One of my favorite Malay actresses, Lisa Surihani... and two of the better actors working today, Bront Palarae and Shaheizy Sam... hope it's good...
One of my favorite directors... James Lee... looking forward to this one after Histeria and Sini Ada Hantu...
Karak. A tiny town in Pahang. Used to be the way for KL people to go to Kuantan. Not anymore, after the highway was built. 
My media invite/entrance pass...
So the movie begins with a family stranded at the side of the road. Car problems. So the husband went off to find help, leaving the wife and baby in the car. Yup, this is the creature eating the husband urban legend. Seriously creepy scene. But it turns out it was just Nik (Shahir) telling the story in a car with three others.
They were stuck in a jam on the highway because there was a huge accident up front. They needed to get back to Kuantan because of classes in the morning so they decided to use the back roads, which would require them passing through Karak town. They stopped for a breather and that's when trouble started. The paranormal kind.
Story-wise, the plot really was exciting and new. There had never been a movie about Malay urban legend before. At least not that I know of. Or I remember. The opening scene with the flying creature eating the husband was good and creepy and scary. Dare I say it, right up there with the murder of Drew Barrymore in Scream. Okay, okay, it's not that good. Maybe Jada Pinkett's murder in Scream 2. Haha. But yes, it was good.
So the scene really set the expectations in my mind about the movie. And when they stopped at Karak town, the mood from the opener was still strong and the scare/horror kept on coming. Although I do detest the usage of loud music just to scare people or make them jump, there were genuine scares and horror abound.
At least until after a third of the movie. Then, it was just ghostly barrages, one after another. So much so that the entities stopped being scary.
I do feel the movie was split into three. The first part - scary shit. The second part - confusion. The third part - wrapping up. But looking at it now (and remembering), it was not as bad as I thought. I do have issues with part 2 and 3 of the movie.
For example: why would you pull a Sofea Jane and go 'berkemban' in the middle of the night and in the middle of a jungle when you just came out of an accident caused by ghostly presence and you are staying in at a creepy man's house. You might get mauled by a creature or a tiger or even by the creepy old man. The sexual part is unnecessary I think.
The necklace? What's the significance of it? Is that the source of the demonic activity? But she was already harassed by it before she put that thing on. So which is it? Which entity was actually doing the haunting? The one that was already at the house or the one that's been following them since they stopped at Karak? Why follow her? Why follow their car? It was never really explained why things are happening to them, except for the fact that the entity wanted to corrupt the girl. Hmm, sometimes I wish scary movies would stop using religion as the go to object to solve the hauntings. It's cliche and if it really was that easy to get rid off the entities, then why not just straight away call for the bomoh or pak imam and deal with it in the first five minutes of the movie? Coz there won't be a movie... I know...
Also, during the opening credits... it would have been a lot nicer if they put in a montage or illustrations of the Karak urban legends... at least, we'd know em before we watch this movie... I am sure some people don't know of the legends...
Acting-wise, pretty good debut for most of them. Shahir and Shera Aiyob, was pretty natural and kinda convincing in their acting. The best friend guy, Md Eyzendy, is no beginner, having been in two other horror movies in recent memory, Seru and Khurafat. In Seru, his character was the same as the one in Karak. The disbeliever. Even though the evidence is right there in front of his face. Kilafairy, the girl who went Sofea Jane in the jungle, was the weakest of the four. Not sure whether it was due to her inexperience or because that's the way her character was written. So damned annoying. Guess that's the cliched dumb blonde characters in horror movies that are always first to die.
So, all things considered, is this a good movie? Like all of April's horror flicks, this movie fell short of its intended awesomeness. Which would make one think that people are just jumping on the horror bandwagon because horror movies are quite profitable... just checked Finas' website... I stand corrected... the previous years' horror movies were profitable... April's movies were all not profitable... Khurafat was the only horror to make it big... hmm, maybe that had something to do with it was the only Malay movie showing in that part of January... and now all the Malay movies have to fight against the summer blockbusters...
