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. A film by James Wan, starring Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, Michole Briana White, and Jacqueline McKenzie.

The film opens with a video recording of Dr. Florence Weaver (Jacqueline McKenzie), who runs Simion Research Hospital and is working on a dangerous patient named Gabriel. One night, Gabriel gets out of control and kills many of the hospital staff. His power grows stronger; he can withstand electrical shock and also develops a new ability to telepathically broadcast his thoughts via radio wave. However, Dr. Florence manages to subdue him.

Present day, a pregnant woman named Madison (Annabelle Wallis) is having a difficult time with her abusive husband Derek (Jake Abel). When Derek becomes enraged, he pushes Madison’s head against the wall with such force she begins to bleed. As Derek leaves the room, fearing for the life of her unborn child, Madison locks the door and tries to get some sleep.

Madison wakes up in the middle of the night and goes downstairs to find Derek. But Derek is already dead. A horrifying shadow emerges from behind his body. She tries to escape the house, but the the dark entity is much faster. So she runs back to her bedroom. The dark entity breaks down the door, knocking Madison down at the same time.

A neighbor hears a scream coming from the house and calls the police. Detectives Kekoa Shaw (George Young) and Regina Moss (Michole Briana White) find themselves assigned to the strange and unsettling murder case of Derek Mitchell.

Madison starts having disturbing visions – as if she’s witnessing the death of another victim. Confiding in her sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson), Madison reveals a shocking truth that she’s adopted. This revelation leads her to believe there’s a chilling connection between her and the killer.

MALIGNANT isn’t your average horror film, though the plot doesn’t break entirely new ground. We’ve seen this trope before: the protagonist forging a psychic connection with the killer, or even being the killer themselves. But filmmaker James Wan proves he’s not one to shy away from surprises, holding a few wicked tricks up his sleeve.

I much prefer the film’s use of VHS recordings as a link to the past, finding it far more effective than flashbacks. While the plot twist arrives quite late (around the 90-minute mark), the revelation of the killer’s true identity is utterly satisfying. The climactic bloodbath scene in the final act is incredibly mesmerizing and deserves an additional star.

I absolutely love the extended, top-down shot of the house. Watching the protagonist frantically navigate from the lower level all the way up to their bedroom on the second floor is truly impressive. It might be considered unnecessary from a purely functional standpoint, but it’s evident how much fun the director had crafting it, and that energy translates beautifully to the screen.

MALIGNANT premiered theatrically on 1 September 2021, in France, Belgium, and Egypt, followed by a wider release in the U.S. on 10 September across 3,500 theaters and a simultaneous month-long run on HBO Max.