Some of the reviewers here have likened this movie to Slasher or Italian Giallo horror films. The problem with the slasher genre is that the plot elements are always the same. There is a near immortal killer that has high level plot armor until the internal rules of the universe are broken, and then the slasher boss is defeated until the sequel.
Giallo, which usually had nonsensical plots at least had visual style to keep you interested when the characters started to do incomprehensible things.
So, Malignant encompasses all the structural problems of the slasher film (meaningless but gory death to NPCs, death on a vast scale that seems to have no societal consequence, no coherent plan by the protagonists who finally catch on) etc.
The movie is full of tropes, including locking yourself in the upper story bathroom that has no exits, the plucky sister exploring the scary gothic lab/hospital by herself with that great anti-ghoul device, the flashlight, and characters exploring the strange sounds, instead of doing the natural thing, which is leaving.
What do we know from these endless cookie cutter horror films? 1. Guns are useless in the hands of guards/street cops/security guards. These characters have a combined IQ of 18, including all the similar characters going back to the origin of talkies 1927ish.
2. Whether you have been possessed by Satan, a 300 witch or a parasitic unsplit fetus, you are "still in there" and someone can get you to rise to the surface and assert yourself over the thing that has possessed you.
3. You've killed 100 people, but it "wasn't you", so the camera pans out and the main character will likely be living in a cool apartment with an interesting job in the sequel, and there will be no consequences except a few yellowed newspaper articles.
Movies like this enforce my hypothesis that mean IQ has dropped 50 points in the last 20 years.
9 out of 10 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink