Director: Feisal Azizuddin
Year: 2020
Country: Malaysia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural; Psychological
Plot:
Looking to launch a new travel show, a couple decides to head out to the countryside to visit the locals and their way of life away from the city, but when they get lost and are forced to stay at a mysterious house where they realize something isn’t right with their hostess and soon enough learn the terrifying secret that puts them both in grave danger.
Review:
Overall, this one was a pretty solid and enjoyable effort. Among the better aspects featured here is an engaging slow-burn atmosphere that keeps the film moving along at a steady clip. The gradual introduction of traditional genre tropes, starting with the expected phone service being cut-off while en-route to the meeting with an ominous villager, set the stage for the film quite early on to become chilling later on. That we get to the main house within ten minutes and have a nice subtle set of clues early on about the impending danger to come is a great feat, which is made all the greater with the unsettling atmosphere exuded by the house itself which adds to the building suspense. Due to the cramped design and isolated location where they’re out in the countryside away from their usual comforts, this entire setup brings about a fine and engaging setup with plenty to like about it.
With this setup in place, the film begins providing far more genuine thrills. As the focus turns to her experiencing plenty of weird incidents around the house, particularly the discovery in the bedroom which is a solid jump-scene, the true motivation of this one becomes clear in the ongoing psychological strain she experiences. Trying to convince him that something’s wrong in the house is a major part of what carries on throughout here, not only using the previous events they’ve encountered but also her bizarre attitude and behavior the longer the couple stays at the house. With how these events are shown to play on her mental state by making it seem she has seduced her boyfriend right out from under her watch, this completely misdirects the attention away from the final half with a dark and chilling origin story for what’s going on that has some rather enjoyable encounters playing off the revelations.
While these elements make this one rather enjoyable, there are some slight issues. Some viewers will more than likely find fault with the measured-yet-languid tempo here, which is the intention but doesn’t distract from the fact that there is an issue getting going. The fact that the couple arrives at the house quickly is a plus, but the scenes of them going around the house looking for utilities or having dinner with the girl and her housemaid serves this one well with its premise but that still leaves the pacing on the downside by taking a while to fully reveal the twist with their arrival and purpose. As well, that ties into the other flaw with the film by having a wholly underwhelming and unsatisfying finale that has very little of any interest. This has barely anything enjoyable happening with weak brawling, a confusing lack of explanation for what’s happening and it offers very little satisfaction as a result. Since this ending is in tone with the rest of the pacing as the rest of the film, this falls under the film’s relaxed tempo issues and ends up holding the film back for the most part.
Overview: **.5/5
Featuring some enjoyable psychological elements but somewhat slow and dragging in its pacing, this one has enough to like that it’s worthwhile enough as a watchable genre effort. Give this a shot if you’re a fan of these suspenseful, psychological genre films and are more interested in slow-burn genre efforts, while those viewers that feel the opposite on these issues should heed caution.
This review was originally written for Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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