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Ghost Canyon

Malignant (Blu-ray + Digital)
(Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michole Briana White, et al / Blu-ray + Digital / R / 2021 / Warner Bros.)

Overview: Director James Wan returns to his roots with this new original horror thriller. A woman is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.

Blu-ray Verdict: Returning to the horror roots that jumpstarted his career all the way back in 2004 with the genre-defining Saw, Australian export James Wan returns to his genre of choice for the first time since 2016’s The Conjuring 2 (and a nice little foray into the comic-book realm with the billion dollar hit Aquaman), with the wildly crazy and blood-splattered B-movie masquerading as a Hollywood offering Malignant.

Defying explanation (for the less you know about Malignant the better) while Wan’s film follows many staples he has mastered over his near two decades in the industry - such as creepy houses, jump scares (of which there aren’t many in this effort which is more focused around shock value) and a moody score by regular collaborator Joseph Bishara - Malignant is a different kind of beast than what we’ve come to expect from Wan.

Using his fairly decent sized budget here to go all out creating something that at times is incredibly frustrating and disjointed and at other times gripping enough to take ahold of you that you simply feel like you cannot look away (let alone move), the film succeeds - but not wholly.

Without delving into outright spoiler territory, many viewers will be left wondering early on if there’s any reason to stick around. As it really is a slow burner at the start, with the viewers discovering the meaning behind Annabelle Wallis’s poor old Madison Mitchell’s grotesque visions.

This Wan is felt struggling somewhat around this time to get things going early on and while there’s a lot that doesn’t fire on all cylinders in the early and mid-sections of Malignant, come the final third (and especially as we head to the wickedly awesome finale) you can’t help but be shocked and oddly impressed by what Wan has managed to get away within the Hollywood system.

Always a very visually inventive director and one that can create mood and atmosphere with only the bare minimum of opportunities, the latter stages of Malignant allow Wan to go all out in some of the craziest scenes and scenarios you’re likely to catch in a feature film this year.

Furthermore, they combine to make Malignant a film worth your time, especially as we learn more about the mysterious Gabriel’s origins and what exactly is driving the monstrous creation to go about his business in the unsuspecting city of Seattle.

It’s a shame the rest of the film doesn’t have as much fun as its final act, Malignant feeling as if in some ways Wan had too many ideas and possibilities to focus on leading up to his end game.

In closing, for me, and whilst overall this film is one of his weaker directional efforts, there’s enough freshness and new ideas bought forth here to make this horror affair one aficionados need to make time for.

So yeah, not everything works in James Wan’s return to the horror marketplace, but Malignant’s insane and eye-popping latter stages do a good job of making up for what’s come before it, proving once more that Wan is one of the best in the business when it comes to chills and spills! This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.40:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Feature of:

• Malignant: James Wan’s Visions – Groundbreaking filmmaker James Wan takes us behind the scenes for a look at his latest film, Malignant, a genre-bending thriller.

Discover terrifying realities when Malignant arrives for Premium Digital Ownership at home on October 22nd, 2021. Director James Wan (“The Conjuring,” “Aquaman,” “Furious 7”) returns to his roots with this original horror thriller.

The film is also from a screenplay by Akela Cooper (“M3GAN,” TV’s “Luke Cage”), story by Wan, Ingrid Bisu and Cooper, and stars Annabelle Wallis (“Annabelle,” “The Mummy”), Maddie Hasson (TV’s “Impulse,” TV’s “Mr. Mercedes”) and George Young (TV’s “Containment”). The film will also be available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning on November 30th, 2021.

The film was produced by Wan and Michael Clear, with Eric McLeod, Judson Scott, Bisu, Peter Luo, Cheng Yang, Mandy Yu and Lei Han executive producing. The film also stars Michole Briana White (TV’s “Black Mafia Family,” “Dead to Me”), Jacqueline McKenzie (“Palm Beach,” TV’s “Reckoning”), Jake Abel (TV’s “Supernatural,” the “Percy Jackson” films) and Ingrid Bisu (“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” “The Nun”).

On October 22nd, 2021, Malignant will be available for early Premium Digital Ownership at home for $24.99 and for 48-hour rental via PVOD for $19.99 SRP on participating digital platforms where you purchase movies.

On November 30th, 2021, Malignant will be available on Blu-ray and DVD. “Malignant” will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers.

Malignant will also be available on Movies Anywhere. Using the free Movies Anywhere app and website, consumers can access all their eligible movies by connecting their Movies Anywhere account with their participating digital retailer accounts.

Official Trailer

www.WarnerBros.com





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