Malignant

 "Maligant" (2021, James Wan, Atomic Monster, Boom Entertainment, Boom! Studios) 

Madi (Annabelle Wallis) experiences a traumatic event. Left reeling from this and convinced that either an intruder or an intrusive force, has gained access to her home, Madi's sister, Sydney (Maddie Hasson), offers to move in and help Madi recover. However, as time goes on, Madi begins to see things - things that she could not possibly know about. Horrible things that are happening in real time, putting her under the suspicion of Officers Shaw (George Young) and Moss (Michole Briana White).

A new style for Wan, the film kicks off feeling like a much older, campier film, before jumping into more familiar territory with spooky shenanigans in a large house. But this film delivers so much more than the above. With a winding, interesting plot that hops from the bizarre to the outrageous and a gifted cast purposefully hamming it up for effect - but not too much. 

The visuals are excellently used and really appeal to me as a fan of 70s and 80s horror films, J-horror films and practical effects.  "Malignant" pays homage to Henenlotter's "Basket Case" in the best possible way. 

There's so much more to this film, but I don't want to give away too much. My advice is to go in knowing as little as possible.

[Image: Boom Entertainment, et al]

Hani

Annabelle Comes Home

"Annabelle Comes Home" (2019, Gary Dauberman, New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions, The Safran Company, Warner Bros. Pictures) is the seventh film in The Conjuring Universe created by James Wan and is the third feature film centred around the haunted doll, Annabelle, whom we were introduced to in the original The Conjuring and who is based on an actual case by the real life Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Starting from the doll being taken from the young nurses in the first Conjuring film, we follow her home to Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren's locked room full of other haunted artefacts. Some time later, the Warren's daughter, Judy (McKenna Grace), is being babysat by family friend, Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman) and her friend, Daniela (Katie Sarife). Unfortunately, it turns out that Daniela had other, more personal reasons for tagging along and she breaks into the artefact room searching for a way to contact the spirit of her father. Unwittingly touching everything and anything she can lay her hands on, Daniela also releases Annabelle from her blessed case allowing the doll to wreak havoc on herself, Judy, Mary Ellen and Mary Ellen's admirer, Bob (Michael Cimino) who had come to the house to serenade Mary Ellen in a badly timed attempt at seduction.

A really fun entry into a series that I feel was getting pretty tired. The very limited setting of the Warren's house makes for a good old fashioned spook house feel and the scare scenes are, in usual Wan style, well portrayed and effective. The fact that Annabelle is given the power to raise other spirits nearby makes the variety of ghosts attacking the teens and kid pretty diverse. Personally, I enjoyed the first Conjuring but felt a little cold on the subsequent films, but I found this film to be a fun ride and the first, since the original film, to spark some life back into the creepy little doll despite the doll herself getting very limited screen time. It's jumpy and a little silly - just what I wanted out a spooky doll film.

[Image: New Line Cinema, et al]

Hani

Insidious: The Last Key

"Insidious: The Last Key" aka "Insidious Chapter 4" (2018, Adam Robitel, Blumhouse Productions, Stage 6 Films, Universal Pictures) is the fourth film in the Insidious series, but the second in terms of story chronology. We follow the parapsychologist from the series, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), who is brought in on a case that is very close to her own heart.


Young Elise (Ava Kolker) did not enjoy much of a childhood. Her connections with the ghostly world were not well received by her father (Josh Stewart) who was abusive and violent anyway, and her timid, yet supportive mother (Tessa Ferrer) was met with an unhappy and untimely end for which Elise feels largely responsible. After running away as a teenager (Hana Hayes), Elise is sure that she will never have to see that unhappy house ever again, but alas, fate brings her in on a new case set within the very walls of her initial torment.


