Stephen King knows a thing or two about horror movies, and he’s given James Wan’s Malignant his stamp of approval. After checking it out on streaming service HBO Max, King expressed his opinion on Twitter.
Keeping it short and simple, King tweeted: “I watched Malignant on HBO and thought it was brilliant.” At this stage, the fanfare Malignant has enjoyed means there isn’t a whole lot else to say. Critics have thoroughly enjoyed Wan’s horrific action movie, giving it a lovely 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score is skewing a little bit less, but life would be boring if we all agreed on everything, right?
Such praise has had the expected effect on the filmmakers. Akela Cooper, who wrote the screenplay, talked about discovering King through Christine in the ’90s. “In the early ’90s Christine was on regular rotation as the midday movie and I loved to watch it when I could,” Cooper tweeted. “One day I caught the opening credits that it was based on a book. I sought out the book and a Stephen King fan was born. I cannot tell you how much this means to me.”
As King points out, Malignant is available now on HBO Max, if you’re in the US. UK fans can find it playing in theatres still.
I watched MALIGNANT on HBO and thought it was brilliant.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) September 30, 2021
In the early 90s “Christine” was on regular rotation as the mid-day movie and I loved to watch it when I could. One day I caught the opening credits that it was based on a book. I sought out the book and a Stephen King fan was born.
I cannot tell you how much this means to me https://t.co/1c54ZOdFRe
— Akela Cooper 😈 (@AkelaCooper) September 30, 2021
Not one to rest on his laurels, Malignant is one of five projects he’s put his name to this year. He’s also produced the new live-action Mortal Kombat, Spiral: Form the Book of Saw, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, and Netflix horror movie There’s Someone Inside Your House, coming October 6.
If you’re wondering whether Wan and King will ever collaborate, they already are on a new adaptation of Salem’s Lot, coming next year. And Wan is directing Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom for the DCEU right now and all. Wonder what King will make of that one?