Malignant
[Blu-ray]
Don’t listen to people who say Malignant is somehow shifting the paradigm of horror movies. Just approach it as you would a normal movie and allow yourself to be impressed, OK? People are dumb and you need to form your own opinions. This was my approach watching Malignant and I think I’m better off for it.
It’s hard to do anything new with the horror genre because audiences don’t really want anything new. They want, generally speaking, the same kind of plot, with the same beats, and the same ending. I think director James Wan knows this coming into the movie. He knows not to mess too much with the writing, but to focus instead on the visuals. That’s where Malignant truly shines. There are many interesting and down-right incredible shots all throughout this movie. You’ll notice things in Malignant you haven’t seen anywhere else, if you’re paying enough attention. And paying attention is important because this movie kind of makes no sense and is full of misdirects. Realizing this, you know to pay attention elsewhere, and that’s where Malignant is satisfying. Not to mention the big reveal which is probably worth the price of admission alone. You will not see it coming, and that’s by design. But there it is, and it’s a shocker!
More than ever, it’s important to own your movies as they move from one streaming service to another. This bluray is a fantastic way to experience the wonderful cinematography, but the disc unfortunately only comes with one behind-the-scenes featurette as a bonuys. A commentary track would have been wonderful to hear what exactly went behind these ideas.
Malignant is certainly a movie worth experiencing if you like gory horror films with shocking twists. And if you’re a movie buff, you’ll see some unique visual elements as eye-candy.
