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Malignant

 Malignant
type
TVTItem
 Malignant
label
Malignant
 Malignant
page
Malignant
 Malignant
comment
Malignant is a supernatural horror film directed by James Wan, which marks the director's first original horror film since The Conjuring in 2013. It was released on September 10th, 2021.Following the brutal murder of her abusive spouse, Madison (Annabelle Wallis) begins to have ghastly dreams of further homicides. But these murders are also real, seemingly committed by a being called Gabriel with whom she shares a strange connection...Previews: Trailer 1, Trailer 2.
 Malignant
fetched
2024-03-25T01:45:47Z
 Malignant
parsed
2024-03-25T01:45:47Z
 Malignant
processingComment
Dropped link to BasketCase: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Malignant
processingComment
Dropped link to FightClub: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Malignant
processingComment
Dropped link to Giallo: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Malignant
processingComment
Dropped link to PlotArmour: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 Malignant
processingComment
Dropped link to Poltergeist: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Malignant
processingComment
Dropped link to TheGoonies: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Malignant
processingUnknown
PlotArmour
 Malignant
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Malignant / int_1228314a
type
Strong as They Need to Be
 Malignant / int_1228314a
comment
Strong as They Need to Be: Gabriel fails to kill Detective Shaw twice in the middle of the movie, despite attacking by surprise one time, but is able to easily slaughter roomfuls of cops and prisoners by the movie's climax.
 Malignant / int_1228314a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_1228314a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_1228314a
 Malignant / int_19ebe383
type
Never Trust a Trailer
 Malignant / int_19ebe383
comment
Never Trust a Trailer: the movie's ad campaign presents it as just another James Wan horror movie, in the same vein as The Conjuring or Insidious. And it is... For the first two acts. From the jail scene onward, it becomes increasingly clear that Wan was having his fun with this one, dialing every horror cliché up to 11 (and doing some Lampshade Hanging for good measure) then ending with a ridiculously over the top finale that feels like it came from a Resident Evil movie.
 Malignant / int_19ebe383
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_19ebe383
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_19ebe383
 Malignant / int_237404cc
type
Ironic Echo
 Malignant / int_237404cc
comment
Ironic Echo: "It's time to cut out the cancer." Said by Dr. Weaver in the prologue in reference to removing as much of Gabriel from Madison as possible, then repeated by Gabriel to Dr. Weaver over the phone before he kills her.
 Malignant / int_237404cc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_237404cc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_237404cc
 Malignant / int_259d5879
type
Anachronism Stew
 Malignant / int_259d5879
comment
Anachronism Stew: One of the female detainees at the prison is inexplicably dressed like she was just at a 1970s disco party. Several others are wearing loud neon outfits that look like they were pulled straight out of the 1980s. When the television is flashing between channels in Derek and Madison's house, and every time Gabriel calls someone's cell phone, the screens display an analog static or "snow" pattern, something that doesn't happen anymore with modern all-digital devices. Just as strange is that there seems to almost always be a radio nearby for Gabriel to hijack, something that isn't quite likely in 2021 given most people get their music and news from streaming devices.
 Malignant / int_259d5879
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_259d5879
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_259d5879
 Malignant / int_2f329e3c
type
Tomato in the Mirror
 Malignant / int_2f329e3c
comment
Tomato in the Mirror: All that was left of Gabriel after the surgery was a part of his brain conjoined with Madison. In the end it is revealed that Madison has been unknowingly controlled by Gabriel's brain for much of the movie.
 Malignant / int_2f329e3c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_2f329e3c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_2f329e3c
 Malignant / int_2fb3170e
type
Enemy Within
 Malignant / int_2fb3170e
comment
Enemy Within: Gabriel turns out to be hijacking Madison's body the entire time, via a piece of his brain that is still a part of the latter's.
 Malignant / int_2fb3170e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_2fb3170e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_2fb3170e
 Malignant / int_2fd62e54
type
The Killer in Me
 Malignant / int_2fd62e54
comment
The Killer in Me: The scenes with the detectives build up the possibility that Madison may herself be the killer. Ultimately, she kind of was, even if she didn't know it.
