When it’s camp, it’s the greatest. When it’s serious, it’s like your average Blumhouse horror, which wouldn’t be too bad if Malignant was shorter and its intention was clearer.

This new film from horror master James Wan (Saw, Dead Silence, Insidious) focuses on a young woman called Madison (Annabelle Wallis) who is somehow able to witness real murders as they happen. She assists the police in their investigation, unaware that the killer’s trail leads to a place more personal, more intimate than she ever presumed.

The Characters

Talking about the strengths and weaknesses of Malignant is difficult without getting into spoilers. However, I will attempt to describe the effect of certain elements and what they do for the film as a whole.

Madison is the protagonist of every mainstream horror film from the past ten years. She’s dealing with trauma, lives in a good American home, has a quirky supportive sibling (a sister played by McKenna Grace) and is determined to confront whatever’s haunting her. Her struggle is engaging to an extent as most of what she goes through we’ve already seen in countless other jump-scare ridden blockbusters.

Malignant seems to want us to take Madison and the rest of the cast seriously, which is difficult because the things they say and do are so generic and, in some instances, downright bizarre that it makes you question the film’s intentions.

The Horror (Or Comedy?)

Is Malignant a subtle satire of mainstream horror films or is it just oblivious of how bad it is? The answer to that question will determine the film’s quality.

The origin of the killer is incredible, you will never see it coming. It is so ridiculous and outlandishly original, you’ll think that Malignant has to be playing for laughs. If the killer’s backstory won’t have you thinking that, watching the characters explaining it will. You can’t help but laugh at the sincerity of the dialogue as it describes what is possibly the silliest horror villain origin story in recent history.

Malignant can be gloriously goofy yet it’s almost two hours long and most of it focuses on its bland straight-faced protagonist. Is it worth seeing? I’d say yes, purely for the silliness because while most of it is pretty dull, the campiness increases as the film progresses, leading to some truly amazing scenes.

If you want to see a good serious horror film however, then avoid Malignant. It may be trying to be a serious horror film but the result is more average Blumhouse flick than The Exorcist.

I give Malignant a confused 6 out of 10.