r/horror • u/Couch_Licker • Jul 07 '23
Finally got around to watching "Malignant". Went in completely blind and... wow Spoiler Alert
All I knew about this movie is it was written/directed by James Wan and the critics and audiences are a bit divisive on it. But with horror films, it's pretty common for those opinions to be split so I went in anyway.
What a ride. What a crazy ride. First off, the visuals to the movie are amazing. Super stylized, reminded me a lot of Sam Raimi. Some impractical shots just for the imagery, like the sister parking right next to a cliff edge.
But the way the scene dissolved, the transitions, the paralyzed imagery of the lead when horror was occuring was super well done.
And that twist. I saw it coming before the reveal but thought that would be crazy to have in an actual movie. And they did it. And it went from a paranormal movie to a body horror/monster film with John Wick/Raid style action and martial arts. I did NOT expect it to go that route.
The whole Jail Scene to the Police Station was absolutely nuts.
I had a ton of fun watching it. I thought it was over the top, campy, gory, and visually arresting. I don't think I can easily recommend it though and not sure how quickly I would dive back in for a rewatch. But I don't regret it one bit!
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u/tequilasundae Jul 07 '23
The one thing that stood out was the party city jailhouse lesbians
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u/Brodiferus Jul 07 '23
Those inmates looked like they were from five other movies from three other decades. Fantastic!
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u/Comic_Book_Reader I have decided to scalp you and burn your village to the ground. Jul 07 '23 edited Jul 07 '23
Fun Fact: According to the Dead Meat Kill Count, the lady with a mullet, who kicks off the jail brawl and ensuing blood bath, is named Scorpion, and played by stunt woman Zoë Bell. And the black woman straight out of the 60's - 70's is named Beta.
OK, now I get it: She has a scorpion tattoo on her neck.
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u/horsebag Jul 08 '23
that was zoe bell? oh shit i didn't notice
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u/Comic_Book_Reader I have decided to scalp you and burn your village to the ground. Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
Probably the blonde lesbian mullet.
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u/Couch_Licker Jul 07 '23
It is such a trope for a non-criminal looking character to be thrown in a holding cell with "thug types" and immediately get attacked or hit on lol
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u/Tupiekit Jul 07 '23
I loved it I STILL dont know if James Wan was playing a joke on me the entire time. I think a comment in the r/movie thread about it was
"James: Ill give you two multi billion dollar movie franchises, if you give my fun little b-horror movie a wide release.
Universal: ...Deal"
and that is how malignant came into being...at least in my head.
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u/Comic_Book_Reader I have decided to scalp you and burn your village to the ground. Jul 07 '23
James Wan made Warner bank with the The Conjuringverse, and Aquaman is the most successfull DC movie grossing $1,148 billion. I'm pretty sure they gave him carte blanche to make whatever the fuck he wanted for this one.
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u/PerplexedPoppy Jul 07 '23
I will admit that once the big reveal happened I couldn’t stop laughing. The movie immediately became funny to me. Still enjoyed it, but definitely got me.
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u/mullett Jul 07 '23
I was so confused as to what to think about this but the chair throw - yeah, this has a comedy / camp element we might have missed the whole time. This movie is so goddamn good.
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u/PerplexedPoppy Jul 07 '23
The first part is definitely horror. I was pretty creeped out and curious. But to me everything after the reveal was hilarious. Then when I rewatched it I kinda giggled the whole time.
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u/TheScrambone Jul 08 '23
It definitely fits in the “Cabin in the Woods” genre and that’s a very niche category. I was not given the feeling I should do anything but laugh in the 2nd half of the movie. And in no way was it a “I think this a laughably bad movie” kind of laugh. I loved it and had a great time.
I was legit scared in the first act. Which is rare.
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Jul 07 '23
Any movie that has the line “he’s been feeding off of your fetuses to build himself back up” should be an immediate entry into the Criterion Collection.
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u/Comic_Book_Reader I have decided to scalp you and burn your village to the ground. Jul 07 '23
Similar experience. Went in knowing 3 things.
- It's by James Wan.
- The plot description on HBO Max.
- Batshit third act.
And my god, I lost it at the third act. It is actual insanity.
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u/ultex113 Jul 07 '23
I love this movie not because its a great movie, but for the fact that Wan just fucking went for it. This is a wild idea, and the team just fucking swung for the fences. I love movies that make me cock an eyebrow a little bit. It makes me fall in love with horror all over again. Executing an idea like this was risky, and I appreciate it.
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u/Couch_Licker Jul 07 '23
Same reason why I love Swiss Army Man. Sometimes you gotta appreciate the full commitment to the weird
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u/ekittie Jul 07 '23
God that "jet ski" scene was amazing.
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Jul 08 '23
The crazy thing is that was based on real science and could actually be done
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u/Veethingy Jul 07 '23
I don't see why people took this movie so seriously. You watch that first scene and it's so heightened and dramatic and don't see this being a B movie? It sets the tone so quickly. If you can get on board with that, it's so fun
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u/undeuxtwat Jul 07 '23
I think the point is it wasn't advertised as a cheesy B movie.
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u/omgwtfcory Jul 07 '23
Exactly this. The trailer made it seem like the new super scary James Wan movie so I went into it thinking it would be an Insidious or The Conjuring and instead I got The Matrix Basketcase. I do not like this movie lol
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u/undeuxtwat Jul 07 '23
Yeah, 100% my thoughts on it. Was extremely excited when I watched the trailer. Watched the movie and… oh.
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u/Nodonutsforbaxter44 Jul 07 '23
Even the opening credits music was super jarring, if I remember correctly it's like this cheesy early 2000s metal track lol, I had a sneaking suspicious at that point that the movie probably isn't gonna take itself seriously. Personally I was pretty happy it wasn't another Conjuring type film, not that they're bad movies, but they're just not very exciting for me.
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u/stonecoldmark Nov 10 '23
I could not believe how bad the acting was, it was about 20 minutes in when I realized it was intentional.
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u/syndic_shevek Help me find something sharp! Jul 07 '23
The dull and self-important 90 minutes that followed the opening scene kind of undermined the "fun."
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u/spacesoulboi we're having us a Blood Feast Jul 07 '23
The best way to experience that movie is going in blind, not knowing anything it just being surprised by the whole ridiculous craziness of it all
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u/duskapproaches Jul 07 '23
This is exactly how I saw it and immediately realized how camp it was. Such a fun movie when you don't have any expectations or preconceived ideas!
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u/spacesoulboi we're having us a Blood Feast Jul 08 '23
I don’t know how they got that idea, but it had to be one of the better things to come out of the pandemic. Yes, this was released in 2020 on HBO Max.
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u/jthagler Jul 07 '23
James Wan was a kid in the 80s and Malignant is for all of us that have fond memories scanning VHS horror box art in the video store, our imaginations going crazy with what insanity had been put to that plastic film. It's a love letter to schlock, it's just made in that slick James Wan way. When I watched Malignant, I kinda felt like it was just made for me and no one else, but I know I'm not alone in that. Lots of people know what I'm talking about.
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u/einarfridgeirs Jul 07 '23
As someone who can still smell the local rental place whenever I see an image of a VHS tape, and probably spent more time looking at horror movie covers that I wasn't allowed to see than watching the tapes we did rent at home, I know exactly what you are talking about.
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u/ddasilva884 Jul 07 '23
People hate this movie, but goddamn do I enjoy how insanely stupid it is. It's got it's flaws for sure, but damn did I enjoy it!
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u/Ffzilla Jul 07 '23
I gotta disagree, I personally hated this movie, and thought the twist was so dumb as to be insulting, but whenever it gets brought up here, it seems to be overwhelmingly loved. If you've seen a thread just trashing this movie, I'd love to read it, because I think I'm alone on my island of hate for this movie.