 Malignant / int_2fd62e54
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_2fd62e54
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_2fd62e54
 Malignant / int_3d699462
type
Curb-Stomp Battle
 Malignant / int_3d699462
comment
Curb-Stomp Battle: Gabriel vs prisoners is hopelessly one-sided. Gabriel also massacres an entire police station effortlessly.
 Malignant / int_3d699462
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_3d699462
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_3d699462
 Malignant / int_3f92ad39
type
"I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight
 Malignant / int_3f92ad39
comment
"I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Sydney helps Madison take back control of her body by calling out to her.
 Malignant / int_3f92ad39
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_3f92ad39
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_3f92ad39
 Malignant / int_4127eb1
type
Shut Up, Hannibal!
 Malignant / int_4127eb1
comment
Shut Up, Hannibal!: During the finale, Gabriel claims that being rejected by his mother made him a monster. Madison swiftly shuts him down by pointing out that he always had a monstrous personality.
 Malignant / int_4127eb1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_4127eb1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_4127eb1
 Malignant / int_4180cb75
type
Alternate Identity Amnesia
 Malignant / int_4180cb75
comment
Alternate Identity Amnesia: When Gabriel is in possession of Madison's body, he projects visual hallucinations through their shared brain to trick her into thinking everything is normal. It slowly fails though, as she starts experiencing Gabriel's murders but isn't aware he's using her body.
 Malignant / int_4180cb75
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_4180cb75
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_4180cb75
 Malignant / int_4508b16b
type
The Guards Must Be Crazy
 Malignant / int_4508b16b
comment
The Guards Must Be Crazy: No one is watching the women's holding cell, so they're able to pummel Madison mercilessly for a full minute before she starts slaughtering them all. She's killed almost all of them before a single cop arrives, and he decides to stick his gun into the cell while pumping bullets into a Human Shield so that Gabriel can grab him through the bars.
 Malignant / int_4508b16b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_4508b16b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_4508b16b
 Malignant / int_4e7c4536
type
Wham Line
 Malignant / int_4e7c4536
comment
Wham Line: Sydney drops one when she calls out to Madison to help her fight against Gabriel’s control.
 Malignant / int_4e7c4536
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_4e7c4536
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_4e7c4536
 Malignant / int_4e7f703c
type
Wham Shot
 Malignant / int_4e7f703c
comment
Wham Shot: The mysterious woman Gabriel has captive in his hideout manages to break free, but falls through the floor while trying to escape... And crashes right into Madison's living room. When Sydney and Jeanne watch the video of Madison as a child in the hospital, the camera pans over to behind Madison, revealing Gabriel's true nature as a parasitic twin.
 Malignant / int_4e7f703c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_4e7f703c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_4e7f703c
 Malignant / int_504a1991
type
Body Horror
 Malignant / int_504a1991
comment
Body Horror: Everything about Gabriel is rife with it. To wit; he's a vestigial twin, albeit a very fully-formed one, coming out of his sister's back, complete with a face and arms. It goes further even after most of his physical body is destroyed, as he grotesquely contorts his sibling's limbs whenever he's using them.
 Malignant / int_504a1991
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_504a1991
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_504a1991
 Malignant / int_5473668f
type
Logo Joke
 Malignant / int_5473668f
comment
Logo Joke: The production logos are all in VHS quality, with static and bad tracking and everything.
 Malignant / int_5473668f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_5473668f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_5473668f
 Malignant / int_59907e4f
type
Police Are Useless
 Malignant / int_59907e4f
comment
Police Are Useless: So useless, in fact, that Gabriel annihilates almost every single officer in the station.
 Malignant / int_59907e4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_59907e4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_59907e4f
 Malignant / int_59ddd555
type
Psycho Lesbian
 Malignant / int_59ddd555
comment
Psycho Lesbian: The woman who harasses Madison in her prison cell is coded this way.