Anyway, Karak is pretty watchable. The first 1/3 of the movie is really good and would satisfy horror movie fans. The rest of the movie? Just leave logic and brain at the door and enjoy... I know I did... :)
P/S - Now that I really think about it... it made no sense that the three of them are dead but they still interact with one another and we get to see their interactions... whose POV was that? When Nik and Jack were talking... if only Shera Ayub's character survived, then shouldn't she be in all the scenes where the other three are talking?
PP/S - What exactly did Tok Malam see when the entity using his wife's face were grappling with Nik and Jack? Coz he could not see Nik and Jack in the flashback. So he would've just seen the entity right? Speaking of Tok Malam, why did he not yank the necklace off of the girl when he sees her wearing it?
As I've posted before, this month, we got a barrage of horror movies coming our way. Senjakala was the second movie after Dilarang Masuk. Penunggu Istana will be showing this week and next week, Seru. I have seen Seru, and cannot wait to write something about it next week.
Anyway, I went to KLCC to watch Senjakala with Sifu (who taught me a lot of things to do at the movies that would definitely save some money, haha). This would be my first time watching a movie with a well-regarded blogger/reviewer that was not at a media preview. And he did tell me that he would walk out if the movie sucks... (read his review here)
But he did not walk out. Not sure whether it was because the film was good, or it was okay, or because we paid good money for the tickets. Yes, I got a couple of free tickets but we can only go watch it Saturday onwards. Anybody want those tickets, just email me k? :)
So, Senjakala. This would be how many horror movies Ahmad Idham's made now? I lost count. I remember Niyang Rapik (which was not too bad, quite interesting for me... and starred Liyana Jasmay), and last year's Damping Malam, which I did not get to see, but will soon... anyway, I think Ahmad Idham has his own stamp by now, and we can see plenty of his stamp on this movie....
The movie starts with Khalisa dreaming. About running through the forest and bumping into a huge wooden house where she saw herself being possessed. Wakes up. She's in a car with her fiance. Then her fiance ran over a haggardly woman, and he was ran over by a lorry. Then she wakes up. From that moment on, she feels this strong urge to return to her grandmother's house in the kampung, which she was told not to do so by her parents. Of course, she defied them and went anyway, with a girl friend in tow.
There, she found her creepy grandmother, and even creepier kampung folks, who seemed to want her gone. Also, there's this guy who keeps saving her life but refused to interact with her. And there was a bit of a slo-mo 80's style shot when they touched... I think it was supposed to mean that there was an attraction...
So after a while, Khalisa found out the truth of what's going on and that she has an inheritance from her ancestors that she needs to accept, which was why she felt the tug to go visit the grandmother...
Story-wise, it's not bad. And the way it was layered... it was a nice touch I think...
Unfortunately, when it comes down to the actual horror part of this horror movie, it was severely lacking. For a horror-fest April, so far the two movies shown were not exactly horror movies.
And the entities that do show up on screen, especially early on... not exactly relevant to the story. Ahmad Idham did this with Niyang Rapik. All kinds of ghoulies but none of them were actually relevant to the storylines.
I heard from my colleagues and from reading other reviews that the sound mixing was done at Finas and yes, the sound was nice. But... but... why oh why did they use a rattling snake as one of the sounds? It got annoying after a while. Do we even have rattlers in Malaysia?
The actors are not too bad in this movie, but I do think there was a bit of a problem with the dubbing. Some of the actors' mouth are not in sync with the dialogue spewed out. Who's at fault when this happens? Hmmm... Also, Aida Aris and Eizlan Yusof does not look like they could've been the parents of Liyana Jasmay. But then again, Liyana looks like a young girl, what with her being cute and petite.
And the resolving of the conflict? It's always the Ustaz right? I think Malay movies should step out of the religion comfort zone and try to think of imaginative ways to resolve the issues besides just relying on religion.
