#James Wan Reacts To Stephen King Praising Malignant

King isn’t the only one spouting acclaim for the bonkers-in-Yonkers film. “Malignant” made quite the splash across theaters everywhere, and in /Film’s review our own Chris Evangelista calls it “The type of nonsense you can cherish.”

The giallo riff stars Annabelle Wallis (“Annabelle”), Maddie Hasson (“Mr. Mercedes”), Jake Abel (“Supernatural”), and Ingrid Bisu (“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”). Wan directs from Akela Cooper’s screenplay, based on a story by Wan, Bisu, and Cooper. The music was written by Wan’s regular collaborator, Joseph Bishara, who composed the score for all seven films in the “Conjuring” Universe, and his score for “Malignant” essays his own operatic compositions for Orino Pictures’ 2019 bad seed gem “The Prodigy.”

King’s praise is well-placed; “Malignant” truly is a work of brilliance or madness — or both. At once a delirious riff on Frank Henenlotter’s grimy 42nd street sagas (hello, “Basket Case,” didn’t hear you come in) and ’70s femme identity crises (looking at you, Robert Altman’s “Images”), Wan’s opus feels like the cash-backed blank check he’s deserved since he and “Saw” co-writer Leigh Whannell churned out their own “creepypuppet” feature, “Dead Silence” in 2007. 

The pair have since distanced themselves from that modern cult classic, having gotten a sour taste in their mouths from the studio intrusion on their vision and story. “Malignant” is what happens when those weaned on the works of Dario Argento and video nasties get their hands on a camera and a budget — and the rest of us better pray that there’s more where that came from.