Malignant (2021)
Directed by James Wan
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious tie to her past.
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37 films that influenced Malignant
What critics say influenced Malignant
It's not long before Malignant starts to recall old-time favorites like Brian De Palma's Sisters (1973) and Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case (1982), as well as any other number of supernatural slashers and terrifying tales of imaginary friends (there's even a nod to old "women in prison" movies).
At times the film recalls cult classics including Frank Henenlotter’s “Basket Case” and Tobe Hooper’s “Lifeforce” but also science fiction from the decade.
There are influences at play that range from Lucio Fulci, Hammer Horror, Re-Animator (1985), The Evil Dead (1981), Basket Case (1982), and a plethora of others.
It's not long before Malignant starts to recall old-time favorites like Brian De Palma's Sisters (1973) and Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case (1982), as well as any other number of supernatural slashers and terrifying tales of imaginary friends (there's even a nod to old "women in prison" movies).
Gabriel’s voice, which, for unexplained reasons, can only be heard over radio waves or on the telephone, sounds like no one as much as Winslow Leach, the tragic hero of Phantom of the Paradise , who also skulks around in the shadows while wearing a cloak.
“Malignant” boasts “body horror” that recalls the best of David Cronenberg from “The Fly” (1986) to “Dead Ringers” (1988), the latter of which would make a great companion piece if you have time to rent it.
As interesting as it would have been to see Wan grappling with that particular tonality, Malignant’ s aims are un-ironic: it seeks to unite what Wan clearly sees as twin strands of horror cinema: the ‘body horror’ conveyed masterfully by David Cronenberg in classics like The Fly (1986) and Shivers (1975), and the Italian giallo cinema of the 1960s and 70s, helmed by filmmakers like Dario Argento ( Suspiria ) and Mario Bava ( Black Sunday ).
“Malignant” boasts “body horror” that recalls the best of David Cronenberg from “The Fly” (1986) to “Dead Ringers” (1988), the latter of which would make a great companion piece if you have time to rent it.
“Malignant” reminds me of a less inventive and less disturbing version of David Cronenberg’s “Videodrome” with a touch of Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
At times the film recalls cult classics including Frank Henenlotter’s “Basket Case” and Tobe Hooper’s “Lifeforce” but also science fiction from the decade.
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While the beginning of the feature film promised the appearance of a “monster” like that of the brilliant Phenomena of Dario Argento, he finally plays more on the concept of double evil, like The Spirit of Cain Where The Dark Part .
If only Wan’s film was shot in the way Dario Argento’s Opera was, a film that holds a similar tone and style, drowned in brackish grays, blues, and blacks so the crimson blood glitters onscreen.
In true spirit of giallo, sometimes they are absurd like Argento’s Deep Red (a film named as a specific influence of Wan’s for Malignant).
As Madison, her long brunette locks with a fringe have Suspiria ’s Suzy Bannion and The Shining ’s Wendy Torrance springing to mind.
My favorite horror movies are the ones from the '80s that embraced wild, crazy concepts -- A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Return of the Living Dead , Night of the Demons , Phantasm II , etc. Malignant reminded me of those pictures.
With a screenplay written by Akela Cooper (Wan and his wife, Ingrid Bisu, receive co-story credit), Malignant opens with a self-aware, nodding-at-the-audience prologue set inside the confines of a so-called research hospital straight out of a 19th-century gothic horror story or the underappreciated House on Haunted Hill remake directed by William Malone.
“Malignant” reminds me of a less inventive and less disturbing version of David Cronenberg’s “Videodrome” with a touch of Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
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“Total Recall” comes to mind with memorable Martian resistance leader Kuato — sure it was released in 1990 but close enough — and Rob Bottin’s wonderful work on Carpenter’s 1982 film “The Thing”.
There are influences at play that range from Lucio Fulci, Hammer Horror, Re-Animator (1985), The Evil Dead (1981), Basket Case (1982), and a plethora of others.
The key takeaway is that none of this is treated seriously; James Wan is not only freed from the shackles of a PG-13 rating (and the light R-rated fare of his The Conjuring movies), he seems to have no studio notes and has final cut on the project, seemingly making something that would fit right into the video nasty era and receive an X rating during the days of the original The Evil Dead.
However, it throughout draws stylistic influence from all eras and types of horror: it has the suspense and mystery of Psycho and Rosemary’s Baby , the psychological eeriness of Repulsion and Don’t Look Now , and the gruesome imagery of Possession and The Evil Dead .
Like Sam Raimi’s beloved 2009 return to form Drag Me To Hell, Malignant finds Wan letting his hair down and bringing his masterful touch to the lurid material that made him a star.
Think more along the lines of Drag Me To Hell , which Sam Raimi made as a way to dial down in scale following the Spider-Man trilogy.