Lost in random review embargo movie#
In fact, the only way to possibly discuss Malignant at length is by breaking down its bonkers plot, so please don’t read any further if you want to go into this movie knowing nothing about it. Wan brings the same campy energy of his blockbusters back to the genre that first put him on the map, and the movie feels destined to become an object of cult-like fervor for its sheer WTF-ery. But having seen (experienced? hallucinated? freebased?) Malignant, I’m fairly certain that the studio wasn’t so much burying the movie as it was trying to prevent word getting out on just how batshit it is.
given a last-minute press screening and a review embargo lifting hours before its release on HBO Max. The result is Malignant, a project with mysteriously little fanfare heading into its release-for whatever reason, the movie appeared to be death-marked by Warner Bros. (I will fork over as much Atlantean gold as needed to watch that ASAP.) But before that happens, the filmmaker has once again returned to his roots for another original horror conceit. Wan’s going back to the world of superheroes next year with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a sequel where Patrick Wilson’s Orm seems to be moonlighting as Moses before he parted the Red Sea. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you can get on the unapologetically silly wavelength, Wan’s blockbusters are a damn good time at the movies.
If these movies did anything, they affirmed that the director will gleefully embrace camp when the opportunity presents itself-whether it’s expensive cars flying through the air on multiple occasions or the Kingdom of Atlantis employing a giant octopus to bang drums during underwater gladiator battles. (To wit: Both The Conjuring and Saw had new entries come out this year, and, if the rumors are to be believed, Insidious could soon join them.)īut as Wan established himself as something of a horror-franchise whisperer, he made the pivot to blockbuster filmmaking with the ludicrous double-whammy of Furious 7 and Aquaman. Of course, what Saw, The Conjuring, and Insidious also have in common is that they’ve blown up as hugely successful horror franchises-all of which are still going strong to this day. The jump scares were mightily effective, in large part because Wan was patient in building a sense of dread, be it from demonic possession or astral projection. After jump-starting the “torture porn” trend with 2004’s Saw-a movie that’s much more restrained than the broader franchise’s gnarly reputation would lead one to believe-Wan brought more old-school horror sensibilities to The Conjuring and Insidious, which trafficked in creaking doors, creepy dolls, and unseen terrors going bump in the night. Few genre filmmakers have had a more expansive output since the early aughts than James Wan, but what’s just as impressive is that he rarely plays the same notes.
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