Possession: Kerasukan

Are you tired of watching horror movies with lame cinematography and nonexistent aesthetics? Ah, but horror movies aren't exactly a place for aesthetics, right? I suppose so. Still, in Kerasukan (2024), you at least get some noir-like elegance: the captivating femme fatale, the well-groomed and successful husband losing his mind over his wife, the men who lust after the female lead, and the poor kid caught in the middle of the adults' chaotic fiasco.

The movie starts off promising (at least, that's how I saw it in the first few minutes). You're left wondering what kind of ghost this movie is going to use. The set, the mood, the costume design- (almost) impeccable. Until the husband starts investigating why his wife is acting all cold and suddenly wants a divorce. From there, it all starts to muddle through your usual "folks-ghost" appearance, more of your usual black-magic tropes, sexual obsession, and some vague, unclear message about female dominance (is it? I'm not really sure). See what I mean? That's why it "muddles through" everything. Because the director and screenwriter seem completely lost on how to make this fit into Indonesian cinema. The background story is a mess, and it feels like it's trying to present some social issues--though maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Either way, no message comes through, and honestly, it's like the movie doesn't even bother to have any substance.

The movie tries to build a sense of mystery, but sinks beneath a script of pure inconsistency. It also tries to deliver suspense, but it drowns in empty pretense. By the time the credits rolled, I was left confused and, honestly, a little traumatized by what I'd just watched. All these visually pleasing sets, costumes, makeup, and editing are just a facade. A facade covering up the weak script and direction. If there's anything remotely redeeming about the direction, it's probably the actors' performances. At least they got some skilled actors who made this mess bearable to watch. Last, I also want to appreciate the singer who performed the main OST of this movie. She sang really well.

P. S. I haven't seen the original Possession (1981), so this review is based entirely on my personal thoughts after watching Kerasukan (2024).

Of course I had not heard about this 2024 Indonesian horror movie prior to stumbling upon it, and of course opting to watch it, as I am a huge fan of both horror cinema and Asian cinema. And despite never having heard about "Possession: Kerasukan", I needed no persuasion to check out the movie.

Given the movie's title, I must admit that I was expecting more possession styled horror and less getting a divorce drama. But alas, writers Lele Laila and Andrzej Zulawski opted to focus more on the latter, and with an insane amount of prolonged scenes of virtually nothing happening, I have to say that "Possession: Kerasukan" was an insanely boring and slow paced movie. Quite a disappointing, I will say, as I was expecting more of a traditional Indonesian horror movie.

I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but they had some talented actors and actresses on the cast list. And the acting performances were fair, despite the fact that the storyline fell short of being interesting or scary.

If you sit down to watch "Possession: Kerasukan", hoping to be in for a traditional Indonesian horror movie, like I did, you will be so very sorely disappointed.

This movie failed to entertain me, and it was a boring drama movie under the guise of being a horror movie.

My rating of director Razka Robby Ertanto's 2024 movie lands on a three out of ten stars.