 Malignant / int_59ddd555
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_59ddd555
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_59ddd555
 Malignant / int_5cc25ed
type
Not-So-Imaginary Friend
 Malignant / int_5cc25ed
comment
Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Throughout the film, Gabriel is implied to be Madison's childhood imaginary friend come to life. The Reveal is that he's Madison's sapient parasitic twin who, when they were 7, was surgically removed aside from piece of his brain that couldn't safely be removed from Madison's own brain.
 Malignant / int_5cc25ed
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_5cc25ed
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_5cc25ed
 Malignant / int_5d5cc3fd
type
Through the Eyes of Madness
 Malignant / int_5d5cc3fd
comment
Through the Eyes of Madness: Madison sees what Gabriel wants her to, preventing both her and the viewer from knowing the killer is her own body being piloted backwards.
 Malignant / int_5d5cc3fd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_5d5cc3fd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_5d5cc3fd
 Malignant / int_6654b17b
type
Facial Horror
 Malignant / int_6654b17b
comment
Facial Horror: The death of Dr. Fields, who gets stabbed in the face repeatedly until it resembles a bloody crater. In an even more horrific sense, there's Gabriel himself. What remains of his twisted face emerges through a split in the back of Madison's skull, along with a good portion of her brain. His face itself is merely a snarling, misshapen mouth and eyes that are set at haphazard angles.
 Malignant / int_6654b17b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_6654b17b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_6654b17b
 Malignant / int_6774150c
type
If I Can't Have You…
 Malignant / int_6774150c
comment
If I Can't Have You…: Gabriel is very possessive of Madison, to the point that he tried to force her to kill Sydney back when she was still in the womb. He pretty much outright states this to Sydney when he attempts to finish the job in the climax.
 Malignant / int_6774150c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_6774150c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_6774150c
 Malignant / int_67a7cd88
type
Battle in the Center of the Mind
 Malignant / int_67a7cd88
comment
Battle in the Center of the Mind: A very short one occurs at the very end of the movie. Madison manages to easily defeat Gabriel and seal him back deep in her mind.
 Malignant / int_67a7cd88
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_67a7cd88
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_67a7cd88
 Malignant / int_6b2b3b59
type
The Reveal
 Malignant / int_6b2b3b59
comment
Hints at Gabriel's true nature are scattered before The Reveal; in particular, when he picks up the trophy to kill Dr. Weaver, his hands, and the fact that they're oriented backwards, are center-frame. Detective Moss also notes after examining the scene of Derek's murder that the perpetrator's hands were "upside down".
 Malignant / int_6b2b3b59
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_6b2b3b59
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_6b2b3b59
 Malignant / int_727177df
type
Teetering on the Edge
 Malignant / int_727177df
comment
Teetering on the Edge: Averted by Sydney as she arrives at the Abandoned Hospital, even if she's downright parking a car right next to a cliffside!
 Malignant / int_727177df
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Malignant / int_727177df
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_727177df
 Malignant / int_7276d0de
type
Mugging the Monster
 Malignant / int_7276d0de
comment
Mugging the Monster: A group of holding cell prisoners decide to harass and pummel Madison the moment she enters police company, unaware that she has a homicidal monster dwelling inside her body. Cue a massacre.
 Malignant / int_7276d0de
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_7276d0de
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_7276d0de
 Malignant / int_7febc23b
type
Establishing Character Moment
 Malignant / int_7febc23b
comment
During the Establishing Character Moment of Madison's husband, he's shown watching a Mixed Martial Arts montage of ground-and-pound stoppages. He later becomes physically abusive toward Madison.
 Malignant / int_7febc23b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_7febc23b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_7febc23b
 Malignant / int_8739b21
type
Technopath
 Malignant / int_8739b21
comment
Technopath: One of Gabriel's abilities.
