Malignant

Malignant is a gruesome horror movie released September 10, 2021 directed by James Wan from a screenplay by Akela Cooper, based on an original story by Wan, Ingrid Bisu, and Cooper. The film was not necessarily scary but rather unsettling with the horrid massacre of each victim and creative special effects. The story seemed to follow a similar narrative to the urban legend of Edward Mordrake, a man with a second face on the back of his head who was constantly plagued with devilish whispers in the night. The event was said to occur during the19th century and Edward begged doctors to remove it before committing suicide at the age of 23. Take this story with a dark twist and add a female lead while implementing supernatural effects similar to poltergeist and you have Malignant. In the beginning we view a flashback from decades before showing us Dr. Weaver and her staff trying desperately to contain a patient named Gabriel at Simion Research Hospital. It is apparent Gabriel wields some form of unusual electrical powers as he begins to control speakers in order to speak while slaying several workers.

The story starts off quickly with the lead actress Madison (Annabelle Wallis), being launched into a wall by her abusive husband Derek (Jake Abel) after an argument pertaining multiple miscarriage's. This event awakes a murderous force on the back of Madison's head without her knowing. Afterwards Madison has a violent dream of Derek being murdered by a mysterious dark figure and later wakes up to his mutilated corpse in the living room. The figure then attacks Madison causing her to awake in the hospital the next day. Her sister, Sydney Lake (Maddie Hasson), informs Madison she had a miscarriage due to the attack. Soon after detectives Kekoa Shaw (George Young) and Regina Moss (Michole Briana White) begin asking questions as to what exactly happened (Guttmann 2021). Once Madison returns home she sees the POV of Dr. Weaver being murdered. After a thorough investigation the detectives find a photo of a dark haired child resembling Madison and learn Weaver specializes in reconstructive surgery.

Once things slow down Gabriel calls Madison on the phone causing her to remember parts of her past. This causes Madison and her sister to seek their mother, Jeanne (Susanna Thompson) for more context. It is revealed Gabriel wasn't an imaginary friend but an actual voice Madison spoke to as a child. At this point in the movie there are many questions that need to be answered but hopefully you have a hunch as to what's really going on. Also the whole Gabriel storyline and role throughout the movie is quite bone chilling. Detective Shaw finally figures out the photo of the dark haired child was Madison and hires a hypnotherapist to sort through her memories. Overall James Wan did a good job with writing the film however there are several weak spots that are hard not to laugh at. One neat unusual little aspect that made my friend and I immediately look at each other simultaneously was the cover of the 1988 Pixies classic "Where Is My Mind" playing throughout the movie. It's hard not to think back to the ending of the film Fight Club but the composers did a great job of choosing a version that sounds more sinister and thrilling in a way to experience specific scenes. There is definitely a vicious creepy vibe felt throughout the movie which one can enjoy. Malignant is a newer film which I thankfully had the chance to view in theaters and is the preferred way to view any horror movie unless you have an expensive sound bar. There are many new scary movies coming out soon which excite me to see first hand to give a solid review and summary.

Citation: Guttmann, Graeme, and Graeme Guttmann (1144 Articles Published) Graeme Guttmann is a news writer and editor for Screen Rant. With a love for all things pop culture. “Why Malignant Reviews Are so Mixed.” ScreenRant, 22 Sept. 2021, https://screenrant.com/malignant-movie-reviews-rotten-tomatoes-divisive-reason/.