Malignant Blu-ray Review
“Malignant” is bonkers in the wrong way.
After helming mega hits like “Furious 7” and “Aquaman,” director James Wan returns to his horror roots with “Malignant.” While that sounds like a cause for celebration, the end result is sure to divide audiences.
“Malignant” is the type of movie you have to tip-toe around when describing it so as to avoid spoilers. What I can tell you is the movie revolves around a married woman (Madison) who is pregnant and living with an abusive husband (Derek). After Derek hurts Madison’s head, Madison becomes unconscious but awakens to find that she’s lost the baby and that someone has murdered Derek. Police Detectives Kekoa and Regina begin to investigate the case and believe that a killer is on the loose. To make matters even more disturbing, Madison begins to have visions of the killer murdering people. Why is Madison linked to the killer? Is her past somehow coming back to haunt her physically and or psychologically? All is revealed in the end (boy, is it).
What do you get when you mix “Fight Club,” (including a not so subtle nod to The Pixies track “Where Is My Mind?”) Giallo movies, and “Basket Case”? You get “Malignant.” If that sounds like a wild combination, I can assure you the movie is even weirder than that description. While I respect the fact that Wan was given free reign to do something original, this over-the-top, campy, and twisty horror movie isn’t my cup of tea. Some horror fans will undoubtedly love how ridiculous it is, but for me, the movie’s tonal shifts and crazy last half-hour just had me shaking my head. Akela Cooper’s script mixed with Wan’s visuals seem entirely undecided on what this movie actually is. Is it a parody? Is it a straight up gory horror movie? Is it an ode to B-movies? Is it a psychological horror film? It is a bad taste horror movie that exploits medical cases and mental health? It might be all of these things mixed into one which makes it even more of a mess than it already is.
Acting wise, the movie doesn’t exactly give the actors a lot of breathing room with the exception of the underrated Annabelle Wallis as Madison. Given all that she has to do in this film, it’s actually quite amazing that she was able to pull off this very bizarre role in a convincing manner (whatever that is supposed to look like).
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? Expect a crisp hi-def transfer. Note: There is not a 4K release.
Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? An effective 5.1 track in all departments.
The lone extras include a Digital copy and a 14 minute featurette titled “Malignant: James Wan’s Visions” which includes set footage and Wan discussing the project. Don’t watch the featurette before the movie as it is spoiler heavy.
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