Attempting to break into the local cinematic market, brothers Feisal and Iskander Azizuddin mark their debut theatrical release with their company Feisk Productions following their original production “Temenggor.” Written by the late Mohamed Kamal Amir and the subject of a massive viral campaign prior to release, “Suraya” opened in cinemas nationwide in Malaysia on 9 January 2020.
Looking to launch a new travel show, couple Adam (Amir Rahim) and his cohost Nabila (Farihin Urfiya) decide to head out to the countryside to visit the locals and their way of life away from the city. When they get lost trying to find their destination, the two find Ms. Suraya's (Ainul Aisayah) house in the countryside, where she predicts an oncoming storm will impede their travels and offers them a place to stay until it passes. Given a tour of the house with the instructions to stay out a locked room, Adam and Nabila stay with Suraya while they wait for the chance to leave, but the more they stay at her house the more they realize something isn't right with their hostess and soon enough learn the terrifying secret about Suraya that puts them both in grave danger.
Overall, “Suraya” was a pretty solid and enjoyable effort. Among the better aspects is an engaging slow-burn atmosphere from director Feisal 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 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. This is 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 setting with plenty to like about it.
With this setup in place, “Suraya” begins providing far more genuine thrills. As the focus turns to Nabila experiencing plenty of weird incidents around the house, the true motivation of this one becomes clear in the ongoing psychological strain she experiences. Trying to convince Adam 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 Suraya's bizarre attitude and behavior the longer the couple stays at the house. With how these events are shown to play on Nabila's mental state by making it seem Suraya has seduced Adam 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 “Suraya” 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 Adam and Nabila arrive at the house quickly is a plus, but the scenes of them going around the establishment looking for utilities or having dinner with Suraya 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 which 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 it falls under the film's relaxed tempo issues and ends up holding the movie back for the most part.
Featuring some enjoyable psychological elements but somewhat slow and dragging in its pacing, “Suraya” 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.