 Malignant / int_8739b21
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_8739b21
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_8739b21
 Malignant / int_8d6d9535
type
Artistic License – Medicine
 Malignant / int_8d6d9535
comment
Artistic License – Medicine: Dr. Weaver conflates parasitic twins (where an embryo does not fully separate into twins, but rather than developing into conjoined twins, one half maintains dominant development over the other) and teratomas (a type of tumor composed of diverse tissue types, such as hair, teeth, muscle and bone). While there is some belief that fetal teratomas might represent a form of parasitic twin, that is not accepted medical fact, and even if one were to accept that Gabriel is a parasitic twin teratoma, that is a far cry from being a fully sapient conjoined twin that can survive the surgery that was meant to remove him. To say nothing of the fact that pushing Gabriel's face, which retains enough skull that he still has teeth, into Madison's cranium and sealing it back up, would probably have a negative prognosis for Madison in the long term at least. Zig-Zagged at another point. It's impossible for identical parasitic twins to be of opposite genders like Gabriel and Madison are. However, Gabriel is so grossly absorbed into Madison's body that he has virtually no biological sex, and it's possible that he just adopted a male identity and name. This is also supported by the fact that Gabriel's voice, his only inherently male characteristic, is entirely telepathic, so he could really use any voice he wants.
 Malignant / int_8d6d9535
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_8d6d9535
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_8d6d9535
 Malignant / int_8ed5c6e4
type
Asshole Victim
 Malignant / int_8ed5c6e4
comment
Asshole Victim: Madison's husband Derek, who dies first and is indirectly responsible for all the deaths in the movie following the prologue. The women who assault Madison in the prison cell.
 Malignant / int_8ed5c6e4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_8ed5c6e4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_8ed5c6e4
 Malignant / int_8f842f45
type
Multiple Head Case
 Malignant / int_8f842f45
comment
Multiple Head Case: Kind of. Two faces sharing a single head, in conflict over the body.
 Malignant / int_8f842f45
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_8f842f45
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_8f842f45
 Malignant / int_90d44f44
type
Karmic Death
 Malignant / int_90d44f44
comment
Karmic Death: The woman with the mullet in the prison cell shoves at least two women into Gabriel’s rampage path to save her skin, so when she is the last one left, Gabriel uses her as a human shield as a guard shoots at him.
 Malignant / int_90d44f44
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_90d44f44
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_90d44f44
 Malignant / int_964ea66c
type
A-Team Firing
 Malignant / int_964ea66c
comment
A-Team Firing: An entire police station fires at Gabriel at one point and he is never hit once, even when he's standing still.
 Malignant / int_964ea66c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_964ea66c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_964ea66c
 Malignant / int_99ddfcec
type
Unwitting Instigator of Doom
 Malignant / int_99ddfcec
comment
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Derek’s physical abuse of Madison is what caused Gabriel’s previously dormant brain to “wake up�, resulting in not only his death, but several others.
 Malignant / int_99ddfcec
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_99ddfcec
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_99ddfcec
 Malignant / int_9b6e33f3
type
Death by Cameo
 Malignant / int_9b6e33f3
comment
Death by Cameo: Zoë Bell shows up briefly as one of the prisoners Gabriel murders.
 Malignant / int_9b6e33f3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_9b6e33f3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_9b6e33f3
 Malignant / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 Malignant / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: During the Establishing Character Moment of Madison's husband, he's shown watching a Mixed Martial Arts montage of ground-and-pound stoppages. He later becomes physically abusive toward Madison. Hints at Gabriel's true nature are scattered before The Reveal; in particular, when he picks up the trophy to kill Dr. Weaver, his hands, and the fact that they're oriented backwards, are center-frame. Detective Moss also notes after examining the scene of Derek's murder that the perpetrator's hands were "upside down". In her first scene, Madison complains of frequent headaches, which are explained away as a product of working while pregnant.
 Malignant / int_9d12bbc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_9d12bbc1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_9d12bbc1
 Malignant / int_9e86e227
type
The End... Or Is It?
 Malignant / int_9e86e227
comment
The End... Or Is It?: Madison traps Gabriel back inside her mind, but he promises he will find a way to take control again. In the final shot, a lamp starts to flicker, signaling that he is already working on it. Director James Wan has said that while he didn't make the movie with the intent of launching a franchise, he would certainly be open to making a sequel.
 Malignant / int_9e86e227
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_9e86e227
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_9e86e227
 Malignant / int_9f6fb586
type
Leitmotif
 Malignant / int_9f6fb586
comment
Leitmotif: Safari Riot's cover of Pixies' "Where is My Mind" represents Gabriel.
 Malignant / int_9f6fb586
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_9f6fb586
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_9f6fb586
 Malignant / int_9f81bd21
type
Stealth Parody
 Malignant / int_9f81bd21
comment
Stealth Parody: After its release, a lot of critics and audiences speculated (including RedLetterMedia) that the movie was a practical joke by director James Wan. The first two acts, while still rather dark and spooky, also feature a lot of comedic misdirections and satirical jokes (in stark contrast to Wan's most well-known films such as The Conjuring); this all escalates into a bonkers third act, packed with over-the-top actiony violence, a rather bizarre-looking villain (Madison's superpowered conjoined twin brother who is literally sticking out of the back of her head), and multiple out-of-place looking extras, such as the woman who looks like she just walked out of a '70s disco with a giant afro to boot. It's certainly a tonal whiplash compared to Wan's previous movies.
 Malignant / int_9f81bd21
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_9f81bd21
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_9f81bd21
 Malignant / int_a0c7f4e9
type
Abandoned Hospital
 Malignant / int_a0c7f4e9
comment
Abandoned Hospital: The Simion Research Hospital, the facility where Gabriel's victims worked together has been closed for quite some time. It appears in the movie's opening shots as a spectacular, crumbling edifice on the edge of a seaside cliff, surrounded by trees, quickly setting the movie's tone of high melodrama.
 Malignant / int_a0c7f4e9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_a0c7f4e9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_a0c7f4e9
 Malignant / int_a5fb0d24
type
Healing Factor
 Malignant / int_a5fb0d24
comment
Healing Factor: Implied to be one of Gabriel's many powers, which is shared by Madison — the only physical aftermath of Gabriel taking control of her body, which includes dislocating all of her limbs, is a trickle of blood from the back of her head.
 Malignant / int_a5fb0d24
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_a5fb0d24
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_a5fb0d24
 Malignant / int_a6cda066
type
Rule of Three
 Malignant / int_a6cda066
comment
Rule of Three: The "Where is My Mind," cover is used three times, after a particular revelation - When Madison tells Sydney she's adopted, when the kidnapped woman wakes up, and when the kidnapped woman crashes through the floor, into Madison's living room.
 Malignant / int_a6cda066
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_a6cda066
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_a6cda066
 Malignant / int_a7544a0f
type
Beneath the Earth
 Malignant / int_a7544a0f
comment
Beneath the Earth: Gabriel maneuvers around town using the Seattle Underground.
 Malignant / int_a7544a0f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_a7544a0f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_a7544a0f
 Malignant / int_abad35b4
type
Soundtrack Dissonance
 Malignant / int_abad35b4
comment
Soundtrack Dissonance: The film was marketed as a straightforward horror movie, but its soundtrack undercuts a number of its scary scenes. Many scene transitions feature a thumping rock song that remixes the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?".
 Malignant / int_abad35b4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_abad35b4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_abad35b4
 Malignant / int_b59f6070
type
Confusion Fu
 Malignant / int_b59f6070
comment
Confusion Fu: What Gabriel's fighting style looks like. Considering he's operating a human body backwards with extreme efficiency, any sort of movement, whether traversal or combat, is so unsettling and downright antithetical to how a human moves that no one can counter him.
