Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes
Malignant
Madison (Annabelle Wallis) is pregnant, but her four previous pregnancies have all ended in miscarriages. Her husband Derek (Jake Abel) is abusive. They get into an argument and he throws her against the wall, knocking her head hard, causing her to bleed. She locks herself in her room, and has a nightmare where she sees someone enter the house and kill Derek! The killer knocks her unconscious. She wakes to find herself in the hospital, and Derek is actually dead. Her sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson) has to tell her the sad news that her baby didn’t survive.
The police investigate, of course, but there is nothing Madison can tell them. Madison goes home, and there she reveals to Sydney that she was actually adopted at the age of eight and has no memories before that time. Meanwhile, the killer kidnaps a woman during a Seattle Underground tour, and Madison’s head keeps bleeding for some reason.
Madison continues to have disturbing visions of death, which actually turn out to be true, but she can’t explain how she knows. During a hypnotherapy session, Madison remembers a childhood friend she had forgotten about – Gabriel. But her parents claimed he was imaginary, while Madison insists he was not. But the truth is stranger than that…
Malignant is a James Wan, and I love him. It has his signature look, including sophisticated and eerie graphics. But the beginning of the film suffers from looking too predictable, to the point where I considered turning it off. It did pick up, and the actual premise was more interesting than I gave it credit for being, even if rather unlikely. But I haven’t seen anything like it, so all in all not a bad film, just not as good as some of his others. I’ll give this film 3 Stars
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Francis Barnard (John Kerr) is in search of answers as to what happened to his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). She traveled from London to Spain to marry nobleman Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price), and then she died. No details were forthcoming, so he decided to find out for himself. On arrival at the castle, the servants tried to turn him away, but a young woman came to his rescue. She introduces herself as Catherine Medina (Luana Anders), Nicholas’ sister. But when he asks to know how his sister died, she has no ready explanation.
Barnard insists he will not leave without the answers he seeks. When he does meet Nicholas, who is obviously in mourning, he is reluctant to speak about his late wife. Later, Catherine tries to explain to Barnard of the horrible things Nicholas witnessed as a child. Their father had been an Inquisitor during the time of the Spanish Inquisition and possessed a torture chamber filled with unspeakable horrors. Having lured his wife and his brother into the dungeon, he accused them of adultery, and did what he did best, all witnessed by the young boy.
Fortune is with them when Nicholas’ good friend and physician, Doctor Charles Leon (Antony
Carbone) arrives at the castle. But even he is a loss to heal his friend’s wounds. Nicholas reveals that he has a long-standing fear of premature burial, but Leon assures him his wife was quite dead when they buried her. Then why does he hear strange noises in the night? And who was playing the harpsichord she played so often? Could he have made a dreadful mistake?
Although based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe, this film does not follow the actual story. Even so, I have loved this movie since I was a kid. I mean, Vincent Price, what’s not to love? That being said, this is the story of a man whom circumstances are driving toward madness, despite the best efforts of his sister. Vincent Price is wonderful as Nicholas Medina, and the rest of the cast do a good job. This is what we watch a Roger Corman film for. Nicholas’ madness reminds me of that of Roderick Usher in The Fall of the House of User (another Roger Corman/Vincent Price collaboration). Still great after all these years. Not perfect, but good. I’ll give this film 4 Stars.
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