'Malignant' Trailer: James Wan Returns To Directing Horror, And We're Excited

James Wan took a break from directing horror for a little while, but he's back in a big way with Malignant. This dark, moody, and supposedly very violent fright flick follows a woman who keeps having visions of gruesome murders. At first, she thinks it's all in her head, but she quickly discovers that the murders are real – and the killer is getting closer. Watch the Malignant trailer below.

I love most, if not all, of James Wan's horror movies, so I'm thrilled that he's returned to the genre that helped make him a major player in the industry. Malignant is Wan's first horror directorial effort since 2016's The Conjuring 2, and it looks like he's coming back to the genre swinging. I've heard that Malignant is inspired by giallo films, which is potentially exciting. That said, I do not get a giallo vibe from this trailer at all. That's okay, though, because this still looks pretty damn great.

In Malignant, "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." There's clearly more going on here, but the trailer is deliberately vague, and that's just fine. We don't need trailers to give away the whole damn game before we see the movie.

Malignant stars Annabelle Wallis (Annabelle), Maddie Hasson (Mr. Mercedes), George Young (Containment), Michole Briana White (Dead to Me), Jacqueline McKenzie (Reckoning), Jake Abel (Supernatural), and Ingrid Bisu (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It). James Wan directs from a screenplay by Akela Cooper, who wrote the upcoming The Nun 2. It's based on a story by Wan, Ingrid Bisu, and Cooper. Wan produces with Michael Clear, with Eric McLeod, Judson Scott, Bisu, Peter Luo, Cheng Yang, Mandy Yu, and Lei Han serving as executive producers.

Behind the scenes, Wan was joined by frequent collaborators, including director of photography Don Burgess and editor Kirk Morri (Aquaman, The Conjuring 2), production designer Desma Murphy (Aquaman, Furious 7), and costume designer Lisa Norcia (Insidious: The Last Key). The music is by Joseph Bishara, who has composed the score for all seven films in the Conjuring Universe.

Malignant will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 10, 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max.