GoldenJCJ

I actually liked this more than I was expecting. I went in with zero expectations, knowing virtually nothing about the movie.

It does start out with a 70s/early 80s horror atmosphere. Unfortunately it doesn’t keep that vibe going throughout. It gets an early 2000s feeling about halfway through and keeps it until the end. The “twist” is so absurd I can’t help but like it. It’s almost comical how the movie plays out and it very easily could have turned embarrassing. James Wan is able to keep it from going completely off the deep end. A lesser filmmaker wouldn’t be able to keep that kind of insanity in check.

I wouldn’t necessarily rank it with The Conjuring but thats an unfair comparison since Malignant goes in a completely different direction. Overall I had a fun time watching it despite (or maybe because of) how bonkers it gets.

TomOpus

I think your level of enjoyment might depend on if you buy the twist. There are some grisly kills and very few jump scares. Some parts are funny. Listen for a reference to "Sloth from The Goonies." Watching it again on HBO Max. Some of those giallo-influenced shots look beautiful.

Why So Blu?

I thought the film was going to suck, because it takes a long time for it to pick up, but once that final act hits, I was like holy fucking shit! It's gonna be talked about for years to come. This is only in 4K DV on HBO MAX with no Atmos, only 5.1.

I think the production design, cinematgraphy, and practical special make-up effects were also top notch.

Throwing Copper

It’s starting to seem like this a Must-See type of event movie. Doesn’t really matter if a person likes it or not, but everyone is talking about it.

Hazel Motes

I thought this movie sucked. James Wan's worst horror film. The twist was super goofy. Except for the twist, it was one tired horror trope after another. The reveal of the mental hospital made me laugh out loud. I don't know of many mental hospitals that were built to look like Draculas Transylvanian castle of the edge of a cliff. Same goes for the girls house. Also I thought the lighting and color composition was straight out of SAW 5, just your average dreary looking sets and lighting that would never exist in real life. I thought the prison fight scene was hokey as hell. Generic Prison toughs taking liberties on the fresh meat. This was a real piece of shit.

4/10

d2cheer

Pretty much what my wife and I thought as well. I laughed at parts that I should not have as well...

dex14

I didn’t think that much of it either. Felt like something from the 90s/early 2000s… complete with bad acting by most of the cast.

Yea, the last act picks up the pace and has a burst of violence and action, but that doesn’t make up for a mostly uninteresting film.

White trash Zoe Bell.

MysterioMan007

I just watched this on HBO Max. I was enjoying it until the twist, which makes zero sense. I think had they gone a different direction than they did, it could've been a lot better.

Osiris3657

This one didn't work for me. It was really confusing, then after I read a detailed synopsis of the movie I was dumbstruck by the absurdness of the story

GoldenJCJ

The filmmakers definitely cheated. They played up a supernatural angle showing it a different entity than Madison (even showing them both in the room where her husband died at the same time. Then they showed the supernatural creature appearing in multiple places at once. Then the twist happens and the viewer realizes they were being cheated the entire time. The reveal was a cop out that didn’t play by rules rules it established in the first half of the movie.

MysterioMan007

Not only that but....



LiquidSky

I enjoyed as well. The movie certainly got trippy. That mean gal in the jail with a mullet! Some of the music reminded me of Italian horror films.

Wolf359

Hey wow LiquidSky, welcome back.

Mondo Kane

Was I the only one that heard "Where is my mind?" whenever the Theme music played?

Why So Blu?

Nope. It's cover version of it.

dex14

GoldenJCJ

For those who didn’t catch it. The mullet chick in jail was Zoe Bell who was Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Kill Bill and starred in Death Proof.

Troy Stiffler

I liked it a lot. I could see how people will see unwanted silliness like in The Happening. The whole concept is a hard sell.

maxfisher

Just finished this with the wife. We enjoyed the audaciousness of it, but it definitely had some faults. The acting was mostly passable at best and the dialog could’ve used another rewrite or two. Also, all we knew going in was ‘James Wan flick about a woman’s imaginary friend murdering people.’ Unfortunately, the graphical treatments during the opening credits gave away the twist, at least to me.

While the plot is different in many respects, it reminded me a lot of Upgrade, but not as good.

I’ll have to watch it again, but it felt more like an unreliable narrator than a cheat. From the victims’ perspectives, they encountered Gabriel. From Madison’s perspective, she was effectively seeing a delusion created by Gabriel to hide from her.

Given that Gabriel only spoke through devices and was pretty much arms and part of a brain, I don’t see any reason he couldn’t be an identical twin to Madison. A quick Google shows a study that found among identical twins with at least one being transgender, in 70% of cases it’s only one, while in 30% it’s both.

GoldenJCJ

Perhaps. But when the movie starts with Madison locking herself in her room and not coming out until after her husband is killed and then immediately coming face to face with the supernatural creature and then being chased up the stairs by that creature, it feels like the filmmakers aren’t being honest with the viewer.

Like I said in my original post, I actually liked the movie quite a bit but it wasn’t perfect.

Neil M.

It was pretty easy to figure out the twist early but my wife and I enjoyed how it played out. Honestly, I don't think it's really that absurd compared to lots of horror movies from the 70s and 80s. I thought it was a really cool throwback to those types of horror films that didn't rely on jump scares to be memorable. Sometimes the best way to sell a concept is to go all in and this film certainly did that.

DJariya

Just finished watching it too. I loved how bonkers crazy and violent it got in the last 45 minutes or so. You really have to suspend disbelief about the big reveal and yes it's straight out of 70s and 80s horror. This movie is definitely not everyone and I totally understand those who don't like it. I just wish they cast some stronger actors. The vast majority of the cast was unknowns. I only recognized Jacqueline McKenzie who played the doctor from the flashbacks. She was one of the stars of The 4400.

dex14

Annabelle Wallis is somewhat recognizable. You’ve probably seen a bunch of the stuff she was in. Her biggest role was probably in the Tom Cruise Mummy movie. Though we all want to forget that. It’s just that she looks unrecognizable in this with the dark hair.

The rest of the cast mostly sucked.

Toddarino

Every time I see those posters I wish this was a giallo done by James Wan. Instead we got this wacked out nonsensical movie that doesn't know what it wants to be.
I was interested for quite a while. The “twist” was pretty predictable from the beginning. When they show all those doctors I even said “what’s this a new Basket Case?” Guess I wasn’t far off.
I really checked out when it became some character from the Raid and was able to jump down fire escapes and all that shit.

Why So Blu?

Even if you didn't like it, it is part giallo.