INDERA (Malaysia 2024) ****
Directed byWoo Ming Jin
Merging horror with Malaysian culture, tradition, and politics, INDERA is set against the backdrop of a real-life standoff between the government's police forces and villagers deep in rural Malaysia, where spirits and demons are as dangerous as guns and knives.
There is much to enjoy in watching the Malaysian folk horror INDERA. Especially if one has knowledge or lives in or close to Malaysia. The film makes use of folklore, natural surroundings, and political climate to effect a realistic and engrossing tale of family.
The family on display is Joe (Shaheizy Sam), a handyman doing his best to raise his young, non-verbal daughter Sofia (Samara Kenzo) in the wake of his wife’s tragic death. Penniless and evicted, he takes on the position of caretaker for an older Javanese woman (Ruminah Sidek), who claims she can help Sophia speak again. But as her unorthodox treatment progresses, Joe and Sophia begin experiencing terrifying visions that threaten their grip on reality.
For a film from Malaysia, director Woo (Malaysia has a population consisting of a majority Malays with Chinese concentrated in the towns and cities), the film boasts strong Hitchcock undertones in terms of audience participation and the use of shots and camera techniques to invoke suspense and mystery. At best, it is a searing vision of folk horror rich in traditions and culture.
Sofia is told and warned of the two rules of staying at the Javanese woman’s. No one must get close to the old hole, a well that used to be the latrine of the Javanese. The other is to ignore and not turn back when she hears her name being called..
The film’s setting is 1985 in the Lenggong Valley. At the start of the film, Joe is questioned by the local police and admonished about the current curfew. In 1985, there was a curfew in parts of West Malaysia, but it wasn’t nationwide. The curfew is due to clashes between the government and Islamic forces. This clash refers to the Memali Incident (1985), a deadly confrontation between Malaysian police and followers of an Islamic cleric, Ibrahim Libya, in Kedah. It exposed deep political and religious tensions in Malaysia and remains a controversial chapter in the nation’s history. The government wanted to prevent a similar Jalan Perijuk in Indonesia, an incident heard on the radio in the film, a major religious clash there. The Lenggong Valley setting of the film is in northern Perak, West Malaysia — a small rural town famous for its prehistoric archaeology and scenic valley.
Despite all the political and geographical relevance, the film builds the relationship between the mute daughter and her father, a strong point in engaging the audience's attention in the film. Director Woo builds the suspense and misery at an excellent pace. Though one might describe the film as a slow burn, the sense of anticipation makes the film totally engrossing, and there is never a dull moment. One also feels for Joe. He promises his dead wife that he will take care of their daughter, but he is broke and has to take work from the Javanese woman, much to the detriment of his daughter, Sofia.
INDERA is the best Halloween film this year and opens on October 31st on VOD and Digital.
Traileer:
URCHIN (UK 2025) ****
Directed by Harris Dickinson
URCHIN is the impressive directorial debut of British actor, the handsome Harris Dickinson (star of TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, BEACH RATS, and WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING) that premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard Section.
The URCHIN in the title is the modern-day definition of an urchin, usually referring to a poor, ragged, or mischievous child, often seen wandering the streets, like a “street urchin.” But the urchin in the story is 39-year-old Mike (Frank Dillane), a school dropout who goes about life like a child. When the film opens, Mike is living on the streets of London, hiding his entire belongings in a backpack behind a rubbish dumpster.
As fate has it, he is desperate for money to buy food and robs and assaults a good Samaritan passerby, resulting in his arrest and imprisonment for 8 months. A bit too much to pay for a stolen watch, he muses. When released, he meets a disinterested welfare worker who offers him a less than a year stay in a hostel, warning him that he is likely on his own after that, as he is neither disabled nor in the special need category, and would be low in priority for help. At this stage, the film looks like a Ken Loach film about social services criticism, but the film heads towards a different direction. It shows the perils, temptations, and trials that a street person with only just so much help goes through. It is a well-thought-out work written and directed by Dickinson, aided by a superb performance by Dillane, making URCHIN a superb first feature. Dillane trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (R.A.D.A.), graduating in 2013. As a child, he played Christopher Henderson in 'Welcome to Sarajevo' (Channel 4/Miramax/Dragon Pictures) directed by Michael Winterbottom. Aged sixteen, Frank played Tom Riddle in 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,' directed by David Yates.
The premise of the film reads: A young addict, Mike (Dillane), living on the streets of London, is given a shot at redemption, but his road to recovery soon curdles into a strange odyssey from which he may never escape. Mike is sober when the film opens, but falls into drugs again, beginning with trying ‘K’ for the first time.
Director Dickson gets his audience to both sympathize and then feel the complete opposite. disgust for Mike - a rare feat that he accomplishes, turning the tables a few times during the film, with credit also going to actor Dillane. The film shows that the man needs guidance, as is revealed several times in the film. Even the character confesses: “I like to be told what to do.” Even his dreams of being a manager of a chauffeur company sound not only far-fetched but an impossible goal to reach. His self-destructive nature, leading to a fallout with his romantic, short-lived relationship, also shows his childish nature. Part of the reason can be seen as a lack of fundamental education and the lack of a father figure.
Director Dickson also uses surreal images with saturated colour to depict Mike’s mental state, and once again at the film’s end.
URCHIN deservedly won the Dickinson Cannes Fipresci Prize in the United States Certain Regard Section at Cannes this year. The film opens on October 31st at the TIFF Lightbox.
Trailer:
