Harry Situation Reviews: Malignant
Well, now I know why James Wan didn't direct The Conjuring 3. He was too busy making a better horror movie.
Malignant is a new supernatural horror film directed by James Wan, one of my favorite film directors to date. The story centers around a woman (played by Annabelle Wallis) who keeps having visions of people getting murdered. Turns out those vision are coming true and are all connected to an imaginary friend she once had as a child named Gabriel. However Gabriel may be all too real and malevolent as it stalks her and kills anyone connected to her.
I think there are two things that drew me to this movie: James Wan and horror. There’s a reason why James Wan has become such a great director. He can tackle any genre and make it entertaining. He did Furious 7 and Aquaman, but really what he excels best at is in the horror genre with films such as Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring. So how did his new horror project turn out? Let’s talk about it.
First positive goes to actress Annabelle Wallis. She was really good in this movie. I felt her pain and her terror throughout this movie. She was one of the best parts of the movie. The other best part was this film's villain Gabriel. He was an effective horror villain. There's a big mystery on how him and Annabelle Wallis' character are connected but trust me it makes sense in the end.
I really dug into the story too. The mystery of Gabriel. Why Annabelle Wallis is seeing these grisely murders as if she was present. What her adopted family may or may not know about her past. The whole backstory behind Gabriel and Wallis. Everything about this story I was hooked from start to finish.
This movie also had some pretty effective scares too. I mean, it's a horror movie. It's gotta have some scares right? And there were a few that jumped out. Thankfully, no jumpscares.
But this film has one helluva great twist in the third act. There's a revelation about Gabriel that blew my mind. Hell, I was visible disturbed to find out what Gabriel really was. It shocked me hard. Honestly I wasn't expecting something like this but after reflecting on all of his victims it makes perfect sense. Honestly it's a twist that rivals that of the original Saw. In fact, the whole third act itself is a positive. What happens is something you need to see to believe. It turns into an utter bloodbath and I loved every minute of it.
The one downside I gotta mention is that is the police scenes. There are two detectives in this movie that we also follow, who are investigating the murders committed by Gabriel and are wondering how Annabelle Wallis is connected in all this. To me their scenes weren't as effective. Mainly how they try to force some humor into this pretty dark movie. It's fine if a dark film tries to have some lighthearted or humorous moments, but they just didn't work in this movie.
Overall Malignant is what The Conjuring 3 should have been. I know this review feels a lot shorter than others but honestly this is a movie that needs to be seen for yourselves. The big twist about Gabriel is a major spoiler and I certainly don't want to reveal too much about this movie. If you were disappointed by the third Conjuring film as I was this movie will make up for it.
Positives:
-Annabelle Wallis
-Gabriel
-Some good scares
-Story
-One helluva twist & third act
Negatives:
-The detective scenes
Final Grade: B+
So those are my thoughts on Malignant. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? What’s your favorite movie by James Wan? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!
Best Quote:
Dr. Florence Weaver: "What do you want?"
Gabriel: "To show you what the cancer has become."
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