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For nearly 20 years now, James Wan has been shocking audiences with horror movies like Saw, The Conjuring, and Insidious, creating some of the most terrifying and traumatizing moviegoers with his intricate stories and gruesome deaths that leave us twisting and turning in our seats. Following a five-year break from filling movie houses with thrills and chills, Wan is back with Malignant, a psychological horror film about a woman (Annabelle Wallis) who dreams of grisly murders that turn out to be happening in the real world and her journey to uncover the truth behind the killer behind them. And even though you can watch the story unfold on the big screen this weekend, you'll also be able to watch Malignant streaming, and here’s how.
Where To Watch Malignant Streaming
Starting Friday, September 10, you will be able to watch Malignant streaming on HBO Max the same day it enters theaters. Like the rest of the Warner Bros’ movies coming out in 2021, James Wan return to his horror roots will only be available on the streaming service for 31 days before it is removed from the HBO Max library. This means you have until October 11 to plop down on the couch and subject yourself to the absolute horror of this frightening story.
It should also be noted that Malignant is only available for HBO Max subscribers who currently have the ad-free model of the streaming service as none of Warner Bros’ same-day releases are available on the cheaper, ad-supported model during their initial 31-day streaming window.
Watch the Malignant trailer on HBO Max. If you have not yet become an HBO Max subscriber, you can sign up here.
When Will Malignant Be On HBO Max For Good
Even though Malignant will only be available on HBO Max for 31 days the first time around, James Wan’s horror movie should be back on the streamer at some point in the near future just like The Little Things, Judas and the Black Messiah, Godzilla vs. Kong, and others that came before it. And while an exact date has not yet been announced by Warner Bros. or HBO Max, the other movies released in the same fashion all came back permanently around five months after their initial debut on the service. If Malignant takes that route, expect to see it back on HBO Max in February 2022.
How Malignant Will Be Different Than James Wan’s Conjuring And Insidious Movies
Even though it appears Malignant will play into the supernatural just like James Wan’s The Conjuring and Insidious movies, the director who first made a name for himself with Saw described his latest feature film as more of a throwback to his roots during a virtual Q&A session attended by CinemaBlend in August 2021, stating:
It is a big part of why I wanted to go back and do Malignant, and make this film the way it is. Over the last 10 years between the Insidious films and the Conjuring films, I've become known as the supernatural ghost guy who comes up with these jump scares. I'm not a fan of repeating myself or at least not repeating this often, and I just felt like it was time for me to do something a bit different again and really kind of harken back to my harder hitting horror films that I broke out with. And really to let the hardcore horror fans out there know that, hey, I haven't forgotten about them.
Earlier in the session, James Wan said he wanted to go back to the “gritty” and “visceral” tone of his early films with Malignant, which would explain the movie’s R-rating.
Malignant, one of the most anticipated upcoming horror movies, opens in theaters and on HBO Max Friday, September 10. If horror isn’t really your thing, don’t worry as there are still plenty of other great 2021 new movie releases coming to theaters and streamer services.