A fairly formulaic entry to the franchise, we once again enjoy the company of awkward nerd duo, Specs (Leigh Whannell, Mr Writer/Producer) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), who's uncomfortable patter did a good job of breaking up the scenes. We are also introduced to Elise's estranged brother, Christian (Bruce Davison) and her two nieces, Melissa (Spencer Locke) and Imogen (Caitlin Gerard). I can completely understand Christian's anger towards his sister who abandoned him with their abusive father alone as soon as she was legally able. What I didn't understand was the girls' sudden repartee with Elise; an aunt that they had never known existed. It all seemed a bit sudden, a shade more than curiosity and... unlikely.


The film offers a few fun jump scares and skilfully holds back often enough to deliver a surprise every now and again. The setting is the familiar haunted house of the series, but it works well.


I do not dislike Lin Shaye. I have seen her in plenty of things where I've liked her performance and I would say that my dislike of Elise Rainier is not due to Shaye's performance but the character itself. It's pleasant to watch an older female take the lead in a film, especially as such a flawed character. Elise is not a heroine, per se, she is a woman exploiting her unusual skillset for money and to soothe her own guilt. Not unlike the character of Angel in the Whedonverse who saves people in an attempt to make up for his past transgressions, Elise is driven by good intentions but also selfish ones. Helping people makes her feel better about her past. And there's nothing wrong with that, in fact, I enjoy that aspect of the character. I think what I dislike about Elise as a character is the way she responds to everything. I think the intention is to make her appear strong and methodical, but to me she reads as cold and a little flat.


The monster of the piece enjoys some good scare factor but is a little over-revealed and loses a bit of its edge early on, although the design innovation is commendable.


As fourth sequels go, it's pretty decent, but it does feel like they may be running out of ideas to keep this particular branch of the franchise going.

[Image: Universal Pictures, et al]

Hani

The Conjuring 2

"The Conjuring 2" (2016, James Wan, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures) is the sequel to the 2013 film and centres around paranormal hunters, The Warrens, as they try to help the family infamously tormented by the haunting in the Enfield council houses in London.

Set in the 70s,  Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) travel to London to help the Hodgson family who believe that their home is occupied by a malevolent entity, which is probably the previous owner of the house, Mr. Wilkins. The Warrens try to help, but Lorraine is troubled by a vision she had seen at a previous investigation.

The Hodgson children and their mother, Peggy, witness some paranormal occurrences, but there are many sceptics thinking that the sightings are not real. However, the more they learn about this angry spirit, the more they think there is to this crooked man.

It seems I'm in the minority here, but here goes...

James Wan creates really thrilling jump scenes and some really stunning visuals, however, "The Conjuring 2" just does not live up to the same impact that its predecessor had. It felt somewhat samey, due mainly to the similar styling and 'universe' rules which Wan has built around his films. Some of the English accents were also a little too Mary Poppins for my comfort level and make the film seem silly. This in turn made the characters feel a little fake and made me care less about what happened to them.

 It has some nice earmarks of a 70s ghost movie and managed to recreate the era very well, but it never struck that chord that actual 70s horrors do. I felt I knew what was coming and the sidebar plot line felt like it belonged in a separate film.

All in all, it has some successful scenes, but as a full film I didn't feel it held together as well as the original one.

[Image: New Line Cinema, et al]

Hani

Insidious: Chapter 3

"Insidious: Chapter 3" (2015, Leigh Whannell, Focus Features, Gramercy Pictures, Stage 6 Films) is a prequel to Insidious 1 and is also the directorial début of Leigh Whannell, who not only played ghost-hunter Specs in all 3 Insidious films, but also wrote Insidious 2 and several other James Wan films.

Paranormal expert, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), hasn't met the Lambert family yet, but she has just met a young actress called Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott), who has been trying to contact her dead mother. Elise tells Quinn that what she has been contacting is not her mother, and asks her to leave the spirit alone as it may be dangerous. Too bad for Quinn, the spirit has heard her cries and is now fixated upon her, and it is definitely dangerous.