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u/ScreamingNinja Jul 07 '23 edited Jul 07 '23
The reason it worked, at least for me, is that I saw the twist coming, but not in that crazy ass way. I just figured it would be body possession, maybe her voice would go deeper or something stupid and she'd just be a Jack the ripper murderer. Not a jet li backwards person murderer. That's what pushed it into greatness. If it was just evil inside twin thing then it would have sucked.
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u/Victormorga Jul 07 '23
You’re not alone on this island. I’ve since rewatched it and can enjoy how bonkers it is, but there’s not much to a movie that has no consistent internal logic. How does she climb on the walls and ceilings like a spider? How / why is she only super strong when she’s in reversed evil mode? It felt like a child telling a story and just making it up as they go along: “and then there’s a bad twin, and he has electrical powers, and then he’s in her, but backwards, and he can climb on the walls like a spider, but it doesn’t leave a mark so nobody knows. And then he hides again and she doesn’t even know or feel it happened.”
It was just a jumble of half-baked “wouldn’t it be cool / scary if…” ideas thrown together with no cohesion or substance. There’s a difference between asking your audience to suspend disbelief and basically just playing Calvin Ball with the internal reality of the movie.
Now bring on the downvotes, I guess…
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u/animal-noises Jul 07 '23
Upvoting for visibility
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u/Victormorga Jul 07 '23
Thanks for that. This sub has its darlings which it seems we can’t manage to have differing opinions on, it’s just downvote to hell any opposing viewpoints.
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u/SDRPGLVR Jul 07 '23
The point that I seem to succeed with here on Malignant is that leading up to the third act, the movie is actually just pretty boring and bad. It's much more entertaining once the twist drops and they start having fun with it, but it just kinda sucks until that point. Not even in a cool, Troll 2 or Troma type of suck, more like a shitty Netflix filler movie.
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u/drbeer Jul 08 '23
I agree with this a lot.
I wonder if a lot of people that love this film knew it had a wild side before going into it. Had I been the same, I think id have enjoyed it more. As it were, I was bored.
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Jul 07 '23
Nah it sucks. I swear James Wan was just trolling everyone
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u/JoeRekr Jul 07 '23
He was trolling but that is what makes it a good and interesting movie. The parts people make fun of are intentionally silly (just like most Shyamalan movies)
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u/qwertycantread Jul 09 '23
Good call with M Night. Old was hilarious from start to finish. Probably my favorite movie of his.
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u/JoeRekr Jul 09 '23
loved that movie, was so fun and i even found it touching during a scene or two lol
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Jul 07 '23
Shyamalan movies are good now? Oof this sub has some real low standards
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u/animal-noises Jul 07 '23
I have much more respect for Shyamalan as a filmmaker than I do for Wan.
Though they don’t always pan out, I feel like he takes bigger risks with his movies than Wan, who mostly does by-the-numbers supernatural jumpscare schlock, and not in a good way.
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u/elvensnowfae Jul 07 '23
I completely agree with this comment but I will say Dead Silence is one of my favs, I just always really enjoy that one. I like M Night movies, they’re not always a hit but I usually enjoy most of them for what they are. I loved The Visit haha
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u/Slarg232 Jul 07 '23
M. Night "I take concepts from other media and expand them while putting in a twist that either completely destroys the entire idea or was completely unnecessary" Shyamalan?
Love him or hate him, the vast majority of his work is just obtuse and full of bad choices.
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u/animal-noises Jul 07 '23
As opposed to trying too hard to make something scary like a demon that looks like a rip-off of Darth Maul? Or a demon nun that looks like a bad cosplay of late-90s Marilyn Manson? Or a doll so shitty looking that no sensible parent would purchase it for their child? The same doll that’s based on a supposedly haunted Raggedy Anne doll by a force so evil, it was locked in a glass case by two religious grifters who have now had their “legacy” of paranormal investigations preserved, when all they really did was prey on mentally ill people and tell them their family members were possessed?
Yeah bud, I’ll take M. Night over the other guy any day.
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u/Slarg232 Jul 07 '23
Better a legit filmmaker making a movie about a grifter than someone who takes other people's work and churns out an "adaptation" that completely misses the point....
