Malignant Is Designed To Be A Cult Movie And Thats A Good Thing

Malignant Is Designed To Be A Cult Movie – And That’s A Good Thing

Malignant is a campy, violent & highly divisive film destined to become a cult classic, which may have been James Wan’s intention from the start.

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Malignant Is Designed To Be A Cult Movie And Thats A Good Thing

Malignant, director James Wan’s newest horror movie, is specifically designed to be a cult movie and that’s a good, even great, thing. Its twisty, violent mashup of genre influences makes up an original, demented whole. Watching the film is a confounding but rewarding experience, as horror fans might find themselves witnessing a genuine cult classic. The reviews aren’t glowing and the box office numbers are low, but Wan’s left turn into campy, genre-bending B-movie tribute territory is already gaining a niche group of devotees.

By all accounts, Malignant is not the type of movie to have a wide release. The marketing successfully covered up the film’s true grindhouse identity, instead relying on the name of James Wan and his attachment to mainstream horror blockbusters like The Conjuring and Insidious to misdirect audiences. That technique implied that the film would be another one of Wan’s signature supernatural outings, or perhaps a giallo revival-inspired slasher mystery, based on the stylized ’70s-inspired poster. It turns out that although Malignant does incorporate aspects of these subgenres, the end result is an entirely different chaotic hodgepodge of everything from body horror to splatter to kung fu flicks.

In other words, it is unabashedly camp. Whether that tone is intentional or not is part of the film’s appeal, and that open-ended sincerity (or lack of) just makes Malignant even more destined for cult status, anyway. What makes this situation even more fascinating is that it’s not an independent, low-budget oddity to be scavenged out of a sleazy bargain bin. This is the work of a highly successful filmmaker who contributed to several multi-billion dollar tentpole franchises with the backing of a major Hollywood studio. In fact, James Wan’s industry clout is probably the only way the director could even greenlight a movie like Malignant for mainstream consumption. It’s an ultra-violent, gonzo horror that’s so out of left field that it actually seems like a joke. Of course, that’s exactly why the film is destined for cult status, and that very well may have been Wan’s motive from the start.

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There’s a baffling identity crisis behind Malignant’s approach to horror conventions that will turn away a chunk of the audiences who see the feature, especially if they think they’re in for another Conjuring-esque demon possession story. On the other hand, there’s bound to be horror enthusiasts who will interpret Wan’s embrace of weirdo gore as either a loving and self-aware ode to midnight movie trash or an unintentionally hilarious and wild ride. Either way, it’s hard to argue that Wan wasn’t at least partially trying to design a cult classic considering how truly off the rails the third act goes. Critics and fans have already drawn comparisons to “splatstick” works from Troma and Sam Raimi’s horror movies, as well as the absurd body horror-comedy of schlockmeister Frank Henenlotter, all of which utilized a tongue-in-cheek approach to their material.

It’s always a fool’s errand to try to predict what film culture will look like in the future, but sequels, remakes, and rehashes of all kinds define at least the present state of the movies. James Wan is no stranger to this world, either, so it’s more than a bit electrifying to see him compile such an audacious piece of exploitation shock cinema and then release it in mainstream theaters. Malignant is a refreshingly bloody original concept in a landscape of billion-dollar franchises built on pre-existing IPs, and it’s great to see Wan using his position and influence to sneak in a genuine cult classic.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/malignant-cult-movie-design-good-thing/

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