I don’t normally start my reviews with a warning, but in this case, it feels entirely appropriate. When Malignant, the latest offering from supposed horror maestro James Wan was released, nearly every review and bit of publicity, as well as word-of-mouth responses, indicated the prospective viewers should not read anything about this film, since part of the joy of immersing ourselves in this world is experiencing this story first-hand. It would be wildly inappropriate for this review to be any different – and as much as it would be more logical to write a review that doesn’t contain spoilers, such a concept is nearly impossible for Malignant. Therefore, if you haven’t seen this film and are planning to witness it for yourself, I highly suggest not reading any further, and returning once you have experienced this absolutely bizarre film – come back and we can talk about what is inarguably one of the strangest entries into the horror genre in perhaps a decade, since everyone deserves to be as surprised and shocked as I was going into this film entirely blind, without any preconceived notions, which is the most interesting and rewarding way to approach it.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way – Malignant is a film that is consistently described using the word “bonkers”. It’s not a term that is used sparingly, with nearly every mildly peculiar film being labelled as such, especially in the horror genre. However, there has rarely been an instance where it is more appropriate than with Wan’s deeply strange and unimpeachably brilliant work of unhinged terror. Even starting to describe Malignant feels like it is going to do a disservice to what is essentially one of the most oddly unique horror films of the past few years. The fact that this hails from Wan is even more bizarre, since he is someone who has constantly been cited as one of the most exciting new voices in the genre, with works like The Conjuring, Saw and Insidious spawning entire franchises that re-energized audiences in a genre many considered as becoming almost a parody of itself. However, I’m inclined to say that not only is Malignant just as worthwhile as these other films, it is better in many ways, since while his other films may be more well-formed and consistent, none of them have offered the sheer amount of entertainment value and absolute terror as this one did – it’s almost as if Wan was attempting to descend as deep as he could possibly go into the realm of horror without crossing any moral, ethical or legal boundaries. The result is a film that frequently, and without any hesitation, inspires nothing but confusion in the viewer, which is a concept that the trend of overtly expositionary horror, which tends to explain absolutely everything and cite a reason for even the most far-fetched of supernatural phenomena, frequently fails to do. This film plays less like a coherent project, and more like a perverted cinematic experiment, whereby Wan seems to be pushing boundaries that seemed to not exist in the first place.

If we break it down to its essential components, it’s not difficult to see why Malignant would be such an unconventional success, at least in terms of eliciting an honest response from the audience. First of all, this film contains perhaps the most absurd story ever contained within a mainstream horror film, featuring a twist that has not left me as speechless as when I watched Steven Knight’s Serenity, another film that truly just aimed for the jugular in terms of throwing the audience off a narrative cliff without any warning. For the vast majority of this film, one’s jaw is perpetually agape – how else can we explain a story centred on a woman who falls victim to some sinister entity that is somewhere between a conjoined twin and a grotesque tumour (it’s surprising that the film was bold enough to name itself “malignant”, a fact that only becomes evident after the fact), which causes her to get visions to grisly murders that are being committed? Nothing makes sense in Malignant, but that is all part of the value of the film, since its refusal to explain anything outside of the bare minimum, done to move the plot along, is actually unexpectedly admirable. We’ve seen countless well-formed, coherent and logical horror films – so the catharsis that comes when we get one that is built on the adage of “expect the unexpected” is nothing to dismiss, and one of the reasons I am genuinely convinced Malignant is destined for cult status, since nothing this ambitious ever goes unrewarded, even if it is with a very small fraction of the audience. Leers and jeers may abound from audiences expecting rational storytelling, but the fact remains that the moment we witness that terrifying climax, where the protagonist (and, as we soon learn, antagonist) tears her skull open to reveal the tumourous face that has resided in the back of her head since childhood, and begins walking (and later fighting) backwards, its tough to not be absolutely enamoured with this deranged film.