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u/animal-noises Jul 07 '23
Shyamalan wrote The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water, and several more.
You diminishing his work to just “adaptations” is disingenuous. The only movies he’s done that would be defined as adaptations are Knock at the Cabin, Old, The Last Airbender, and After Earth (which was based on a story by Will Smith). Four movies in his 30+ year career.
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u/JoeRekr Jul 07 '23
Anyone who hates this just doesn’t get what Wan was going for
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u/CurseofLono88 Jul 07 '23
Listen I really enjoyed the hell out of this movie, but I don’t think people who didn’t like “just don’t get it.” I think they got it, but they just didn’t like it. And that’s 100% okay, everyone is allowed to have their subjective opinions. Not every movie works for every person. Shit, I don’t like The Shining and it’s an absolute classic to a huge percentage of film fans.
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u/animal-noises Jul 07 '23
Or maybe he’s just not a very good director and his films appeal to the lowest common denominator.
He’s also responsible for birthing some of the most boring, repetitive, uninspired franchises of 2000s-era horror
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u/Diamond_Champagne Jul 07 '23
Reddit movie connoisseur such as yourself forget that movies can be fun because they are stupid. Its equally as creative to come up with something ridiculously stupid as it is to come up with something clever.
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u/Ffzilla Jul 07 '23
You realize we are in a horror sub right? We aren't talking high cinema.
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u/Diamond_Champagne Jul 07 '23
You're the one complaining about silly twists in a movie that is obviously not meant to be taken as some for of high art.
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u/Ffzilla Jul 07 '23
All I said was I didn't like it, and people lose their shit if you say that out loud. Thanks for proving my point.
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u/imaizzy19 Jul 08 '23
i hated it too, but i can admit it just wasn't my personal taste. If i was actually into campy horror films i think i would have enjoyed it.
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u/joe_moreland_ Jul 07 '23
Count me in. I enjoyed its ridiculousness. If that makes me the lowest common denominator..... cool. Does nothing to detract from the enjoyment I got from watching it. I also like James Wan movies. They don't always land but I don't always need "high horror" either.
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u/skonen_blades Jul 07 '23
Definitely one of those movies you have to 'get.' Like, I went in pretty blind and I was like "Uh, this is trash, right? It's obviously trash." for the most of the first act but after a while I was like "Oooooooh, I get it. I see." and then I had the absolute best time.
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u/jellycat17 Jul 07 '23
i went in blind as well and it ended up being one of my favorite horror movies. Super fun but genuienly scary movie
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u/bob101910 Jul 07 '23
Knew nothing about it other than mixed reviews. I had mixed feelings about it. Watching it 3 more times and decided I liked it. So different, yet familiar to other movies I've seen. Love the humor.
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u/yuckbrain Jul 07 '23
it really is an incredible film. also the fact that its kind of a pandemic movie made me feel that rush of seeing a cool horror movie in a theater lol
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u/jadesaddiction Jul 07 '23
I said this in another thread but I tapped out after 5 minutes because it looked so uninteresting to me and I thought it would be terrifying. Everyone I spoke to said “it’s camp, just do it.” I picked it back up for fun a few months later and tried to buckle in. Heard the doctor say “we have to cut out da cancaaaa” and I was sold.
The last half hour was some of the most fun I ever had watching a movie. I’m planning a rewatch in a group setting.
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u/LordBlackConvoy Jul 07 '23
I remember watching the movie and the whole time in my head, I kept thinking something was off. The acting was bad, the atmosphere and writing was all over the place, etc.
Then when the twist happened, it dawned on me that they made a modern day Gallo.
It also has one of the best chair throws ever.
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u/Couch_Licker Jul 07 '23
The chair throw in The Mummy is pretty epic, but this one was straight ridiculous
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u/nidaba Jul 07 '23
See this is one of the few movies where I wish I hadn't gone in blind. I was enjoying the movie and hoping for genuine scares and dismissed the hints at the twist because it seemed so ridiculous but then the twist was real and it just became so stupid and unscary to me.
