Malignant

A bland episode of Tales from the Crypt that only becomes entertaining during the overblown Troma-like finale. The problem is that before it tears off the chain, it's preceded by a full-length runtime of sheer boredom, zero tension building, unimaginative gore, slavish Giallo allusions, generic characters and non-existent atmosphere. There's a real risk that you won't even be awake for the finale. (05/07/2022)

James Wan made a movie for fun. He made a horror film about a woman who becomes an unwilling witness to violent crimes, in the style of the B-horror films of the 1980s. He is not afraid of absurdity, even going for the slightly ridiculous at times, but at the same time the film is extremely imaginative and clever, and uncompromisingly his. You may find it terribly satisfying, or you may turn it off in disgust halfway through. But it's definitely worth a try. Because if you happen to be in tune with Wan, you'll enjoy it immensely. (09/14/2021)

If the film, especially in the end, didn't crap on the rules of its world so much (the monster suddenly can't overpower a single bloke, but then it cuts a whole police station into shreds) and didn't offer a parody of Matrix-like action, I'd give it a happy 4*. The 80s concept of Basket Case driven by Wan's dark visuals and grindhouse violence is great, and even though we can see the twist coming, it's still fun to wait for it. An interesting genre flick, too bad Wan didn't stick more to the atmosphere and mystery of the first hour. 70 % (10/21/2021)

Malignant has everyone parroting the idea that James Wan has created a neo-giallo film. But let's be clear: this movie has nothing to do with giallo, despite the claims of some that it echoes Argento, Bava, and other icons. No, just no! I was really looking forward to this film since I usually enjoy Wan's work, but this time he completely missed the mark. I was shocked at how sloppy it felt. Sure, the bird's-eye shot is cool, but I just can't get past the overly digital visuals. It would've been better if the ridiculousness wasn't taken so seriously! By the way, I was baffled by comments saying Joseph Bishara's score is reminiscent of Riz Ortolani. That’s a stretch. Seriously, listen to Ortolani's work before making such comparisons. Also, if you're going to talk about Wan paying homage to giallo, maybe watch some actual films by Argento, Bava, Fulci, or Martino first. Wan isn't paying tribute to anyone; he's just doing his own thing with bits and pieces from various trashy sources. This is purely a James Wan film, and nothing more. (09/15/2021)

Pure fun. The trailer touted a completely different film, but in the end James Wan actually made a Giallo purely for fun, but not the 70s Giallo, the serious kind that worked with pretty colours, a classic detective line and a masked killer in a black cloak, gloves and a knife; Malignant is closer to the later Giallo, which used to be spiced up with some completely insane fantasy element. It's hard to write about it without spoilers, but it would be a shame to reveal the film's plot twists. The script is fun because of the speed to which it builds up the plot, which is actually terribly silly and trashy. If it were another filmmaker, you might well wonder whether they are joking or being serious about this kind of film, but Malignant is clearly anchored somewhere in between. It has a lot of exaggerated details that seem downright comedic, which is obviously the intention, and it should be taken as some sort of playful joke with which the director had fun on the set, and which the viewer should also have fun with. That some of the details don’t make sense, it doesn’t matter. (09/10/2021)