 Malignant / int_b59f6070
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_b59f6070
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_b59f6070
 Malignant / int_c3c18143
type
Hope Spot
 Malignant / int_c3c18143
comment
Hope Spot: Zigzagged and inverted in the climax. As Gabriel closes in to kill Sydney and his and Madison's birth mother Serena, Sydney desperately calls to Madison to try to get her to fight back and regain control of her body. After Sydney's words get through to her, we see Madison begin to strain and start to move her limbs back from Gabriel's configuration, leading the viewer to think that Sydney's appeal worked. But then it seems to either fail or succeed only too late, and Gabriel shoots Sydney in the head and then smothers Serena before gloating to Madison. But then the scenery around him melts away, revealing that Madison has taken control back and has trapped Gabriel in a mental prison just like he did to her, only leading him to think that he won for a moment.
 Malignant / int_c3c18143
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_c3c18143
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_c3c18143
 Malignant / int_c3db1619
type
ZigZagged
 Malignant / int_c3db1619
comment
Zig-Zagged at another point. It's impossible for identical parasitic twins to be of opposite genders like Gabriel and Madison are. However, Gabriel is so grossly absorbed into Madison's body that he has virtually no biological sex, and it's possible that he just adopted a male identity and name. This is also supported by the fact that Gabriel's voice, his only inherently male characteristic, is entirely telepathic, so he could really use any voice he wants.
 Malignant / int_c3db1619
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_c3db1619
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_c3db1619
 Malignant / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Malignant / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: Gabriel's gloves look a lot like the ones worn by the killer in Deep Red. The plot is very similar to Basket Case and The Dark Half. All three revolve around an evil conjoined twin that commits a series of murders in order to get revenge on the people that were responsible for removing them. Regina describes their first good look at Gabriel as Sloth from The Goonies. The use of "Where Is My Mind" on the soundtrack is probably a nod to Fight Club, which had a similiar plot twist — though one more rooted in the psychological than the visceral.
 Malignant / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_c75df49a
 Malignant / int_d01cffbc
type
Badass Longcoat
 Malignant / int_d01cffbc
comment
Badass Longcoat: Gabriel acquires himself a longcoat early in the movie and wears it whenever he's murdering about. Notably, it has a high collar which obscures Madison's face until The Reveal
 Malignant / int_d01cffbc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_d01cffbc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_d01cffbc
 Malignant / int_d29a6629
type
Death by Childbirth
 Malignant / int_d29a6629
comment
Death by Childbirth: Subverted. Jeanne had been told by the doctors at Simion Research Hospital that Madison and Gabriel’s birth-mother, Serena May, had died giving birth to them. This is revealed to have been a lie; she willingly left them in their care as she was only 15 when she had them.
 Malignant / int_d29a6629
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Malignant / int_d29a6629
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_d29a6629
 Malignant / int_d99a228f
type
Unusually Uninteresting Sight
 Malignant / int_d99a228f
comment
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: While everyone witness to Gabriel's rampage is aware of how unusual he is, no one comments on how he has blatantly supernatural powers like controlling electricity.
 Malignant / int_d99a228f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_d99a228f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_d99a228f
 Malignant / int_dbca2c99
type
Red Herring
 Malignant / int_dbca2c99
comment
Red Herring: Throughout the movie there are many hints that Gabriel is a formerly conjoined twin of Madison who survived the surgery and is now a separate person, or alternatively a ghost Poltergeist following Madison. Neither proves to be true, as all that is left of Gabriel is a part of his brain in Madison’s head, and the injury in the beginning of the movie enabled him to control her. There are similar hints that Gabriel is some sort of Demonic spawn. Madison and Gabriel were the result of rape, but no indication of who the father is. Both Madison and her birth mother describe him as "the Devil" and "unholy," respectively. His ability to manipulate electricity, extreme strength, and murderous vendetta set him up as some kind of Damian Thorne-esque Antichrist that shares a psychic link with his twin. It is also implied that the doctors are shady but that turns out to not be the case.