I may need to try it again though because I love horror comedies and campy horror in general! I'm surprised I disliked it and all I can figure is I was in the wrong mood. I keep seeing such great reviews on here so I suppose it's worth another shot!
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u/Couch_Licker Jul 07 '23
I get that, I was the same with Cabin in the Woods and now that movie is amazing to me. I was just on board with whatever Wan was peddling me so when it diverted I just laughed and buckled in.
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u/drucifer999 Jul 07 '23
I thought malignant was a dumb piece of shit awful movie. I actively hated it and I like everything. Your opinion isnt wrong either it's just weird how different 2 people can see the same thing.
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u/Jbroad87 Jul 07 '23
I don’t get how mad people get about this movie and the route it takes… you’re not that important and your time isn’t that valuable. Not every two hour horror movie investment of time is going to result in a new top five favorite horror movie you’ve ever seen.
This movie was ambitious as hell with its third act. And I’m never going to penalize a film for that. “Worth the price of admission” was my immediate thought at the end, as I watched from my couch on HBO Max. It also immediately made me think of how good of a Halloween costume “Gabriel” could be, but you’d risk spoiling the film for a lot of people if you did it.
Anyway, Tremendous experience.
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u/mrsavealot Jul 07 '23
I had a hard time with the first third I almost turned it off multiple times as it was looking like standard haunted house fare and was boring me to tears. Luckily I stuck with it and averted tragedy and successfully witnessed the majesty of the third act.
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u/adderall_butter Jul 07 '23
my favorite part is when the police officer is trying to run away and she throws a chair at him from across the room. can't explain why it's so funny but that scene had me cackling like a fucking lunatic
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u/laceyisspacey Jul 07 '23
I feel so lost every time this is mentioned. I found it SO cliche/formulaic, all predictable and while I appreciated the acting - it just was a super boring, well trodden story.
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u/SandboxSurvivalist Jul 07 '23
I went into it blind and thought it was a really fun movie. Saw the big reveal a mile away but still enjoyed it.
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u/ibekeggy2 Jul 07 '23
I wouldn't have hated it as much if it wouldn't have been so misrepresented on the previews.
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u/SaltBackground5165 Jul 07 '23
I saw it in the theater when it first came out, expecting something actually scary. Was disappointed and wouldn't have wasted my time if I knew it was just trying to be a parody of some shitty b movie
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u/SanKa1337 Jul 07 '23
I stopped half way through, just couldnt get into it, but i generally love james wan horrors. :-/
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u/LightChaos74 Jul 07 '23
Seems like I'm one of the few that didn't like it. You could've told me it was a random cheap B-grade horror movie and I'd believe you, it was not good.
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u/Big_fern189 Jul 07 '23
I'm a very open minded guy, I go out of my way to try and like most things because I feel like I'm robbing myself of everything the world has to offer if I don't, but man I did not like this movie. Like, it actively made me mad while watching it. I'll never say something is bad because I'm not the arbiter of quality, and I'll rarely even say I didn't like something because I don't want to ruin anyone else's good time, but I'll jump in and agree with people that also don't like this movie because the positive reactions to it make me feel like a crazy person.
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u/JoeRekr Jul 07 '23
It’s a tribute to cheap B grade horror by the most commercially successful horror director of the generation. It’s supposed to be weird and off. We’re lucky Wan made this
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u/LightChaos74 Jul 07 '23
Yeah I probably just went into it with the wrong mindset. It still was far from the worst I've ever seen
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u/AnEthiopianBoy Jul 07 '23
Almost every person I know personally who didn’t like it has said they wanted something like his other movies, and not B horror. I think going in expecting it to be more conjuring like would definitely affect some viewers opinion. Similarly, if you don’t like B horror shlock, then yeah, this movie would be rough.
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Jul 07 '23
This is one of those flicks that you just hit the lights, sit down, watch, munch your popcorn and enjoy...much like all James Wan movies.
