11 September,2021 11:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Johnson Thomas
Malignant. Picture courtesy/PR
James Wan's latest venture pretty much fits in with his Horror oeuvre, converting a routine genre flick into a horrific blood-letting concoction of slasher thrills and merciless mayhem. Its cheesy ingredients are reminiscent of the 80's slasher sleeper hits and makes a strong case for anointing of the fearsome killer as an iconic one.
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The opening sequence is standard issue spooky - a psychiatric hospital perched precariously on the edge of a cliff in a dark, poorly lit, storm battered setting and, inside, after a few unnecessary kills, the doctor declares that it is "time to cut out the cancer". The next we see (present day), is the pregnant heroine Madison (Annabelle Wallis) suffering domestic abuse followed by a home invasion where her brutal husband is slaughtered. Madison suffers a miscarriage and promptly starts hallucinating about murders and mayhem orchestrated by the same shadowy figure who invaded her home.
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While the pretty Annabelle Wallis fails to lend prominence to her lead role, the ghoulish killer takes centre stage spilling bucket loads of blood all through the narrative spiel. Wan, in fact seems to have enjoyed this outing tremendously - crafting a stupefying, outrageous cookie-cutter plot that ply's its craven genre fetishes with sickening regularity. This one works almost like an antithesis of a super-hero franchise. The vicariously crafted scares are rather revolting. It's the action choreography that lends surprise to the proceedings here. The dagger wielding figure possessed by evil is a creepy sight. Wan's use of mutilated compositions doesn't quite work in as much effect here even though the tempo is upbeat and the body count keeps incrementing. DOP Michael Burgess lends eerie atmospherics but the overall narrative tone is a little wayward.
Most horror films are incredibly stupid and this one is no different. There are no clear cut explanations as to why the monster was allowed to kill so many people when he could just as easily have been put down in the opening sequence itself. I guess the fans don't go looking for logic in a horror film. They are in for the ride and this one does promise a fairly rollicking one!
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