Malignant

Name: Malignant
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: September 10, 2021
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 51
Cast: Amir Aboulela, Annabelle Wallis, Christian Clemenson, George Young, Ingrid Bisu

2021

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 243 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	Your Score
6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 243 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

New Line Cinema | Release Date: September 10, 2021 | R

Starring: Amir Aboulela, Annabelle Wallis, Christian Clemenson, George Young, Ingrid Bisu, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jake Abel, Jean Louisa Kelly, Jon Lee Brody, Maddie Hasson, Michole White, Patrick Cox, Paula Marshall, Rachel Winfree, Susanna Thompson

Summary: Madison (Annabelle Wallis) is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.

Director: James Wan

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 111 min

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Critic Reviews

William Bibbiani

Sep 10, 2021

Malignant might not hold up to scrutiny but by the time all its mysteries are revealed, it’s clear that it was never supposed to. It’s an absurdly entertaining frightfest with a heavy emphasis on the absurd, and thank heaven — or hell — for it. Read full review

Chris Evangelista

Sep 10, 2021

The lack of true scares may be a deal-breaker for some. And indeed, the overall outlandishness at work on the screen is going to flat-out annoy certain viewers. But then there will be those who revel in the audacity of Malignant, and boy oh boy are those folks in for a treat. This isn't even close to being James Wan's best horror movie, but cripes, it sure is a lot of fun. Read full review

Polygon Siddhant Adlakha

Sep 10, 2021

Malignant is rarely scary, but its outlandish bits likely didn’t happen by accident — not when it culminates in scenes so ludicrously over the top that they invite both fist-pumping cheers and wheeze-inducing laughter. Read full review

Michael Ordona

Sep 10, 2021

If you can hang with the slow gestation of the first hour or so of Malignant, the final third may grow on you. Read full review

Empire Hanna Flint

Sep 10, 2021

There’s a hodge-podge of ideas going on that don’t always seamlessly fit, but Wan’s homage to ’80s horror and Wallis’s fretful performance, has a bloody lot of guts. Read full review

IndieWire Jude Dry

Sep 9, 2021

A humorless melodrama about a woman haunted by her past, Malignant sits somewhere between a slasher, a ghost story, and a possession flick, never fully embracing either. The result is a confusing melange of genre archetypes that lacks a clear point of view, even a surface-level stylistic one. Read full review

Robert Morast

Sep 10, 2021

The film has a fairly clever and original premise — one that’s better left unspoiled as a third act reveal. But the path to it is bizarre and beguiling with too many moments that feel like an episode of “CSI” or “Without a Trace” with much better cinematography and worse dialogue. It kind of makes you wonder what the hell Wan was doing here. Read full review

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User Reviews

Dip0

Sep 10, 2021

It's a good movie . James Wan is awesome .
Not only the horror, the fight sequences are also good .

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

BlackMajikMan90

Sep 10, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's Deep Red meets Basket Case meets Insidious and it is glorious!

It's not for everyone but it absolutely is for me.… Expand

1 of 7 users found this helpful16

ozymandias79

Oct 11, 2021

A solid original horror flick and the action is awesome. See it!!!!!!!!!!!!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MattBrady99

Sep 22, 2021

“Look at what the cancer has become!”

‘Malignant’, a movie that after some time reflecting on it, I’m still not sure what to think of it. The movie is so messy and becomes all sorts of things, but in some weird way it’s still incredibly well made. This reminds me of when another horror“Look at what the cancer has become!”

‘Malignant’, a movie that after some time reflecting on it, I’m still not sure what to think of it. The movie is so messy and becomes all sorts of things, but in some weird way it’s still incredibly well made. This reminds me of when another horror director named Sam Raimi, who after directing three superhero movies like ‘Spider-Man’ then went on to make something like ‘Drag Me to Hell’, a campy horror comedy that nobody was ready for. While ‘Malignant’ is nowhere near as good as ‘Drag Me to Hell’, but I’m glad campy horror movies are not dead yet and I find it amusing how modern audiences, who are more exposed to jump scared horror flicks, are reacting to this.

This movie is so freaking bonkers in every sense of the word. It’s so out there that I found myself laughing at some scenes. The structure is so bizarre and there’s multiple scenes that when given some thought it doesn’t make too much sense. I can’t tell if it’s self-aware or not. It starts off like a creature feature with scientists running down a corridor talking quickly about the “thing” and how out of control it has gotten, while everyone is trying to sedate “it”. Then it turns into a James Wan Insidious/Conjuring movie with the usual build scares scares. But then it becomes a slasher movie with a killer named Gabriel on the loose. And finally, it turns into a campy experimental action movie that goes off the walls.

Either way, I enjoyed it so much that it felt like a breath of fresh air, even if before what I said sounded harsh. I haven't had this much fun with a horror movie in what feels like awhile. I miss these types of movies that we rarely get nowadays.

With this being a James Wan movie, it’s well filmed and he does some amazing things with the camera work, especially with the police station scene, an unbroken long take massacre action sequence, which was beautiful to watch. This is also James Wans most violent movie he’s made, and I freaking loved it. And yes, even more gory than ‘Saw’. A lot of blood and bone breaking.

The trailers and marketing didn't do justice for this movie. I didn't hear anything about this movie leading up to its release. The trailer itself made it look like a generic mid 2000's supernatural horror. But then again, how the hell are you supposed to market something like this.

The twist may or may not be predictable for some, but in terms of how it was executed, not predictable at all.

Overall rating: What more can I say, see it if you’re curious. It grows on you after seeing it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

paltareina

Nov 5, 2021

it's camp, but also very bad. but it's camp, so maybe it's not that bad, but it truly is.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Sep 18, 2021

Given the overlong, deadly serious nature of the story's slow-paced, dreadfully dull, cliche-ridden buildup, I soon found myself watching the clock, waiting for this one to end and wondering what additional tedium I'd be subjected to in the concluding sequence. Much to my surprise, however,Given the overlong, deadly serious nature of the story's slow-paced, dreadfully dull, cliche-ridden buildup, I soon found myself watching the clock, waiting for this one to end and wondering what additional tedium I'd be subjected to in the concluding sequence. Much to my surprise, however, the film actually gets better in its end run by turning into a gloriously campy romp that had me in stitches the rest of the way. In fact, that drastic change in tone made me wonder why director James Wan hadn't handled it as such all the way through from the beginning; it would have made for a much, much better film. However, the picture's initial attempt at being "serious drama" falls flat on its ass and only gets better when it decides to take itself far less seriously. In the interest of full disclosure, I should add that I'm not much of a horror movie fan, because I find it's an art form that's truly difficult to do well, with most contemporary offerings falling prey to material that's not especially scary or descending into gore fests aimed at seeing how high the body count can get. With some retooling, this one might have succeeded at doing something distinctly different and genuinely entertaining. But, as it stands now, this is destined to become a midnight show cult classic that's probably best watched blitzed out of one's mind.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Slasher666

Feb 25, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wan has some interesting stories to tell. Dead Silence and The Nun had secrets to reveal. This film felt like a poor recreation of Stephen King’s The Dark Half. Nice moves by George Young fending of the dastardly spirit.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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