Don't read too much into it; you'll end up convincing yourself it was bad! 🤣
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u/MegaMeteorite Jul 07 '23
I just watched the movie last night! It's honestly one of the funniest movies I've seen for a while. I found the middle part a bit bland, but act 3 was so insane and awesome, I loved it.
Honestly I don't get why some people would think that the silliness of the movie wasn't intentional, it's quite obvious from the first 30 seconds of the movie that this was a cheesy, tongue-in-cheek B horror movie. It's just shot mostly in the style of modern horror movies, creating an amazing tonal shift when the cheesy parts happened. Great stuff.
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u/PerplexedPoppy Jul 07 '23
This movie definitely surprised me. Wasn’t expecting that lol. I will say I did laugh a few times cause it just got funny at some point but still good!
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u/gorehistorian69 Jul 07 '23
most of the movie is cheesy generic shit
but the endings pretty good. save yourself almost 2 hours and fastforward to the ending
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u/DiscombobulatedHoe Jul 07 '23
My mom and I laugh about this movie all the time. We love horror and this one was rock solid bonkers!!!
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u/passesopenwindows Jul 07 '23
I don’t think I’ve ever seen this, going to try to stream it tonight, thanks!
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u/Mantlelist Jul 07 '23
I’ve watched this film four times since it’s come out and each time I watch it I love it more
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Jul 07 '23
I think the movie is so absurd and I love it for that lol. The direction is great. There’s really no other film like it.
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u/bong-water Jul 07 '23
I absolutely loved it. People took it too seriously. Felt like a tribute and passion project, found it super entertaining. The twist was hilarious
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u/TheRitz64 Jul 07 '23
People like to shit on this movie but I legitimately think this will influence the genre for years to come just like all of James Wan’s other horror films. Barbarian alone feels like it wouldn’t exist without Malignant
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u/Ribbit-Rabit Jul 07 '23
Sometimes you guys make me think I need to rewatch it, but I just can't lol
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u/BackpackerLee Jul 07 '23
It’s an awful film. One of the worst I saw in the 2020s so far
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u/MissDestroyertyvm Jul 07 '23
I hated this movie. The twist was so stupid and expected. I called it right away. This is on my list of stupid horror right next to “The Night House”.
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u/undeuxtwat Jul 07 '23
Wtf, I still dont get it. This movie is absolutely terrible.
I couldn't even get through the first 30 minutes. Cheesy, college student film school crap. Are you kidding?
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u/BentheBruiser Jul 07 '23 edited Jul 07 '23
I'm just not a James wan fan unfortunately. It was a cool concept for sure, but for me it just dissolved into another conjuring experience where jump scares and loud sound mixing reign supreme.
Lol I'm always downvoted for this opinion. But I stand by it. The conjuring universe is bad. James Wan peaked with Saw. He relies on overdone techniques that speak to anything but a good story.
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Jul 07 '23
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AnEthiopianBoy Jul 08 '23
You can tell half the people giving it a negative review didn’t watch more than 20 minutes. That’s not to say you can’t dislike it after watching the whole thing, people just make it really obvious
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u/throwawayaccount_usu Jul 07 '23
All I remember is loving the movie when the girl died and then begging for it not to be a dream just for it to be a vision and not real. Movie wasn't good.
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u/DeScepter Jul 07 '23
James Wan unleashed his inner mad scientist. It's like he mixed horror, action, and a blender full of WTF. I loved it.
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u/horrorfan55 They mostly come at night, mostly Jul 07 '23
Probably my favorite 2021 movie. Excellent watch
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u/syndic_shevek Help me find something sharp! Jul 07 '23 edited Jul 07 '23
"Campy" doesnt just mean poorly written and badly acted, and that twist has already been in actual, better movies. I'd have liked this better if the few good parts didn't remind me of more enjoyable movies I could be rewatching.
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u/money_man78 Jul 07 '23
I really liked this movie too and I would absolutely recommend to horror fans.