By the way, Senjakala had a nice touch with the whole Khalisa and Arman romance thingy. I mean, not at first. They had to resort to a musical montage to tell us that they are hanging out and the slo-mo scene to show that there was an attraction. But I saw what the scene was meant to be. It was meant to show that Khalisa felt the attraction of the inheritance or the saka, rather than of Arman. Look at her dead fiance for goodness sake! And then, at the end of the movie, she touched him again, before he left the room and she felt nothing. Or there was no slo-mo scene, so you know that it was the saka and not Arman. Nice one! :)
Wonder why we're getting barraged with a slew of horror movies? I think it's because most horror movies are profitable... Most... 2Alam did not make as much as its producer touted and did not even breakeven... What? 2Alam was not a horror movie? I was completely horrified when watching it, so that doesn't count? Hehheh... anyway, my colleague just showed me a 2Alam clip which was different from the one I caught at the cinema... is there two versions out? One crappy, and one decent? Hmmm...
But I digress... if you would check out Finas' website, there is a listing of movies shown since the year 2000 and the box office receipts... check out the entries for horror... most of them are profitable... in fact, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam was the top earner of 2003 with a haul of 3.2 million. Jangan Pandang Belakang got a haul of 5.778 million in 2007, making it the year's top earner.
I think, since and after 2007, there has been a lot more horror movies showing in the cinemas...
In 2010, Ngangkung beat every other movie's receipt for a total haul of 8.18 million. Just a side note, Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah raked in 7.9 million and Adnan Sempit 7.66 million in the same year. Looks like the local movie scene's getting revitalized... Shaheizy Sam's star is shining brightly, especially since his double win at Anugerah Bintang-Bintang Popular...
So, because of the box office gold, horror movies are the go-to movies if you wanna make a nice profit for your production house... right? Not that I am complaining coz I get to watch plenty of horror movies... just hope they actually make it good and not just making it for the sake of getting millions...
Anyway, the first movie out this month was Dilarang Masuk... starring Syikin Kamal (Legenda Budak Setan) and Isma Yusoof (Setem)...
My review - http://moviewritings.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-dilarang-masuk.html
"Ayu Roslan berlakon dalam movie ni ker? Dia tak cakap pun..."
The same speech was uttered when watching Legenda Budak Setan. Syikin Kamal looks exactly like Ayu, my ex colleague. Well, except maybe Syikin's face is a bit more oval. Maybe they can be sisters. :)
So this is the first horror movie to hit us in April. Dilarang Masuk. The first time I saw the title, I thought it was a movie about crossing the border illegally into a country. Did not registered at all it was a horror movie. Then I asked my colleague and he said it was horror. Great!
I got the tickets to watch it on Sunday with a friend. It's always better with a friend. So that you won't get shocked and suffer a heart attack and die alone. Hahhaha...
Went to Midvalley to watch this one. The hall was huge and it was not really a full house but it was not bare either. It's understandable because this movie came up against Hollywood giants like Rio and Source Code. I have seen both on Thursday and then Saturday so I am patriotically doing my duty in support of the local cinema on Sunday.
Dilarang Masuk tells the story of four friends who went on a hiking trip but got lost somewhere in the woods. Suddenly, they stumble upon an abandoned house where they stumbled upon two dead bodies and a loaded gun. One of them, Fatia, kept on seeing things and experiencing visions of what had happened in the house. Things took a turn for the worse when they found a stash of money in the house. Their friendship is tested between doing the right thing or taking the money for themselves. All the while, someone or something appears to be stalking them.
First of all, Dilarang Masuk is not a horror movie. It's a suspenseful movie, with horror elements incorporated into the storylines but it ain't horror for sure. Don't get me wrong. Dilarang Masuk is a fine movie. Quite enjoyable. As a thriller or a drama. But just don't clump it in the horror category.
Seriously, going in thinking it's a horror will screw up your view of the movie and you kept waiting for the ghost to pop up in the frame but none will come.
I have a few issues with the script... the dialogue is nice and all but sometimes it felt a bit stilted, like it was not real. Like no one in the real world would be speaking like that. But only in a few instances, nothing too distracting.
However, I do think that some of the dialogues are unnecessary... like for example... they have discovered the dead bodies and the gun and Fatia had been spooked by things that go bump in the evening... and yet she told them that she felt something bad had happened in the house... I know she was referring to something else, but it's kinda like a 'DUH' moment coz, dead bodies? Automatically equals Bad in my book...
