Sunyi (2019) by Awi Suryadi

Director: Awi Suryadi
Year: 2019
Country: Indonesia
Alternate Titles: Death Whisper
Genre: Ghosts

Plot:
Arriving at a new school, a new student finds himself targeted by an older class of students and bullied as a rite of passage, but when he soon begins to notice the ghosts of three former students believed to have died as a result of bullying he teams up with a fellow classmate to investigate the ghosts.

Review:

This one turned out to be an effective remake. Part of the film’s effectiveness is the rather striking work for the ghost haunting scenes as these are the hallmark of the genre. The opening attack in the school’s swimming pool gets this off to a nice start, while a seance scene that remarkably doesn’t go awry feels incredibly tense and eerie. That the majority of the scenes that follow, from the kid being trapped in the dark gym or the stellar sequence with the girl being stalked in the swimming pool tend to focus on longer, more drawn-out suspense helps greatly. These scenes are given a touch of class as a result, focusing on the eeriness that something’s not right with the situation that is matched incredibly well with the brutality of the kill scenes as the ghosts’ terrifying sudden appearances at the end of these well-done and chilling setups a great combination between these elements.

As well, the film also manages to bring awareness to the topical themes of bullying. That we’re introduced to this immediately with the arrival at the new school and their treatment of not just him but others in his class provide real depth to the situation. Once the group sees that Alex’s he’s the perfect target to pinpoint because of his weakness, this allows them to start forcing crueler treatment on him by going through the seance or the embarrassment faced with trying to make an impression on her. Once the ghosts begin to get involved and their torment eases off in favor of them looking into the ghosts’ history, the sweet bond they share together through their shared experiences gives those bullying scenes a real meaning. Showing how much better it is to deal with the situation when there’s someone else to share with and grow stronger makes for a nice counterpoint to the bullying. Despite the gang leaders’ attempts to continue bullying them, that they stand together gives them the strength to overcome and solve the mystery with the ghosts helping to finish it off, giving this one a lot to like overall.

Still, there are a few problems with this one. Among the problems here is the cliched storyline that revolves around tired cliches and unsurprising setups. Transplanting wholesale the original story of the bullied newcomer who develops a burgeoning friendship with a fellow student to solve a ghostly murder spree occurring around them comes off as wholly unoriginal and not that scary. Despite the care given to the suspense and haunting scenes, the storyline is a pale imitation of countless others that are based on the same concepts of the ghosts coming back to seek revenge on their deaths with the new bullies. Likewise, the bullying here is quite odd in that the behavior is allowed or even outright encouraged by the administration without any attempt to stop it feels incredibly off-putting. That the social system in place encourages name-calling and mistreatment on the younger students simply through tradition sets a distressing formula that tries to be rectified by the finale. However, that comes off as preachy and way too little too late to course-correct, ending this on a weak note and being this one’s real flaws.

Overview: ****/5
With a lot of great technical qualities in the most important sections with the ghost hauntings and plenty to say about bullying, the film manages to get a lot to like while still feeling somewhat cliched and unoriginal. Fans of Asian horror or viewers looking for quality work in these areas should give this a shot while those that don't enjoy the film's preachy atmosphere or like the genre at all should heed caution.

This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.