Sydney doesn’t have much of a personality, but that’s presumably so that Madison can later describe her sister as the sort of “blood connection” that she’s always “yearned for,” but took for granted, despite being “right in front of me all along.” And Kekoa’s supposed to be cute, I guess, so fellow cop Winnie (Bisu) can awkwardly swoon over him: “we need to find that missing half” he says, speaking about Gabriel’s half-missing murder weapon, to which she says, “Yeah, don’t we all?” There's no follow-up to that tossed-off line, because these characters don’t seem to matter to each other beyond setting up the next shock scare.

Wan’s never been the most technically adept or sophisticated storyteller, but his weaknesses as a filmmaker are especially apparent throughout. In one especially embarrassing scene, Wan cross-cuts between Madison and Kekoa, who’s seated next to his lollipop-sucking partner Regina (Michole Briana White), as Madison tells the cops who’s responsible for all the murders.

It’s Gabriel, of course, and we know that already, so it’s hard not to laugh when the camera pushes in on Young and White as Madison explains that “the killer said he was Gabriel.” Back to them, waiting with baited death. “My Gabriel.” The strings section goes crazy on the soundtrack. Regina pauses, and shakes her head. Still in the extreme foreground: Young, now looking down and off-camera. His head takes up a third of the screen and is out of focus. “Wait, you’re saying that the killer is…your imaginary friend?” The answer to that question, and a few others await you in “Malignant,” a horror movie that is as long as it is underwhelming. 

Now playing in theaters and available on HBO Max.

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