The acting was not too bad here... Syikin Kamal's improved tremendously from her stint in Legenda Budak Setan where she was a bit wooden, but then again, she was required to play Lisa Surihani playing a character... which was no easy feat... and also perhaps that was her first big gig as an actress...
Isma Yusoof, who plays Ronnie, her boyfriend... had this one look permanently etched on his face the whole movie... annoyance I think it was... only softening once in a while in an attempt to display some sort of emotion... but I guess his character was written that way... not to say he was awful, but he was better in Setem...
The other two supporting characters were well done as well... Muniff Isa had nothing much to do but lust/look after Fatia... although I do think Isma Hanum's Juli was given the most layer and personality... at first she was just a meek girl, who was just Fatia's best friend, then it turned out Juli was having an affair with Ronnie... but then she was feeling guilty and tried to apologize... and then towards the end, she did a complete 180 and turned into a remorseless/guiltless person...
Hmm, speaking of which, the role reversal here do seem a bit forced... Ronnie was the jerk and he ended up a nice guy and Juli from a meek mousy girl and turning into a dominatrix... not really, but you get the point...
Somewhere towards the end, there was a scene where it seemed like everything was a dream or a hallucination... but it ended up different... which got me scratching my head till now to understand... but it would not distract from the movie... definitely a good thriller, but not a horror...
So the story goes like this... Haq is a superpowered human, something that was passed down to him from his father... shown in the flashback as telekinesis... Bad (a Malay name and not the english word) is like a brother to Haq, they grew up together but I think Bad wasn't blessed with the power that Haq has and he was jealous. His spitefulness grew exponentially when his father died and he blamed Haq's father. Bad's mother also shows affection for Haq, which drove a wedge between them. Cut to a few years later, when both of them had grown up. Bad has acquired some sort of power and using it for his own evil schemes. One of the schemes is revenge against Haq and his father.
Not bad. On paper. Execution kinda lacking. The stylish shots ie fast forward-slow motion thingy that was employed throughout the movie cheapened the effect. Once or twice should be okay... and it was used mostly to make Adi Putra seemed cool... what is this? America's Next Top Model? He kept prancing about the movie like he was sexy as hell... and what's up with the whole evil laugh thing? Is this the 70's? Reminded me, annoyingly as it may, of Austin Powers' evil nemesis, the appropriately named Dr Evil.
Take a cue from Inglourious Basterds. Or any other movie these days. Villains need not be too campy or cheesy. Quiet seething is dark and delicious enough. Unfortunately, Malay movies tend to be a bit preachy when it comes to making a villain or pointing out an evil person ie show them clubbing, boozing, doing drugs and womanizing (is there such a thing as manizing for female villains?)
And Adiputra does it all in this movie. He was boozing it up and womanizing it up like there was an expiration date on his pecker. Don't even get me started on the 'adegan ranjang' with Nanu. She's hot and all but that scene? There was nothing much going there. Guess this would be one more case of a PR gone hyper ala Dr Rozmey's 2 Alam.
Acting-wise, the girls fared much better than the boys. Raja Farah... not much was required of her but she did some subtle work though which was nice. Nanu has the meatier role, so to speak. And she did it quite well. So did Fatimah Abu Bakar.
Some things I don't get from the movie, which either was not explained in the script... or I just missed it due to the fact the dialogue was too wooden and not real. Hmm...
Raja Farah's Aina was not related to anyone I think coz she has the hots for Haq and she calls Fatimah Abu Bakar Mak Lang or something. So she's not related to Bad as well. Or at least I hope not coz then it would be weird that Bad was seducing her.
How did Haq's family get the powers? How did Bad get his for that matter? Haq's was not really a big deal but it would be nice if we get a bit of a flashback to show how they got it or even what his actual powers are. Telekinesis sure, but then, there were those blue flashes... and then he can run really fast, jump really high and have a predilection for martial arts... so maybe his powers are more than simple TK... but it was never delved into...
