‘Malignant’ movie review: James Wan’s return to horror not particularly effective

The ‘Saw’ and ‘The Conjuring’ filmmaker’s latest effort has some effective moments, but comes across as too mechanical overall

Malignant seems to be something put together by a machine diligently following an algorithm, which would go something like this. Take one scary-looking hospital, a haunted house, three sinister doctors doing shady experiments, one troubled pregnant woman and two funny detectives. Temper with jump scares, electrical appliances turning themselves on, an almighty twist and, most important, gory murders. Blend on high speed for a couple of minutes and voila, your horror movie is ready to serve. Defined as a supernatural slasher film, Malignant tells of Maddie (Annabelle Wallis) who lives in an abusive relationship in a big old house with plenty of winding corridors and banging screen doors. After the horrific death of her husband, Derek (Jake Abel), Maddie starts hearing the voice of Gabriel (Ray Chase).