wallace having these visions of these murders of these different surgical doctors, I was back in.

[00:02:11] The visual creativity of how the room around her morphs into wherever the actual murder is taking place.

[00:02:23] Her being locked in whatever position she's in, and she's just having to witness these horrible murders happen in front of her without being able to help or warn someone.

[00:02:33] Also, for better and for worse, James Wan's signature flying, swirling camera is in full effect in this movie.

[00:02:47] There were points more so in the beginning that that wasn't really working for me, but by the end, in the third act, and we'll get to that specifically, it was used very, very well.

[00:02:59] And with how the story and the secrets of this demon, let's call it, was revealed, I now feel in retrospect that this would be even better on rewatch.

[00:03:16] Because there were a lot of points that I was thinking, I'm lost here.

[00:03:21] I don't know why this is important. Why are we spending so much time here?

[00:03:26] And that, you could say, is a fault of the direction, too.

[00:03:32] But going back from the beginning and catching all those little notes that they call back to later, I think would help.

[00:03:41] I did find stretches of this to drag.

[00:03:46] The writing, I don't really mind if there's goofy dialogue, because everything in this is goofy.

[00:03:53] But there was a few too many moments where they spent too much time on characters trying to explain the supernatural logic and backstory of everything.

[00:04:03] Like, oh, he's been with you the whole time. He's controlling you from this.

[00:04:09] How is he here? How is he there?

[00:04:11] And this person is speaking to me from this location.

[00:04:14] It just really lost me.

[00:04:16] And in the Conjuring movies, that's less of an issue.

[00:04:22] Because I feel like everything in the story feels so contained.

[00:04:27] As opposed to this one, which is way more out in just regular everyday society.

[00:04:32] And there's a lot more going on.

[00:04:35] That the more they talked about that stuff, the stupider it got.

[00:04:42] The main concept of this.

[00:04:46] I haven't really seen anything like it.

[00:04:49] And I give kudos to James Wan for that.

[00:04:53] For example, the killer who does parkour and all these crazy gymnastics sometimes.

[00:05:02] With a highlight being the chase with the cop through the underground tunnels and stuff.

[00:05:09] That was so well shot.

[00:05:10] Very suspenseful.

[00:05:11] Very kinetic.

[00:05:13] The lighting was amazing in those scenes.

[00:05:17] And there's a lot of great lighting.

[00:05:20] Dark lighting.

[00:05:21] The room on the top floor where the mom is being kept.

[00:05:25] With the revolving fan coming through.

[00:05:28] And the obscure holes and light fixtures in places.

[00:05:34] When it's discovered that Annabelle Wallace has this tumor.

[00:05:39] This living tumor on the back of her head.

[00:05:42] That was taken off mostly when she was younger.

[00:05:47] Because it became something that was sucking the life out of her.

[00:05:51] And draining her of health and etc. etc.

[00:05:55] When it comes back.

[00:05:57] And she's in the jail cell.

[00:05:59] Which is a crazy sequence.

[00:06:03] She kills everyone there.

[00:06:05] Very brutally.

[00:06:06] Or I guess the tumor does.

[00:06:09] Then she kills everyone in the police station.

[00:06:14] Similar to the chase that I was just talking about with the cop.

[00:06:18] And the cop.

[00:06:19] Those sequences showcase how great James Wan can be.

[00:06:24] When he gets it right.

[00:06:26] When he's in the zone of what he does best.

[00:06:30] And it's the kind of thing that shouldn't work in a horror film like this.

[00:06:34] But it does.

[00:06:35] With how he does it.

[00:06:38] I even joked on my Letterboxd review of it.

[00:06:41] That it felt like James Wan's version of Assassin's Creed.

[00:06:47] The look of the killer itself.

[00:06:49] With the black hood.

[00:06:51] The long hair.

[00:06:53] Even the blade.

[00:06:55] That it uses from the surgery trophy.

[00:06:59] And it has those two golden prongs.

[00:07:01] And then the triangular blade.

[00:07:05] The design of the face of the tumor.

[00:07:08] Is very effective as well.

[00:07:13] One random design element.

[00:07:15] That felt so out of place.

[00:07:17] Was when she's in the jail cell.

[00:07:20] And there's this woman who looks.

[00:07:23] Like she's right out of a 70s disco.

[00:07:27] She's in this bright leopard gold color outfit.

[00:07:32] She has this big afro.

[00:07:34] These crazy earrings.

[00:07:36] It doesn't look at all.

[00:07:37] Like the time period.

[00:07:39] That she's in.

[00:07:41] And I know that she could have just come from a bar or something.

[00:07:45] But that compared to everybody else.

[00:07:47] That you see in the entire movie.

[00:07:49] I was like.

[00:07:50] Why is this character.

[00:07:51] Dressed like that.

[00:07:54] And she becomes one of the people.

[00:07:57] Involved in that scene.

[00:07:58] Beating up Annabelle Wallace.

[00:08:00] When things turn bad.

[00:08:03] And she has no relevance.

[00:08:05] At all.

[00:08:05] But she's such a point of visual focus.

[00:08:10] When it gets into the backstory.

[00:08:12] Of how this tumor came to be.

[00:08:15] And this.

[00:08:16] Rape victim.

[00:08:17] And the mother.

[00:08:19] It felt kind of messy in those connections.

[00:08:21] I was losing track of.

[00:08:23] Who's who.

[00:08:24] Who's related to who.

[00:08:27] Maybe that'll.

[00:08:28] Be better on rewatch.

[00:08:30] I don't know.

[00:08:30] But did not love that.

[00:08:32] On first viewing.

[00:08:35] The visual at the end.

[00:08:37] When Annabelle Wallace.

[00:08:39] In one way or the other.

[00:08:41] Traps the tumor.

[00:08:42] And we see it stuck.

[00:08:44] Behind a jail cell.

[00:08:46] I thought that was a creative.

[00:08:48] Way to represent that.

[00:08:51] It does set itself up.

[00:08:53] For a sequel.

[00:08:55] I wouldn't be surprised.

[00:08:57] If we get that one day.

[00:09:00] The killings.

[00:09:01] Towards the beginning.

[00:09:02] Are quite gruesome.

[00:09:04] With the.

[00:09:04] Guy in the bathtub.

[00:09:06] The.

[00:09:07] One on the bed.

[00:09:11] It is also.

[00:09:13] Way too long.

[00:09:14] It's almost.

[00:09:15] Two hours.

[00:09:17] Definitely.

[00:09:18] Could have lost.

[00:09:19] 15 or 20.

[00:09:20] In my opinion.

[00:09:24] Performance wise.

[00:09:25] Everybody was pretty decent.

[00:09:26] In this.

[00:09:28] One of Annabelle Wallace's.

[00:09:30] Better.

[00:09:31] Lead roles.

[00:09:31] Or one of her only.

[00:09:32] Lead roles.

[00:09:33] To my knowledge.

[00:09:36] The score by.

[00:09:38] Joseph.

[00:09:39] Beshara.

[00:09:39] Who's worked a lot.

[00:09:40] With James Wan.

[00:09:41] In the conjuring universe.

[00:09:46] So as a whole.

[00:09:47] It was.

[00:09:48] Surprisingly solid.

[00:09:51] One that did stick with me.

[00:09:53] More than I thought it would.

[00:09:57] That one is a heavy four.

[00:09:59] Out of five.

[00:10:00] life.