REVIEW: PENANGGAL - Malaysia

Gonna review another local Malaysian filem. This time it revolves around the supernatural genre. Most horror movie genre in Malaysian cinema is done very comedic or slapstick. This one is a dramatic tale on a famous myth. The movie is titled Penanggal. The titled is loosely translated as "the person that can detach" but in the context of this film, it refers to the ghost which can detach its head from the body and float around. The Penanggal is known to prey on female victims who are pregnant.

Penanggal is directed by actress-turned-director Ellie Suriaty Omar. It stars Fasha Sandha, Ummi Nazeera, Azri Iskandar, and Zul Ariffin. It is a joint venture production between the two biggest film distributors in Malaysia; Grand Brilliance and Tayangan Unggul (under the name Astro Shaw). Here's the trailer.

Will this film excite the horror in me? Do read on.

The beautiful Ummi Nazeera in the lead role as Murni (bottom right)

SYNOPSIS:
After being cursed to be a Penanggal, a young lady name Murni roams and terrorizes a village while hiding out at the outskirts of the forest. Several years later, a young merchant named Yusof discovers Murni and got more than he bargained for.

Azri Iskandar as Yusof discovers Ummi Nazeera who plays Murni in the river.

SCRIPT:
Mediocre and sporadic. Despite a good start, it did not sustain much interest in explaining the story. Audience beside me were constantly asking "what happened" when the scenes were changed. This is not a good sign. The ending was anti-climactic. I am still baffled as to why the script needs to alternate between Bahasa Malaysia and the Arabic language.

Zul Ariffin and Fasha Sandha sharing a scene.

ACTING:
Stagnant. The only exceptional point is Ummi Nazeera as Murni. I liked her acting and she brought the character to life. Couldn't say much about the supporting cast. Azri Iskandar tried his best and worked well in some scenes. Fasha Sandha gets top billing in the film but she is in the film for barely 20 minutes (why???).

Zul Ariffin and Azri Iskandar driving a classic car.

FILMING:
The only plus point of this film. High praises from me. Nice cinematography in terms of choice of angles and colour. The make-up effects for the ghostly appearances were well done. Nice props and location choices which is a good addition to the eerie haunting feeling. Visual effects was not too bad.

Ellie Suriaty directing Ummi Nazeera as Murni

PACING:
Too slow for my liking despite a good start. It is more a drama than a horror.

TONE (MOOD):
Dark drama of a ghost trying to salvage what is left of her soul.

Love this shot for the film. Looks like a visual effect but it is not. Filmed on a slower film rate.

DOWNSIDE:
More of a drama than horror. Awkward script structure which some might find uninteresting.

UPSIDE:
I like the efforts the production team and director did to make it haunting and exciting. Only one or two scare moments. Basically, that is it.

Villagers trying to fend off the Penanggal ghost.

OVERALL:
High praises for production value but low marks for everything else.

RATING:
6 out of 10.