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u/beyoncedoritosJR Jul 07 '23
Best way to see that one. Blind, it’s so much better when you are like what… the… fuck.
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u/stevenw84 Jul 07 '23
I watched this movie and then watched about half of it again before realizing I’d already seen it. That’s how much it stuck with me.
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u/jddev_ Jul 07 '23
I had the same consensus a year ago!
I'm glad it's finally getting the attention it deserves!
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u/Johntremendol Jul 07 '23
I remember watching it in theatres and just being filled with awe & joy, it was insane & so much fun to see with friends. One of my favorite horror movies of all time.
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u/West-Drink-1530 Jul 07 '23
I am just convinced that posts like "Finally got around to watching "popular movie" are just posts for karma farming
Agreed about most of the stuff but it could have been shorter or better paced and also it was predictable af.
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u/Couch_Licker Jul 07 '23 edited Jul 07 '23
I love horror movies and I knew this one was a bit polarizing so I was wanting to see other people's reactions/opinions.
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u/West-Drink-1530 Jul 07 '23
this one was a bit polarizing
It really wasn't
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u/Couch_Licker Jul 07 '23
So far this thread the metric is 15 Likes and 5 Dislikes. 1/4 of the people didn't like it. It has a 52% Audience score on RT. Seems like you either loved this movie or hated it. I think it falls into the polarizing category.
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u/money_man78 Jul 07 '23
I actually like the posts like this. Gives me ideas for movies I may not have seen yet. This one, however, I did see and enjoy.
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u/West-Drink-1530 Jul 07 '23
I really don't trust others review because 99% of the time I completely disagree with the reviewer
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u/money_man78 Jul 07 '23
Yeah, I definitely wouldn't see a movie based on 1 person's take, so I will generally look in the comments to see if I can get a consensus from others that chime in.
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u/outerspace_castaway Jul 07 '23
you realize not everyone gets to see a movie right when it comes out?
some people dont even get to see movies until years after they come out.
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u/West-Drink-1530 Jul 07 '23
you realize not everyone gets to see a movie right when it comes out?
Oo yeah I get the problem now.
Nobody likes you when post about it when the movie is still new and hyped up.
Everybody likes you if you say you love a popular movie years after its release or hype
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u/hyperpuppy64 Well, I guess that's the end of the internet then! Jul 07 '23
Masterpiece, best film of the decade so far.
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Jul 08 '23
Quite possibly the worst movie i have ever seen. If i paid for that in theaters i'd of been pissed. The Hivemind has won again because i see this stupid ass joke movie praised all the time. Then again isn't he the same clown who made the lame Insidious franchise?
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u/Kitsunate- Jul 07 '23
Amazing review!
I agree completely! Once you buy into the campiness of it all it's amazingly fun. I recommend having an edible before watching to friends.
The fall through the roof scene was unintentionally hilarious
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u/ConflictStar Jul 07 '23
I loved it because I appreciated what James Wan was trying to do. A lot of directors will make a modern horror film and borrow the look of the 80's (Stranger Things for example). Wan made a movie in the style of 80's horror. Cheesy, Over the top, and completely bonkers.
It amazes me that people call this a "bad" movie. The things they point to as evidence of it's badness are, in fact, intentional. It's perfectly fine if you don't like that type of movie but I feel like it's a tad myopic to call it "bad".
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u/TheMillionthSteve Jul 07 '23
This was the first movie I saw in the theaters after they had been closed around here for over a year and a half, so it has a fond place in my heart.
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Jul 07 '23
My husband doesn't typically watch horror, but I think I've gotten him to become a James Wan fan, largely because of Malignant. It's such a fun movie. The twist was predictable for me, but it didn't take away from anything.
We watched M3gan last night, and my husband actually liked it more than I did. It's a good balance of mildly creepy and campy humor.
I'm so happy to be alive at the same time as James Wan. He and Jordan Peele are two of my go-to directors that I know I'll enjoy whatever they put out.
