Why James Wan's Malignant Owes A Lot To America's Got Talent

James Wan's bonkers horror thriller "Malignant" is one of the best films of 2021, partly for its wild filmmaking style, but mostly because of its crazy twist. "Malignant" is about a terrified woman named Madison (Annabelle Wallis) who, thanks to abusive-boyfriend-inflicted cranial trauma, begins having visions of a cloak-clad figure, hair covering its face, murdering people. The murders, she soon finds, are happening in real time. First, the figure murders her boyfriend. Then, curiously, it begins to murder doctors in the Seattle area. It also takes someone hostage and keeps them locked up in an attic somewhere. 

Adding to the mystery, Madison reveals that she was adopted as a child and that her birth name is Emily. She also recalls early memories of an imaginary friend named Gabriel who encouraged her to commit acts of violence. 

Through a series of investigations (read no further if you don't want a two-year-old movie spoiled!), it is revealed that Gabriel is, in fact, Madison's twin brother ... who still lives in her skull. It seems that Gabriel was a malformed conjoined sibling that extended out of Madison's back and the back of her head. As a child, Gabriel was surgically removed, except for his brain. The cranial trauma woke him up and he has been using Madison's body, twisted around backward, to commit violent acts of revenge on the doctors who tried to remove him from Madison. 

Gabriel was played by professional dancer and contortionist Marina Mazepa who had to commit stunts — and murders — while essentially walking backward. In a 2021 interview with Fangoria, Mazepa and Wan talked about creating the unusual backward movements for Gabriel, and how Wan discovered his stunt player after seeing her compete on "America's Got Talent." 

Marina Mazepa, born in Konotop, Ukraine, started her professional career performing on various televised talent shows like Ukraine's "Everybody Dance!" She came to the attention of American audiences when she performed on "America's Got Talent," where she unnerved judge Simon Cowell with her body-twisting choreography. Clips of her pole dancing routine, set to Ruelle's song "Madness," can be found online. Warning to readers who aren't flexible; watching Mazepa will inspire nothing but envy.

Less envious and more impressed was James Wan, who, it seems, was watching "America's Got Talent" in 2019. Wan needed someone who could "act backward," and Mazepa fit the bill perfectly. She recalled her experience: 

"I was discovered by James Wan after 'America's Got Talent.' I guess he saw my performance, and my modeling agent called me. She was like, 'You aren't going to believe it, but I just got a call from James Wan's casting director, and he wants to see you for this character.' I was so emotional when I heard that. I was just so happy because I had just moved to Los Angeles and started my acting and modeling career, so it felt like this could potentially change my whole career. I had a meeting with James and with the whole team." 

Mazepa admitted that she hardly spoke any English at the time, "but when I went inside, James was so sweet, so nice, and so kind," she said. "He couldn't reveal much about the project, but he was asking me if I could move backward and do all these different movements, and I guess I must have impressed him because I got the job." 

After "Malignant," Mazepa appeared in the remake of "The Unholy" and "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City." Her most recent credit is playing Gretel on "The Continental."