An in-depth look and review of James Wan's filmography. His best works and other vital information.
Wan with his baby girl, Annabelle
Mr. James Wan. One (:P) of the most influential new kids on the block in the horror scene.
Wan, a Malaysian-born Australian director is a great inspiration; the Sarawakian kid set such a high standard in the world of cinema with his reimagining of the horror genre- adding his torch of Wan-isms(refer to director trademarks below) to all the films he directs and yet he started out so near to our shores.
"I love to be scared in the safety of a movie theater. It is like a thrill ride; like a roller-coaster ride"- James Wan
Growing up in Malaysia, 7 year-old Wan shifted to Australia in 1984 and studied at RMIT, where he got himself a Bachelor of Arts. The young director debuted his directorial career in 2004 with a shot in the dark and no budget, coming up with a sick, twisted, gore-fest mess of a film that would leave everyone speechless and in disgust.
Right?
WRONG!
The film was SAW ..
and it took off like a forest fire and blazed across cinemas around the globe to such a fiery response that it spawned nine films and became the best performing and highest grossing horror film franchise of all time worldwide.
Saw is also my all-time favourite film franchise.
It is just utterly shocking and saddistic but the formula works and everyone got their first taste of the work of the new horror maestro.
However, In 2007, James had a career low. He directed two films that turned out to be flops. One of which i consider to be very scary and actually a good one overall. -Dead Silence-
2010-2013 marked the birth of a Wan that rised back from his career slum and delivered powerhouse flicks like Insidious and Conjuring. Both are modern day horror classics and spawned many baby films, like Duriel from Diablo II (Hope you get this reference-I'm old..).
I for one, feel that the two classics should have been standalone. The films that followed Insidious and Conjuring were not particularly scary or as great as the main piece and felt very B-rate if you compare them together. It should be noted that James did not contribute as much to the sequels as he did the original films because he intended for them to be solo feature films, but the rest was history as they say.
In the second half of the 2010s,
Wan ventured into new territory and got his hands dirty directing for the DC universe with his 'Aquaman' effort in 2018 and also produced the much talked-about Mortal Kombat reboot (2021) but then returned to his horror roots with 2021's Malignant.
Future work
The Fangoria chainsaw award-winning director has alot on his plate in the next few months, with a graphic novel and japanese comic book adaptation in the pipeline plus the sequel to Aquaman. Horror wise,there is alot to be excited about including his film adaptation of a Stephen King book- The Tommyknockers, a television version of 'I know what you did last summer' and most anticipated of all, a remake of FRANKENSTEIN.
DAMM.
You know it gon be good!
Kawaii ^.^
Director Trademarks
Creepy retro music that slowly fades away to silence
Jump-scares that are actually done well
Weird happenings in the background of scenes that you don't notice until you focus on it
Dolls + puppets
Claustrophobic and homely settings- (good for setting up scares and feelings of helplessness)
Unnerving sound effects - (Shrieking violins, Violent pianos)
Patrick WIlson collabs
Crazy creatures running about playing hide and seek
In-your-face scares
James Wan (TOP 5 Films)
Without further ado, here are my picks for James' 5 best films
#5 Malignant (2021)
James' most recent offering was quite a surprise. First things first, it is incredibly slow-moving and the pacing was very skewed plot-wise;most of the thrills and spills of the film were only exposed at the latter end. For me, it only got good towards the last 20 or so minutes.
However, the twist at the end was just so damm good that i had to include this in the top 5. It took abit of effort to get through the discombobulated introduction and character development that seemingly led to nowhere, but the payoff was definitely worth the grind. The shocking twist and violence towards the conclusion of the film were reminiscent of the good ole' Saw days.
#4 Aquaman (2018)
An unxpected foray into the DC universe cometh one James Wan...
Although this one received a lot of flak for not being true to the essence of Aquaman from the comic universe, it still had its charms.
For one, the special effects and CGI were superb and brought out the minutiae and details of the Atlantean world to a crisp tee. If you squint and look, there is lots to discover peppered all over the film. Aquaman passed the vibe check for sure. Jason portrayed the superhero aspect of the titular hero decently but he seems more suited to play the Thing or maybe Drax. Haha. Just like how some male supermodels avoid having too bulky a frame for print ads, Jason's massive frame seems excessive for the slender and agile aquaman. Nonetheless, audiences mostly loved it and a sequel is in the works.
#3 Saw (2004)
The one that started it all. Saw.
SO BLOODY BRILLIANT. LITERALLY.
I remember first watching Saw with no expectations and went in blind, expecting it to be just one of another clone of the many silly and senseless hack-and-slash thrillers with a madman going around disemboweling and beheading people.
Well i was not wrong.
IT was that and more.
SAW had a simple concept that worked and was thrilling to watch play out over 9 films since 2004. The trademark of Jame's penchant for gore was established and fanboys of Sam Raimi and John Carpenter's previous works hollered in approval, relishing in a film series that had all the hallmarks of horrors past.
#2 Insidious (2010)
A classic.
I have watched this one atleast four times and still feel goosebumps and the visceral sense of fear appraoching some of the more infamous scenes. Especially for those with one lipstick demon (Look at pic on right) who was actually played by the film's Composer Joseph Bishara, a fella that already looks freaky without make-up. And yes, he was literally called 'Lipstick-Face Demon'.
Think jumpscares and very eerie scenes with exemplary sound effects and editing-I have never seen sounds complement a horror film to such a terrifying effect as that in Insidious.
The violent violin strings and crushing piano keys escalate the tense and freaky environment coupled with the extremely weird looking gremlins and oddities, all a recipe for a scary film that stays with you..
How insidious...
#1 The Conjuring (2013)
The greatest thing to hit the horror genre in the 2010s.
Like Insidious on steroids. Very scary.
Perhaps the film i consider to be in my all-time top three scariest.
Not for the faint of heart. Keeps you awake.
Highest-rated James Wan film ever.
"The film is blood-chilling and easily as terrifying, if not more so, than classic '70s horrors like The Exorcist". - Megan Basham (WORLD Website)
"This decade's definitive horror classic". - Karl Delossantos ( Smash Cut Reviews )
You will not be disappointed.
James Wan: Filmography:
Stygian (2000)
Dead silence (2007)
Death sentence (2007)
Doggie heaven (2008)
Insidious (2010)
The Conjuring (2013)
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
Furious 7 (2015)
The Conjuring 2
The Nun (2018)
Aquaman (2018)
Annabelle comes home (2019)
The Conjuring: The devil made me do it (2020)
Malignant (2021)
Aquaman and the lost Kingdom (2022)
James has a very unique sense of what encompasses a horror movie. He takes the tired and oft-repeated tropes of scary movies and adds his own flair to them, making them instantly recognizable but also keeping you in suspense because you never really know what to expect next.
I consider James Wan, together with Ari Aster and Robert Eggers, ones to watch and look out for. They are the new blood that will escalate and take the horror medium to new heights and perhaps get the Academy to notice horror-film maker's efforts after almost a century of snubs. (oh.. and also props goes to Jordan Peele-but i feel that the guy has alot of backing up due to the BLM campaigns and support particularly for film-makers of colour).
SO, get out of your insidious home and conjure up some time to watch his films because you will get furious and have nun of the fun that others felt unless you saw it.
Ok i tried,
Thanks for reading,
LEON