The sheer audacity present throughout Malignant is worthy of both cheers and jeers – rarely has anyone made a film that confuses the audience to the point where they aren’t sure whether to celebrate or eviscerate this film. This is proof that sometimes, a director can make something that is neither a good film nor a bad film – we’re not even sure whether to laugh or scream at what we’re seeing on screen, with the most likely resolution being that the experience of watching this film entails a healthy balance of both vocalizations. In fact, there’s a legitimate case to be made to the possibility that Malignant isn’t a film at all, but rather an endless array of bizarre images projected onto a screen, with a flaccid story and weak character development inserted just to give it the sensation of being a coherent film. This ambition is worth noting, and considering it comes from Wan, who has proven himself many times before, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to give this film the benefit of the doubt. It’s absolutely sensational the lengths to which Wan and his cohorts go in telling this story – and the best part is that it is all played entirely straight. Every actor in this film is giving a performance in which they seem to genuinely believe they are in a perfectly coherent, understandable film that isn’t actually a bundle of atrocious dialogue and nonsensical scenarios strung together to form something that resembles a horror film. This earnestness is actually quite endearing, granted the viewer is able to see beyond the grotesque, nonsensical situations in which these characters find themselves, which is all part of the experience in the first place, whether it was intentional or not – and I sincerely hope this was all done with nothing but the most honest, authentic intentions, since it would only make this film more endearing.

There comes a moment where we have to wonder whether the cast and crew were in on the joke, or entirely oblivious to it – and the very likely possibility that it is the latter only enrichens the film, since there’s a delight that comes in seeing designed to be entirely serious descend into the realm of the most unhinged absurdity of which not even the greatest surrealists or postmodernists of our generation could conceive. There’s a conviction to these performances (particularly on behalf of Annabelle Wallis, whose efforts in playing both the hero and villain of her own story is valiant, even if her performance itself isn’t particularly good in any way) that gives the film such a unique sensation. The most bizarre pieces of dialogue are delivered with nothing but the most spirited confidence, and the film’s structure is almost counterproductive, each subsequent scene not only failing to explain anything, but also removing whatever slight amount of logic that lurked beneath the surface. Any horror film that can claim to have inspired more cackles than it did screams is automatically going to stand out, and whether it be through the genuinely awful performances (which are difficult to begrudge, since they’re so earnest and entertaining), or the off-the-wall plot developments that never fail to inspire a perverse joy in the viewer, who will likely be far more committed to seeing where this film ventures than we would had it been an actually coherent, logical story, rather than some unhinged work of pure absurdism that truly takes us on an adventure that absolutely no one could predict, each new development being more off-kilter than the last, the only aspect more tangible than the tension being the relentless chaos on which this film was constructed.

Malignant is the kind of film that should sincerely be preserved, if only to be studied by future students into the artistic output of the 21st century, which was mostly excellent, but naturally required a few experimental projects to help balance it all out, just to see what actually works. Interestingly, there is actually a great film lurking somewhere in Malignant – as absurd as the premise may be, it is filled to the brim with interesting ideas, so the problem isn’t the story itself (which could’ve made for a solid horror), but rather the execution, which is as deranged as the main character, filled with the same abundance of twists and turns that keep us engaged. It’s almost a miracle that Wan decided to succumb to the absolute absurdity of the project, since a more simple, rational approach may have resulted in a film that is technically much better in terms of logic, but at the expense of the outrageously entertaining example of unrestrained artistic expression that gives this film its unique atmosphere and distinct characteristics that are undoubtedly going to make it a cult classic in coming years (having already amassed quite a dedicated group of supporters). Few recent horror films have embodied the concept of cheek, nerve, audacity, gall and gumption quite like Malignant, which is just about as wild a film as we’re likely to get. It never crosses sacred boundaries (as much as his films inspire terror, Wan never seeks to traumatize his audience), and it seems to genuinely believe in what it is saying, carrying an admirable, rambunctious earnestness that is difficult to not adore. There are a lot of words that can be used to describe this film, many of them likely pointing to the fact that it is, quite frankly, not a very good film in any way. However, not everything needs to be perfect, and this quaint story of a young woman being terrorized by the sentient tumour that resides in her skull certainly flourishes into one of the most peculiar and unforgettable works of horror produced in recent years, something that truly has to be seen to be believed, if that is even possible in the first place.