 Malignant / int_dbca2c99
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_dbca2c99
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_dbca2c99
 Malignant / int_dd95a27b
type
I Never Told You My Name
 Malignant / int_dd95a27b
comment
I Never Told You My Name: Played straight and Inverted during a phone call between Gabriel and Madison. Madison is understandably and incredibly unnerved by this demonic voice on the other end of the phone calling her by name. Including the name she had before her adoption, Emily. And then the trope is inverted when she impulsively calls him by name, even though he's never said it to her. The inversion is because the horror and drama come from the fact that she, though she doesn't realize it, knows this person or thing that's been haunting her.
 Malignant / int_dd95a27b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_dd95a27b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_dd95a27b
 Malignant / int_df18f1dd
type
Parasitic Horror
 Malignant / int_df18f1dd
comment
Parasitic Horror: Gabriel is a parasitic twin.
 Malignant / int_df18f1dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_df18f1dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_df18f1dd
 Malignant / int_e0c00a95
type
Absurdly Sharp Blade
 Malignant / int_e0c00a95
comment
Absurdly Sharp Blade: Gabriel's sharpened trophy blade is sharp enough to cut off a man's arm, though it helps that he has some measure of Super-Strength.
 Malignant / int_e0c00a95
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_e0c00a95
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_e0c00a95
 Malignant / int_e567510d
type
Determinator
 Malignant / int_e567510d
comment
Determinator: Gabriel, or more precisely Madison while controlled by Gabriel’s brain.
 Malignant / int_e567510d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_e567510d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_e567510d
 Malignant / int_ea3bd38c
type
Secret Squatter
 Malignant / int_ea3bd38c
comment
Secret Squatter: An unusual example. The kidnapped woman is revealed to have been Madison's attic the entire time, as revealed when she falls through the floor into Madison's house proper. Neither she or Madison knew she was there, because Gabriel, Madison's parasitic twin, had taken her there.
 Malignant / int_ea3bd38c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_ea3bd38c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_ea3bd38c
 Malignant / int_f2bf7993
type
Psycho Electro
 Malignant / int_f2bf7993
comment
Psycho Electro: Gabriel can weaponize his Kill the Lights power, including blowing out lightbulbs, disabling an electric lock and causing a guard's pacemaker to explode.
 Malignant / int_f2bf7993
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_f2bf7993
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_f2bf7993
 Malignant / int_f3d5d15f
type
Creepy Child
 Malignant / int_f3d5d15f
comment
Creepy Child: Madison used to be one back when she interacted with Gabriel, but that apparently receded when her adoptive mother gave her a sister to play with, meaning that Gabriel was no longer needed.
 Malignant / int_f3d5d15f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_f3d5d15f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_f3d5d15f
 Malignant / int_fb4c41b4
type
"Friends" Rent Control
 Malignant / int_fb4c41b4
comment
"Friends" Rent Control: Madison seems to be a nurse, while her husband is only seen sitting around the house on a workday. They somehow live in an enormous Victorian house in Seattle. Oddly, the house looks pretty modest from the outside.
 Malignant / int_fb4c41b4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_fb4c41b4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_fb4c41b4
 Malignant / int_fe1d3a6b
type
Kill the Lights
 Malignant / int_fe1d3a6b
comment
Kill the Lights: A sign that Gabriel is around or manifesting is the lights flickering repeatedly.
 Malignant / int_fe1d3a6b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_fe1d3a6b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_fe1d3a6b
 Malignant / int_name
type
ItemName
 Malignant / int_name
comment
 Malignant / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Malignant / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Malignant
hasFeature
Malignant / int_name
 Malignant / int_name
itemName
Malignant

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Malignant
hasFeature
Absurdly Sharp Blade / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Action Horror / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Adoption-Induced Pregnancy / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Artistic License – Medicine / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Cop Killer / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Enemy Within / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Evil Twin / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Films of the 2020s / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Horror Comedy / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Monster Media / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Mutant Media / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Not Screened for Critics / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Secret Squatter / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Split-Personality Takeover / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Trophy Violence / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Two Beings, One Body / int_e8ff79f5
 Malignant
hasFeature
Two Siblings In One / int_e8ff79f5