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An unnecessary twist occurs at the conclusion of “Malignant,” a possession thriller that runs for 112 minutes and features plenty of dead air. The story revolves around a woman who is haunted by an unjust killer who may or may not be her imaginary childhood friend. To be fair, the film’s twist could have served as the basis for something lurid and entertaining rather than something over-produced and underdone. Nevertheless, “Malignant,” the latest horror film directed by James Wan (“The Conjuring”), manages to hang around just when it’s needed to move its sluggish plot forward. One thing is to prioritize atmosphere over plot development, but loitering around a visually uninspired space (sorry, Seattle) can be extremely frustrating, especially in a psychodrama centered on an underdeveloped heroine with a mostly implied backstory can be extremely frustrating.
Imagine being trapped inside the mind of Madison (Annabelle Wallis), a tortured murder suspect who has no memory of how she is related to Gabriel (Ray Chase), a featureless silhouette with long black hair and a bad habit of murdering people. What would you think it would be like? Madison’s creators treat her as if she’s a vehicle for obnoxious shock scares rather than as a fully realized character or, better yet, as the emotional anchor for a feature-length horror film.
When it comes to violence, Madison is consistently presented as an opportunity for cheesy special effects-driven violence, as evidenced by her abusive husband Derek throwing her head-first against a wall in her very first scene (Jake Abel). During this time, Madison is pregnant, and Derek, who is clearly not long for this world, blames her for previous miscarriages that are otherwise not visualized or built up to in a meaningful way beyond thin expository dialogue. Things like “How many more times do I have to watch my children die inside of you?” and “Perhaps you should refrain from becoming pregnant” are common.
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Derek falls victim to Gabriel’s wispy hands, in a scene that looks suspiciously similar to a cut scene from one of Wan’s “Insidious” films, and he dies shortly after. This type of strawman drama appears to be a favorite of Wan’s. After presenting us with the canned set-up for a confrontation, we are treated to a slow-motion resolution of tension through scare tactics that make the American-produced J-horror remakes of the mid-2000s appear cutting edge. Flapping television and phone screens, unexpected faces reflected in glass surfaces, and gaunt wraiths who all seem to be shopping at Hot Topic are just a few examples of the strange phenomena. In and of themselves, these are fine elements for a horror film, but not when they’re built up to such a ridiculous degree, and without much in the way of visual flair or distinction. Almost every set piece or kill scene has a sense of being a letdown.
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It is also used to set up more clammy scare scenes, with Madison’s friends and family members serving as props. There are times when it seems as if Wan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ingrid Bisu, and screenwriter Akela Cooper don’t trust their audience to understand or care about anything other than Powerpoint-style bullet point dialogue, such as when dreamboat police officer Kekoa Shaw (George Young) informs Madison’s suspicious sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson) that “the doctor said your sister had three miscarriages in the last two years.”
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It appears that Sydney lacks much in the way of a personality, which is presumably done so that Madison can later describe her sister as the sort of “blood connection” that she’s always “yearned for,” but has taken for granted despite the fact that she’s been “right in front of me all along.” As for Kekoa being cute, I guess it’s for the sake of his coworker Winnie (Bisu) to be awkwardly swooned over him: “we need to find that missing half,” he says, referring to Gabriel’s half-missing murder weapon; to which she responds, “Yes, don’t we all?” There’s no follow-up to that thrown-off line because these characters don’t seem to care about each other other than to set up the next shock scare, which makes sense.
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In his previous films, Wan has never been the most technically proficient or sophisticated storyteller, but his shortcomings as a filmmaker are particularly evident throughout this one. When Madison tells the cops who is responsible for all of the murders, Wan cuts between Madison and Kekoa, who is seated next to his lollipop-sucking partner Regina (Michole Briana White), in an especially embarrassing scene, which is a cross-cut between Madison and Kekoa.
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Obviously it is Gabriel, and we already know that, so it’s difficult not to laugh when the camera pans in on Young and White as Madison explains that “the killer claimed to be Gabriel.” Now it’s back to them, who are waiting for their prey with baited death. “This is Gabriel.” On the soundtrack, the string section goes completely insane. Regina pauses for a moment before shaking her head. Young, still in the extreme foreground, but now looking down and away from the camera. One-third of the screen is taken up by his head, which is out of focus. “So you’re saying that the killer is…your imaginary friend?” says the detective. This and a few other questions are answered in “Malignant,” a horror film that is both long and underwhelming in terms of its story and characters.
The film is currently playing in theaters and is also available on HBO Max.
For more personality quizzes check this: The Unholy Quiz.