A very jumpy film which is technically sound but with an aimless, meandering plot which lost my interest quickly. I found myself only paying close attention when I sensed a spooky bit coming on. The jumps are effectively created, with some unsettling images and some nicely realised effects. The scares are also not too few and are evenly spread. The main issue was that things took a while to get started and, although spooky bits were happening, the plot itself didn't seem to be going anywhere until the last quarter of the film.

A good sleepover film bound to make you jump at least once, but no lingering freaky feeling and by no means the best in the "Insidious" series.

[Image: Gramercy Films]

Hani

Annabelle

"Annabelle" (2014, John R. Leonetti, New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster, The Safran Company, Warner Bros. Pictures) is the follow up to "The Conjuring", this time focussing solely on Annabelle, the possessed doll.

We open the same way as we do on the film's predecessor, with the young nursing students explaining to Ed and Lorraine Warren about their dealings with the creepy doll.

But, the story isn't focussing on their incident, Annabelle's previous targets were John and Mia Form. A young professional couple, expecting their first child. John (Ward Horton) presents his wife, Mia (Annabelle Wallis), with the doll; a rare specimen for her rather large and daunting collection of creepy-ass dolls. Man, was her kid going to be traumatised!

It isn't long before creepy stuff begins. Firstly, the house is broken into by two freaky people, and they attack Mia. It transpires that the assailants are Annabelle (the girl next door) and her boyfriend, who were members of a Satanic Cult. Believing the doll, which featured in the attack, to be tainted, they throw her away. But, like Chucky, she doesn't like that and comes back...

The Forms move house to an apartment block to escape the events, but they just can't get away from the doll which finds them there. The doll inherits the moniker Annabelle after the murderous young girl (what a nice momento) and Mia, feeling safe in her new surroundings, decides to keep her....

It isn't long before the doll begins to manifest creepy happenings and other inanimate objects start being poltergeisty.

They seek help from the church and from a nice lady called Evelyn (Alfre Woodard). But the doll is after something more sinister than just scaring a few people...

With some nice jumpy bits and a good bill of characters that you can build a rapport with, this is actually a pretty good scary doll flick!

It doens't go all Chucky on us either, Annabelle is not a scuttling little maniac with a knife, she is the hiding place of something sinister.

I really haven't got anything bad to say about this film. It takes a lot of inspiration from classics, and it may not be a groundbreaking piece of horror cinema, but it does the job and it does it with class.

Just remember, spooky dollies aren't everyone's cup of tea.

[Image: New Line Cinema, et al]

Hani

Insidious Chapter 2

"Insidious Chapter 2" (2013, James Wan, IM Global, Entertainment One, Blumhouse Productions, Film Disctrict, Stage 6 Films) is the sequel to Insidious (2011).

We continue the Lambert family's story, both after and prior to the first film's events with Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson and Barbara Hershey reprising their roles.

It would seem that the Lamberts all share some tenuous links to the ghostly realm, given the events of this film. 

A completely unnecessary sequel to a film that, I felt, lost its way in the last hour. Insidious 2 seems more inadvertently funny than scary. Acting more as a filler to the missing information from the first film, the plot seems cobbled together and disjointed. It almost feels as if someone had written a Fanfic of Insidious and then they decided to turn that into the sequel.

That's not to say that it's not entertaining. The opening sequence is great fun, the retro credits and legend are excellent! The effects are good and the acting is good. There's even a couple of effective jump scares.

The main problem is the jumpy-ass plot and the lack of good scares. In fact the only tense scene for me involved the baby and the best scene was the 'little girl' ghost who has an excellent parting line to our ghost hunting comedy duo, Specs and Tucker.

The explanation of the history of the ghost was convoluted and didn't add much to the plot, and aside from some entertaining nudge-nudge-wink-wink link ups between the first film and internal scenes, it all played out a little flat.

Not to mention the Scooby Doo ending which was worthy of the 'Ghostfacers' from Supernatural!

Fun but not in the horror way. If you want to enjoy some fresh work from James Wan watch "The Conjuring" instead.

[Image: Blumhouse Productions, Film Disctrict, Stage 6 Films]

 

Hani