A new exciting horror franchise is shaping up from director James Wan with Malignant, though Malignant 2 has to be careful with not repeating the same exciting twist from the original. Malignant (2021) follows Madison, a young woman who is plagued with terrifying visions of people being murdered, later realizing that they actually occurred in real life. All the while, she’s tormented by a mysterious presence named Gabriel, who her adoptive parents assumed was her imaginary friend as a child.
Malignant has been lauded as a love-it-or-hate-it type of horror movie, but no one can deny that James Wan’s movie twist is absolutely surreal. An old VHS tape reveals that Gabriel isn’t just an “imaginary friend” or spirit inhabiting Madison, he’s her parasitic twin who was removed from her body when she was 9 years old, though part of him still lives as they share the same brain. Gabriel becomes stronger over the years, so much that he can trap Madison inside their brain and take control of her body, conducting the murders from the backside of her body. Madison finally locks Gabriel back in her mind, but it’s suggested that he can still break out again when lights continue to flicker at the end.
It's safe to say that Malignant is a wild ride — particularly the third act. The majority of this stems from the twist of what Gabriel truly is and that the killings have actually been conducted by Madison’s own hands (though under Gabriel’s control). The fun of Malignant isn’t necessarily that it’s a great, classic horror movie, it’s that it’s really just a lot of fun to watch because of its bizarre premise and scare sequences. The big twist is when Malignant grows into itself with enjoyability and terrifying fun, so the sequel, which will likely include another twist, will have to avoid repeating the same reveal - or anything that feels similar to it. Wan will have to craft a new, even more excitingly bizarre twist that produces the same jaw-dropping outcome.
Relying on the fact that Madison and Gabriel share the same brain can’t be the exciting twist that Malignant 2 uses for the base of its big surprise, otherwise it’ll feel stale. Most of the lead-up for Madison’s twist made it seem like she had a sixth sense or became possessed, which would be on-par for a James Wan horror franchise, and the misdirection setup is what makes the real twist of Gabriel and Madison being parasitic twins such a bizarre, rollercoaster ride that gets audiences talking and eager to watch it. There’s not much in the way of character or story development in Malignant, so the twist, action, and awe-inciting nature are what the movie really relies on. If Malignant 2 wants to be just as exciting as the original, it needs to introduce a premise somehow worlds more surprising than its predaccesor.
It’s not yet confirmed what a sequel would even follow, though Malignant's ending left some clues like Gabriel and Madison’s mother that could easily be used to further the twisted tale. A new twist could have something to do with their past or Gabriel being banished from Madison’s brain, it couldn’t just rely on the same surprise that Gabriel has control over Madison’s mind again. Instead, Malignant 2 would need to focus more on the unanswered questions left from the ending, such as why Gabriel can control lighting and electronics to reveal his thoughts.
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