Bad's powers are obviously evil but how did he get it? Made a deal with the devil? What's up with him waking up from his dreams of talking to himself in the mirror with a demonic voice? Is he a pawn or someone/something? If he had masterminded the revenge, why would he wake up looking afraid? Like he was not in control of his cackling evil alter ego or something... and why did he take too long in his revenge? I mean the final fight of course... he should have gone after Haq somewhere in the middle of the movie, just to gauge how strong Haq is... but he never did, he just assumed he was stronger... and what's with the glowing balls? Is that like symbolism for something or just a blatant rip-off from Dragonball? If that is his source of power then why is he leaving it everywhere all willy-nilly?
How did Haq track down Aina when she was captured by Bad? Zahra made sense coz she called him and he could track the GPS on her expensive car I guess.
And that final battle? All that work. All that plotting. That was how it came down to? Apart from the effects, it was a bit anticlimatic. Could've benefited from a longer, drawn out fisticuff I think.
Oh, almost forgot. Haq was made out to be such a patient and good guy. Ugh. If I was him and I found out that Bad had a hand in the death of my father, I would have used my powers, tracked him down and snuff his cackling ass immediately. But that's just me...
Anyway, the movie was not all bad though... it's definitely one of those 'gray' movies... not black nor white, not good nor bad... the fight scenes were not bad, some were choreographed quite nicely actually... I get it, the actors are not martial artists but with proper training, they could easily pull it off... Adi Putra sometimes can be seen a bit faster than the choreography but other than that it was not bad...
It's a much better movie, especially elevated by the ladies' performances and the fight scenes...
I heard that there's a couple of sequels/prequels coming up. Maybe we'd get a better picture of what was happening. It's a shame something promising like this just gets flushed down the toilet like it was yesterday's poop.
I have missed quite a few Malay movies lately... either I was too busy to go see it or from a lack of interest... normally, I'd go to a preview but I haven't been to one in quite a while...
For all intents and purposes, this is not a bad movie. But it's not particularly good either. It's floating somewhere in between.
Lisa Surihani and Farid Kamil are quite talented I think and this is a walk in the park for them.
Hmm, has anyone noticed that there is a 'Hollywood' trend occurring in our cinemas? Maybe it's just a coincidence... but... Hollywood (and the film studios) always have this ongoing war and they'd produce the same crap, I mean, stories just to compete and see who comes out on top. For example, the year we got Deep Impact, we also got Armageddon. Same no? Asteroids...
This year, we've seen already the Romeo & Juliet story in Lu Pikirlah Sendiri, although I am loathed to even put the two movies in the same sentence... come to think of it, both these movies... Stilleto and Lu Pikirlah Sendiri... have the same themes and storylines... love story, poor guy struggling to make ends meet, rich spoilt princess, chance meeting, conflict, fall in love... although the ending of Stilleto is different... hmm, can't remember the ending of LPS... maybe that's a good thing...
Anyways, looking at it now... this movie has the similar feel of another Ahmad Idham film, Adnan Sempit, with the quirky characters and all... and then Adnan Sempit has several similar stuff with V3... and all these movies are produced or directed by the same people... go figure...
Cast and crew at the media preview at Mines
The director fielding media queries...
Lisa Surihani was surprised with a birthday cake by the cast/crew of the film
Lisa and Farid posing for the paparazzi
2) The dubbing... some of the voiceover work doesn't really tally with what's going on onscreen... crying sound comes on but the character's not really crying... screaming voice comes on but character's just talking... a lot of those going on... kinda annoying after a while... btw, who's in charge of the dubbing and the laying of the tracks on to the movie? Coz I dun really know whose fault this is? The producer? The director? Sound guy?
3) Some of the acting and/or voice acting really weird and overly done...
4) The ending...
Not that I am saying Niyang Rapik is unflawed, because it is... but looking at it overall, it was a decent effort... I came out from the hall feeling satisfied, rather than discontented... although some of the things that happened to them is rather bizarre and some was not really thought through to the end... in any event, I'd pay money to go see this... :)
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