
James Wan is a master of his craft and knows all about horror movies. With “Malignant”, the filmmaker has made a gory genre contribution that bows to Italian Giallo cinema and makes no compromises.
“Malignant” is a genre gem that you would hardly have thought possible in 2021, as the horror film from “The Conjuring”, “Saw” & “Aquaman” director James Wan is a declaration of love to the Italian giallo Film – the horror subgenre that was formed by directors such as Dario Argento (“Suspiria”) and Mario Bava (“Satan’s Bloodlust”) and which peaked in Italian cinema in the 1970s. Here, the artistically stylish staging, bloody murders, weird killers and supernatural elements are at the forefront – there are few (logical) limits to creativity.
And James Wan fully embraces this genre adventure and is the first to jump into this mix of madness and gore. If you’re expecting generic genre fare with jump scares, creaking doors and mask killers, you might even be disappointed and/or confused by “Malignant”. But if you want to experience a wonderfully wacky movie night, which is even crowned with a crazy twist, you should definitely give this nasty genre contribution a chance.
You can watch the film from February 17, 2023 Amazon Prime Video Stream with a subscription at no extra cost.
›› “Evil” on Amazon Prime Video*
James Wan – Master of Horror Cinema
James Wan is an absolute professional director who is particularly skilled in the field of horror films and knows how to use the mechanics of the genre perfectly. The man is best known for his ability to launch successful film series with somnambulistic certainty: “Saw”, “Insidious”, “Conjuring” were created under his creative control.
Essential to the success: James Wan loves the genre. He proves that once again with “Malignant”. After forays into the horror subgenre haunted house (“magic“) or torture porn (“Saw‘) he uses the Giallo film for this 2021 horror highlight, transferring classic topoi from Italian genre cinema to the present.
In our CELEBTAP review, which gave the film a fantastic 4.5 out of 5 stars, our lead reviewer Christoph Petersen writes:
“‘Malignant’ is a visually outstanding horror slasher that is also incredibly entertaining, aimed primarily at fans and connoisseurs of the genre and without compromising on mainstream audiences. – neither in the level of violence nor in all the insane madness unfolding before our very eyes on the screen.
And that’s what ‘Evil’ is about
Life isn’t easy for Madison (Annabelle Wallis). As a child she experienced terrible things. But the traumatized girl is adopted by a loving foster family. Unfortunately, the horrors of the past catch up with her when one night a stranger breaks into her apartment and kills her husband and unborn child.
Since that night she has been haunted by visions of gruesome murders that also feel eminently real. When it turns out that the bloody atrocities really happened, she turns to the police – and ends up at the top of the list of suspects. What connects Madison to these heinous acts?
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