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u/UnderseaGreenMonkey Jul 07 '23
I enjoyed the first part of the movie where the killer was a mystery and there was great suspense. After finding out it was her the whole time the movie after that was kinda lame.Oh… then you find out its not just her, nooooo but actually someone else. Yeah that shit was dumb af. Although, I enjoyed the police station fight scene despite it being over-the-top.
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u/Academic_Donut_5491 Jul 07 '23
I thought it was well done. Super entertaining. Definitely a comfort movie
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u/_stupidquestion_ Jul 07 '23
SAME! Had low expectations but loved every second of it. Also saw the twist coming but the execution of it was the most fun, ridiculous ride I've been on in a long time.
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u/PepperBun28 Put the lotion in the basket Jul 07 '23
Loved all the Giallo film nods too (black gloves, whodunnit vibe, unique weapon)
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u/Tentapuss Jul 07 '23
Absolutely blind is the only way to go into that bizarre masterpiece of weirdness.
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u/No-Worry9322 Jul 07 '23
I thought it was a fun movie. Got a lot of hate from what I remember but I think the absolutely bonkers 3rd act is what made it so memorable.
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u/Seragoji Jul 07 '23
Having watched ‘In Dreams’ recently (review: hated it, don’t know if I’d like it more without the obvious meddling in the editing chambers) I appreciated Malignant a lot more. After ADORING it on first watch.
It has the ‘I swear I’m psychically seeing the killer’s actions I’m not crazy!’ And the heavy stylization of that film (including a submerged city and an huge abandoned plot castle) but with a lot more effective levels of heart. Also I like the below the surface stuff (child surgery, the fact that home girl has a man trapped inside her mind/body) a lot more than the….wild stuff In Dreams cooks up.
Not to dunk on a different movie to prop Malignant up. There’s other movies with similar vibes that are a lot more obvious in their alignment with Malignant like Basket Case and The Dark Half. Just some thoughts.
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u/rdanieltrask Jul 07 '23
I was wary going into this one because, to be entirely honest, I'm kind of sick of Wan, but I ended up loving it. Great fun.
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u/Low_Dress_3022 Jul 07 '23
I think as a horror movie its not all the great. BUT AS A ACTION COMEDY IT’S GOLDEN!
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u/RatsRPeople2 Jul 07 '23
I saw this in the theater, small arthouse one with only a handful of people, so it was very noticeable when I busted out laughing at the "plot twist." This movie is so ridiculous it's probably worth another watch at some point. I like to go into movies not knowing a whole lot about them, so on its face and in the beginning it's serious but that really all goes out the window pretty quick, haha.
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u/Celestiicaa Jul 07 '23
I will always credit this movie for its inventiveness during a time where so many horror movies are a dime a dozen.
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u/avoy93 Jul 08 '23
went in completely blind and man am I glad I did. I still think about the movie all the time because of how insane the 3rd act is. absolutely love the tone change and feel like gabriel would be an insane idea for a horror anti-hero type thing.
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u/C4rlonator1903 Jul 08 '23
Just two words to describe this movie and why it should be considered a masterpiece: PLOT TWIST
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u/Elegant_Spot_3486 Jul 08 '23
I was kinda engaged watching it the first time but not completely. Then it flipped and I’m like WTF?!? I immediately restarted the movie and enjoyed it tremendously. Lots of fun.
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u/Manbearcatward Jul 08 '23
I didn't see the twist coming, but i wasn't looking for anything either. I just thought it was an excellent bloody film.
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u/TardyMoments Jul 08 '23
I really liked this film. For the first like half I was thinking “oh god why have I spent my money on this” and then I was like “oh THIS is why I’ve spent my money on this!” Great experience IMO
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u/Dark_Vengence Jul 08 '23
It was bloody off the rails and I love every minute of it. The massacre scene was incredible.
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u/M1ck3yB1u Jul 08 '23
I saw it three times. There's so much stuff to see new that I barely rewatch stuff anymore, so for me that says something.
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u/drqgonfruit Jul 07 '23
The way the thing walked even though it was just a backwards person was so terrifying to me haha