Here's How Stephen King Really Feels About James Wan's Malignant
The pioneering horror director James Wan, who helped reshape the genre more than once with franchises such as "Saw" and "The Conjuring," has recently been working on mainstream, big-budget endeavors like "Aquaman" and its upcoming sequel. While "Aquaman" was a massive success, it seems that Wan couldn't help but return to his roots, and he took some time in between filming those blockbusters to make "Malignant."
While the release date of "Malignant" was pushed back multiple times, it finally landed in theaters and on HBO Max in September 2021, and Looper's own Dominic Griffin found it to be a gleeful splatterfest that was one of the most exciting horror films to recently come from a major studio. Despite the extended release window that kept the film from reaching viewers for more than a year, the shocking ending of "Malignant" still caught plenty of horror fans off guard and proved that Wan has plenty of terrifying stories left to tell.
That said, horror fans have plenty of strong opinions about whether a film works or not, and the unusual approach "Malignant" takes to its subject matter has inspired plenty of debate. However, one of the masters of modern horror, Stephen King, recently saw the movie and decided to share his thoughts on it. Here is how Stephen King really feels about James Wan's recently released horror film, "Malignant."
Stephen King described Malignant as 'brilliant'
After viewing James Wan's return to the horror genre, Stephen King took the time to open up on Twitter and make his feelings on the film known. King wrote, "I watched MALIGNANT on HBO and thought it was brilliant."
Such a straightforward endorsement of the film seemed to cause a rift between his dedicated fans, many of whom took the time to pay deference to the legendary author while making their disagreement with his review known. @Globalklaus replied, "Sir, you're my favorite author. But if you liked that movie, I only have one question: Were you stoned at the time?"
That wasn't the only oddly respectful dissenting opinion that made it to Twitter, as @BlackCatsRBest wrote, "I turned it off after 20 minutes. But, hey, what do I know? You're a multi-million dollar author, and I'm a nobody."
While King declined to wade into the comments to defend his assessment of the film, it's worth noting that "Malignant" has been divisive among professional critics as well. While many found plenty to appreciate about the film's willingness to change tones and go over the top, others felt that those same shifts made the film feel uneven and sometimes too silly for its own good.
Given the wide range of opinions on the film, it seems like fans will have to sit down with a copy of "Malignant" themselves to find out if it's another iconic Wan horror flick or a forgettable side project in between blockbusters.