Malignant | September 10 2021 | A James Wan Horror Joint

[Blaze Heatnix]

So, any guess on the CinemaScore for this one?

 

Critics are enjoying it, but audiences definitely aren't...This movie was bad, but better than a lot of horror movies like The Nun, for example.

 

 

[Nikostar]

I was so wrong about this movie. I loved even though everybody I saw it with hated it. 

[SnokesLegs]

The last 30 minutes of this were entertaining as hell. I’d hesitate to call the film good, but I had a fun time with it.

 

I absolutely do not see the average cinemagoer who’s expecting something like The Conjuring to be on board with it at all though once that final third kicks in.

[Old Spice]

Lord Jesus, that was NUTS. Entertaining as hell though. I love how Wan just goes for it. Topo the Octopus playing the drums in Aquaman, the unrelenting absurdity of Malignant... the guy doesn't give a fuck about being 'grounded,' all he wants to do is put on a magic show for the audience and he does so with such style and craft that you can't help but be caught up in the demented whimsy of it all.

 

I loved it.

 

(I just wish I had seen it in a theater. This one definitely needs to be shared.)

[ThomasNicole]

This has "cult classic vibe" all over it, it's great.

 

It's very hard to say what is bad here and what wasn't. The lead actress is great in some scenes and totally over the top in others but looks appropriate. Some sequences are dumb as fuck but it's hard to understand if it's just bad or intentionally dumb because everything make sense at the end including the dumb choices.

 

The dialogues are very bad, still they do a great job at hiding the secrets without alienating the audience, if you pay enough attention the answer is there since the beginning. The script overall is clumsy, still it does a great job in keeping you wondering WTF is happening and give a coherent ending if you're open minded.

 

James Wan directing here is impressive, his work is so effervescent, exciting and unstoppable that you can see he have a great time coordinating everything. Cinematography is very well done in blending so many referescences, the soundtrack is all over the place in good way and reminiscent of many camp movies.

 

And of course the third act is not only creative but jaw-dropping when you think this is a 40M Warner movie and not some indie project, i can't remember the last time i saw a studio allowing something so batshit crazy like the last 25 minutes of Malignant, it's simply a joy to watch how this doesn't try to avoid the absurd of it's plot but instead embrace all of it with proud.

 

Of course it have problems with the tone, editing and some holes in the script, alongside with a bad casting minus Annabelle, but still it doesn't matter that much when it ends so good.

 

Easily an 8/10 or so.

[BestPicturePlutoNash]

did not like this. Really wanted to be on the hype train.

 

theater had a walkout

[TheDude391]

My audience applauded at the end, laughing and having a great time. It was a ton of fun, the third act is absolutely bonkers. 

[Blaze Heatnix]

So far, it has a 34% Audience Score on RT.

[Dominic Draper]

7 minutes ago, Blaze Heatnix said:

So far, it has a 34% Audience Score on RT.

Strangely the all audience score is 52%.

 

I've never seen the all audience score be higher than the verified one before.

[lorddemaxus]

lmfao, RT score and audience score is about the same as The Empty Man (which went up from the 33% it had last year before it got its cult following). I said this would be this year's The Empty Man earlier and sounds about right.

[Dominic Draper]

1 hour ago, lorddemaxus said:

lmfao, RT score and audience score is about the same as The Empty Man (which went up from the 33% it had last year before it got its cult following). I said this would be this year's The Empty Man earlier and sounds about right.

I loved the empty man!

[RRA]

This is catnip for Fulci/DePalma fans. Bonkers, imaginative. That jail cell setpiece will become a classic among horror/gore fans.

[AdrianL]

I was on board with this. Some of the music cues and scenes made me laugh pretty hard. Idk for me the third act wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be based on some reactions I saw but it certainly is memorable. Overall I enjoyed more than the average horror flick. 

Edited September 11, 2021 by AdrianL

[charlie Jatinder]

Surprised with the RT score and walk out talks. Yes the film starts boring horror flick but the twist is good enough and barring dud climax, 3rd act is good. 

 

I also don't get the cult classic talk, its just ok regular ordinary movie.

[ThomasNicole]

15 minutes ago, charlie Jatinder said:

Surprised with the RT score and walk out talks. Yes the film starts boring horror flick but the twist is good enough and barring dud climax, 3rd act is good. 

 

I also don't get the cult classic talk, its just ok regular ordinary movie.

Not every cult classic is an excellent movie, some are actually pretty bad, and many of them are flawed movies that somehow stick with groups of people for being creative, different, memorable, bold etc.

 

Malignant is obviously a flawed movie, but have many of the qualities that it needs to became a cult one.

[Krissykins]

2 hours ago, AdrianL said:

Some of the music cues and scenes made me laugh pretty hard. 

The music cues were Giallo inspired and can come off as cheesy without the point of reference I guess. 

23 minutes ago, charlie Jatinder said:

I also don't get the cult classic talk, its just ok regular ordinary movie.

That would be because the film certainly isn’t “regular” or “ordinary” in any sense. Whatsoever.

Cult classics usually have an element of camp, polarise audiences and fail commercially. 

[charlie Jatinder]

3 minutes ago, ThomasNicole said:

Not every cult classic is an excellent movie, some are actually pretty bad, and many of them are flawed movies that somehow stick with groups of people for being creative, different, memorable, bold etc.

 

Malignant is obviously a flawed movie, but have many of the qualities that it needs to became a cult one.

That's what I am saying, its really ordinary horror movie that comes every now and then with nothing much to standout.

[ThomasNicole]

Thinking for a few hours and i decided that Gabriel is the best creature that James Wan created so far.

 

It´s actually a simple idea but his visual is so effective gross, the outfit and weapon is so cool, and his body movements is extremelly disturbing.

 

It really makes justice to some of the most grotesque characters on horror movies.

[Krissykins]

I didn’t love it by any means. But “ordinary”? 
 

I’ve seen thousands of horror films. Malignant certainly isn’t ordinary, in any sense of the word. 

[ThomasNicole]

7 minutes ago, charlie Jatinder said:

That's what I am saying, its really ordinary horror movie that comes every now and then with nothing much to standout.

I don´t know where you´re seeing horror movies with this type of camp, body horror scenes etc so often, to me they´re very rare these days. I guess we have to agreed on disagreed.