#anabellewallis

When the trailers for Malignant started making the rounds, lots of my friends got excited, but I personally did not feel a connection to the promotion.  As early as release night, however, the buzz on the timeline became too big to ignore, and though the responses was varied and divided, it was consistently positive and devoid of the bashing that is so present in today’s social media sphere.  Considering that I had a lazy weekend on the docket, and finding a screening of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that’s not loaded to the gills is tough, I decided to jump on HBOMax and see what all the hype was about.

Malignant is the kind of exploitation that thrived in the 1970s and 1980s, attempted to find new ground in the late 1990s and the new millennium during the found-footage era, and seemingly died as horror became high brow in the run-up to the modern era.  The production design on Gabriel, not to mention the alterations and costuming used for his Scorpion iteration, hearken back to the 1970s and 80s practical effects that directors like John Carpenter and those of his ilk made the horror standard.  The film is deeply set in the lore of demons, phantoms and ghosts, but it also flirts with the idea of shadow people and a sort of “waking” sleep paralysis in a very interesting way that I would love to see continued in the genre.  All of your standard exploitation sets are used, including the overly large home with one inhabitant, psychiatric hospitals, abandoned mansions and police stations, with some of the high-level apartments and suburban homes that killings take place in serving to modernize the exploitation elements.  Even the way that the film is written steers clear of the highly cerebral and darkly suspenseful methods that Ari Aster and others go for, opting instead to lean into dialogue that props up the visual stimulus we as viewers receive while eliminating subtext.

The idea of secrets and cover-ups serves as the foundational subtext for the film, grounding it in personal suspense and deeply traumatic terror as the exploitation elements run parallel.  We are given an adoption story, a misunderstood child story, a domestic abuse story and an estranged family story all within the first act of the film, not to mention higher level espionage in the opening via the explosive introduction of Gabriel.  The kill list is a direct echo of said espionage, with all of the key figures in the bigger cover up serving as the fodder for Gabriel’s Scorpion form.  Watching Maddie learn about her sister’s past and horrible situation allows us as the audience to have a character we can connect to in terms of taking in pertinent information.  There is even a divide between Detectives Kokoa Shaw and Regina Moss that creates a rift that mirrors the different mindstates of those who believe in the supernatural versus those who are deeply skeptical.  

An exploitation film the likes of Malignant has absolutely no business being as technically proficient as it is.  The cinematography oscillates between calm, observant moments during the exposition dumps, but when the terror starts to spike, the camera becomes a free flowing, specter-like entity as it rotates, watches from above and generally moves with complete freedom and autonomy to be in the best position possible to maximize the fear.  The general lighting very much shares the look and feel of Se7en for large portions of the film, but once the in-world lighting starts acting up and the washes of red make their presence felt, the film starts to mirror Suspiria while tonally feeling close to a film like Repulsion, but with modern day horror.  The transition sequences that trap Maddie in the middle of the murders are highly stylish and well executed.  Gabriel’s use of technology to communicate is extremely unsettling in its nature, as it manages to both implicate the otherworldly and interdimensional nature of the threat while also making our disturbing antagonist have a deep presence despite minimal screen time.  The creeping, haunting and airy score works better than standard musical beats, and the use of old school ghost-like voices in the sound design play up the exploitation very well.  Huge praise must be given to the living legend that is Zoë Bell for her top-tier stunt work as the phantom threat.  

Anabelle Wallis does a powerfully understated job of carrying the dramatic weight of the film, with the premise of her adopted past and abusive husband setting the table for a deeply troubled protagonist tethering symbolic and literal ghosts with her.  McKenna Grace matches the energy Wallis sets in her youthful portrayals of Maddie, with her reserved nature standing as the backstory for Maddie’s current day disposition.  Maddie Hanson plays the supportive younger sister to a tee, letting her curiosity, admiration and unconditional love drive her need to protect her older adopted sister.  George Young and Michole Briana White make a wonderful detective team, with Young’s naivety and need for answers playing well off of White’s deeply jaded and highly procedural outlook.  Marina Mazepa and Ray Chase team up to create the unsettling terror that is Gabriel, with Mazepa’s brooding physicality creating a symbiotic connection to Chase’s instantly iconic vocal performance.  Supporting cast members Jean Louisa Kelly, Susanna Thompson, Jake Abel, Jacqueline McKenzie, Christian Clemenson, Amir AboulEla and Ingrid Bisu all turn in strong performances in their smaller roles.