After a brief hiatus to allow our favorite subject a desensitization month, we’re back with a new release horror movie to get her heart racing. Malignant (2021), the highly anticipated new film from director James Wan, is the perfect experiment in fear. The trailer contained trippy visuals and creepy shadows that we hoped would produce heightened physiological results in our timid subject. With The Conjuring, also by James Wan, sitting at the top of our leaderboard we were excited to see the results from his latest terrifying product.
SYNOPSIS:
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.
Where to Watch:
- In theaters and streaming on HBOMax
Test Subject: Leah
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Fears: Ommetaphobia (Fear of eye injury)
Resting HR: 60-65bpm
Walking HR: 80-85bpm
ANALYSIS:
Our subject who suffers with a fear of eye injuries was already cursing us for the Malignant promo picture before the film even started. A strange and suspenseful first scene had her confused before the opening credits. Difficult subject matter added to an unease that began to quicken her pulse. Creepy visuals and slow building tension lifted her heart rate to 80bpm within the first fifteen minutes. Shadowy attacks in dark settings kept our subject’s heart rate elevated above resting but nothing new kicked it into higher gears. Many of the heart racing moments came not from scares but from frenetic confrontations especially during the finale. Our documented note at 1:35 was ‘Gory AF’ which for us was fun to watch but we witnessed a quick heart rate decline within our subject as she was over the freakish nature of the film.
CONCLUSION:
Malignant is a predictable mystery thriller that struggled to raise our subject's heart rate to terrifyingly high levels. The film shoved us on a bizarre ride that we enjoyed but she was clamoring to get off. Share on X For a lackluster fan of the horror genre, the film’s nods to giallo (Italian) horror were lost on our subject. The beautiful cinematography kept her attention but the outrageous storyline failed to intrigue. Malignant lands at the bottom of our FearScale when compared to other James Wan films such as Insidious and The Conjuring but definitely wins the wackiest award. And even though our subject predicted the ending an hour into the film, she could have never predicted the gruesome finale that had her cringing every two seconds.
While researching health comparisons we learned that the human body can burn more energy walking backward than forward. So if this film isn’t for you, try walking backward out of the theater to burn off those unwanted extra calories.
Malignant (2021): Burns an average of 203 Calories
Walking Backward for the duration of the film: Burns 777 Calories
How many Fear Calories did you burn watching Malignant? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
