JP Nunez
I’m a huge fan of James Wan. He’s one of the best horror directors working today, so when I first heard he was making a new genre movie called Malignant, it immediately shot to the top of my “most anticipated” list. I had no idea what it would be about, but Wan’s involvement alone was enough to get me excited. And now, we have even more reason to be excited. We’ve finally gotten our first trailer for the film, and my anticipation for it is higher than it’s ever been.
Plot details about Malignant are scarce at this point, but the trailer does tell us a few things. It looks like this is going to be a supernatural slasher movie about a woman who has visions of people being murdered, and the killer seems to be some sort of demonic entity from the main character’s past. That’s pretty much all we know right now, but that’s a good thing. Knowing too much can easily spoil a film, so I appreciate that this trailer doesn’t focus too much on the plot.
Instead, it’s more about the tone and the horror, and I couldn’t be happier with it. For starters, the kills look top-notch. We only get a few PG-13-esque glimpses of them, but that’s enough for me. I’m not a huge gorehound, so I don’t need to see a ton of blood and guts to be hooked (pun totally intended). Instead, I just want my slasher villains to go about their work with cold-blooded brutality, and it seems like this killer is going to do exactly that.
Along similar lines, the supernatural element looks utterly terrifying as well. James Wan is great at demonic horror, and it appears that Malignant will be another masterclass in that brand of terror. In particular, the shot where the little girl says “He’s the devil” sent chills up and down my spine, so I can’t wait to see what other scares this film has in store for us.
On top of all that, the Malignant trailer also tells us there’s going to be a mystery for the main characters to solve, and I’m all for it. The combination of great scares and an intriguing mystery is pretty hard to beat, so this could even make the movie a contender for best horror film of the year.
Admittedly, expectations that high can easily ruin a film, but I’m confident that Malignant will live up to the promise of its trailer. James Wan hasn’t disappointed me yet (yes, I even liked Dead Silence), and I don’t expect him to start now. The movie comes out in theaters and on HBO Max on September 10, and you can bet I’m going to see it on opening day.
So what do you think of the trailer for Malignant? Do you agree with JP that it looks like a great supernatural slasher? Let us know in the comments! And if you’re looking for more trailers we’ve got you covered!
