Parents' Guide to Malignant

Thanks to director James Wan's exhilarating directorial style and a fresh take, this over-the-top, sometimes silly Frankenstein-like patchwork of old horror movie ideas becomes demented fun. It's not long before Malignant starts to recall old-time favorites like Brian De Palma's Sisters (1973) and Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case (1982), as well as any other number of supernatural slashers and terrifying tales of imaginary friends (there's even a nod to old "women in prison" movies). The monster's long, stringy hair even resembles the locks on the killers from The Ring and The Grudge movies. But never fear: Wan, who cooked up Malignant's original story with screenwriter Akela Cooper and his wife, actor Ingrid Bisu (who appears in a small, delightful role as forensic technician "Winnie"), has a new idea here.

Then there are Wan's signature touches behind the camera. Like the late, great Wes Craven, Wan knows precisely how to use three-dimensional space -- especially corners, hallways, stairways, and nooks and crannies -- for maximum scary effect. With the extra-gory Malignant, he goes big, with fluid, kinetic cameras zooming overhead, taking in an entire floor plan, and then moving up to creepy attics, to a sinister abandoned hospital, and down to secret underground tunnels. These corridors, lit with beams of light sneaking between broken bricks, are filled with surprises, and anything could be hidden anywhere. This is the kind of movie that easily makes you forgive its slip-ups (why does the killer zip around like a parkour practitioner?) and embrace its whole-hearted enthusiasm.