Haunted by Visions, a Woman Searches for Answers

Annabelle Wallis in "Malignant"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

For a decade, James Wan has become a filmmaker who excels in stories dealing with ghosts and haunted houses, always thinking of new ways to create scares and construct scenes of tightly wound tension.  He accomplished this with “Insidious,” “Insidious: Chapter 2,” “The Conjuring,” and “The Conjuring 2.”

Now, Wan goes all out to make his most audacious horror movie yet with “Malignant.”  It’s impossible for anyone to predict what they’re in for because this film shows a whole new side to Wan that we haven’t seen before, bringing you one of the most entertainingly ridiculous cinematic rides of the year.

Madison Lake (Annabelle Wallis) is a young woman who begins to have visions of murders.  When she realizes that she’s seeing the murders as they’re happening, she’ll soon discover the disturbing truth behind her ability to do so.

Before this movie, Wallis’ background in horror only consisted of her lead role in “Annabelle,” which was the first of many spinoffs of Wan’s “Conjuring” movies.  Despite the campiness of “Malignant,” Wallis plays it straight, which works in a way that grounds the movie in a focal point of seriousness, while everything around her veers off into insanity and surprising humor.  It’s a juxtaposition that works because you go into this movie expecting something that’s similar to the tone of “The Conjuring” or “Insidious,” and then her dramatic approach helps to throw you off the film’s true intentions in its tone.

The screenplay by Akela Cooper doesn’t waste any time in throwing you into the wild nature of the story.  From the opening scene and onward, the film’s central mystery doesn’t let up in the crazy horror happenings that ensue.  We get a couple of fun reveals along the way, but it’s in the third act that the movie becomes a runaway train that can’t be stopped, leading to a gonzo reveal that will leave you aghast in the best way.

As in Wan’s other haunted-house movies, he knows how to make full use of hallways, corners, and rooms.  With his cinematographer, Michael Burgess, they move the camera around the houses in disquieting ways, such as their slow pans that give you the anticipation of seeing something frightening, and this helps to maintain a chilling horror element in the midst of the fun absurdity.  Some standout camerawork comes in a sequence when Madison is running from a malevolent force in her home, and the camera uses a tracking shot that looks straight down on Madison as she’s traversing through the halls, seeming as if it’s moving along the ceiling.

What’s memorable about this film is that it has elements from Wan’s other films and mixes them into something that’s adventurously bizarre.  We have the haunted house/supernatural aspect of the “Insidious” and “Conjuring” films; a detective story like what was seen in “Saw”; and even a climactic action scene, the technical aspects of which Wan clearly picked up when working on “Furious 7” and “Aquaman.”  Between the blending of genres and the tonal shifts that are as jarring as they are fun to witness, this is a horror film that’s unapologetic in its insanity, and this makes for a film viewing that’s all the more gleeful because of that.

“Malignant” is the type of movie that you’ll either strongly accept or strongly reject, but it’s a film where it’ll be worth it to take a look to see where your sentiments will land.  But, no matter what, it’s an experience that you should have.

Grade: B+