Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Year: 2018
Country: Indonesia
Alternate Titles: Sebelum Iblis Menjemput
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Fearing for her father, a young woman and her stepfamily return to his house in order to find out what happened to him only to realize he awakened a demonic entity to grant his wishes and has now come to claim it's end of the bargain, forcing them to find a way of stopping it's advances.
Review:
Right from the beginning, this one works itself over rather nicely. Most of the film's positive elements come from the stellar incorporation of the supernatural into the story. The film starts this immediately, from the opening ceremony which is played out in full detail with the special drawings on the ground to the occult rituals involving the demons' hair and finally to it's demonic incantations that set this one in motion to the terrifying encounters in the hospital, which features the demon in several vicious jump-scene ambushes as well as the terrifying instances that occur with the restrained father in the hospital bed which are just grisly in concept and execution, leading the way for some creepy encounters. Later scenes at the house where the group is looking over the house which is filled with occult paraphernalia such as rosary beads, animal remains and used herbs and plants that follow up these sequences with a feverish intensity. The antics of the possessed family member is a wild highlight sequence that notably raises the stakes of the film considerably showing the true nature of what their father was involved with, giving this the craziest sequence in the film as well as making the film all the more terrifying.
The second half of the film builds on these early scenes very nicely. By showing everything taking place during the driving rainstorm, this one creates a stellar atmosphere that's only enhanced with the action around the house showing the possessed member chasing them around or the incredibly eerie encounter in the woods where they come across the member feasting on an animal forcing them to get away without being seen or later coming upon them trying to possess them in the process. Later on, the scene of her crying out from the darkness trying to tempt the along members of the family, changing into demonic-tinged yelling in order to sell their plight gives way to a chilling abduction attempt as it tries to steal the young girl by lurking in the shadows behind her or popping up all of a sudden as it tries to pull her under the bed pulls double-duty in this one. Not only does this sequence provide a strong scare-factor for the film, it gives further insight into her backstory with the revelation of an earlier encounter with the demon that was responsible for a childhood trauma.
The final half expectedly pulls out all the stops as this one really lets loose. Predictably, this one saves the best scares for the last part of the film, running through the earlier tactics of demonic voices and laughter or popping up unexpectedly to torment the group but bringing about new ideas as well, such as the ability to control the objects in the room around them or using a mystical object to break them apart. Some of these moments, including watching the possessed figure right in front of their face pull the flesh off their face to reveal another person underneath or manipulating a doll to essentially break their bones before decapitating them, are straight up terrifying to see play out. This is especially true once you realize it's done in the presence of a child. In conjunction, the fine return with the mysticism and occult rituals that are in place in order to finally resolve this allows for a truly engrossing and brutal if slightly overlong payoff which is perhaps the only real flaw in the film. This all could've been resolving slightly easier and quicker but is nonetheless still a factor here.
Overview: *****/5
While this one may tend to wander a tad too much in the later half, the rest of the film is a stellar, top-notch over-the-top ride with continuous confrontations, plenty of strong horror sequences and a frenetic atmosphere. Readily dive into this one if you’re at the least curious, a fan of the director’s other work or enjoy this kind of Asian horror, while those that don’t enjoy it should heed caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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