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BIFAN 2024 Film Review: Indera (2024) by Woo Ming Jin

Indera still
"What business do you have with the Javanese woman?"

Following the excellent “” Malaysian decided to move into horror territory, perhaps instigated by the recent surge of ASEAN films of the category finding their way into Netflix. His approach, though, differs significantly from the majority of them, even if kids are among the protagonists once more.

The film begins during the 70s, while Joe is traveling in his car with his pregnant wife, on a remote mountain road. Unfortunately, and expectedly, the car breaks down, and when he goes to find water to put in the engine, an accident takes place. Nine years later, in 1985, a debt-ridden Joe is raising his daughter, Sofia, on his own but eventually he is forced to leave the town they live and get a job as a handyman deep in the mountains. There, he is employed by a mysterious Javanese older woman who is living along with a number of children, while a sense of mystery seems to encompass all of them. A local cautions Joe about her, but having no alternative, he decides to stay after all. Something unusual, however, seems to lurk in the well in the area.

The story is set against the backdrop of the violent Memali Incident in 1985, when a team of 200 policemen, under orders from the Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam, laid siege to kampung (village) houses in Memali, near Baling in Kedah. The houses were occupied by an Islamic sect of about 400 people led by Ibrahim Mahmud a.k.a. Ibrahim Libya. The siege resulted in the deaths of 14 villagers and 4 policemen. The sense of danger during the aftermath of the event, and the imposed curfew in the area as much as the suspicion of the police, definitely become parts of the atmosphere here, which is also dominated by a sense of mystery and disorientation.

These two elements derive mostly from two aspects of the story. The first is the question of what exactly happened during the accident in the beginning, which Woo Ming Jing excellently reveals gradually through the film. The second is the nature of the Javanese woman and the role the kids play, which is also gradually revealed as something completely sinister, while also presenting a comment which actually permeates the movie, about how the sins of the parents torment their children.

This last element actually is the one that also dominates the relationship between Joe and Sofia, although unbeknownst to the latter. The inner struggle Joe exhibits throughout the story evidently has its roots there, with Woo eventually adding the concept of trauma and of ‘crime and punishment’, thus enriching the context even more. Furthermore, the way all the thematics of the movie come together in the finale is truly impressive, with the brutality of the events and most of all, the shocking ending, concluding the movie in outstanding fashion.

On the other hand, some delay throughout the movie does exist, while the arc that revolves around the children is somewhat cliched, and occasionally not as nicely handled as the rest of the narrative. In the economy of the movie however, even this part works, when examined as part of the whole.

Saifudin Musa’s cinematography captures the various settings in a way that adds to the sense of mystery and horror the movie emits, with the mansion and the well, being the most distinct samples. Also of note here is the fact that Woo, in contrast to the ‘rules’ of the category, decided to have most of the movie take place during the day and not in the night, in an approach that actually works quite well here. Wong Kai Yun and Yap Xhian Way’s editing result in a relative fast pace that suits the aesthetics of the movie, although as mentioned before, “Indera” would definitely benefit from some trimming.

as Joe highlights his inner struggle quite convincingly, with the scenes when the past is revealed being his highlights, as much as ‘s, who plays his wife. as Sofia concludes the acting and casting nicely.

“Indera” boasts an interesting approach to horror, taking inspiration from historical events, focusing on the atmosphere and not jump scares, and taking place mostly during the day. At the same time, it has enough elements to satisfy fans of traditional horror, in an overall quite competent effort.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

Panagiotis (Panos) Kotzathanasis is a film critic and reviewer, specialized in Asian Cinema. He is the owner and administrator of Asian Movie Pulse, one of the biggest portals dealing with Asian cinema. He is a frequent writer in Hancinema, Taste of Cinema, and his texts can be found in a number of other publications including SIRP in Estonia, Film.sk in Slovakia, Asian Dialogue in the UK, Cinefil in Japan and Filmbuff in India.

Since 2019, he cooperates with Thessaloniki Cinematheque in Greece, curating various tributes to Asian cinema. He has participated, with video recordings and text, on a number of Asian movie releases, for Spectrum, Dekanalog and Error 4444. He has taken part as an expert on the Erasmus+ program, “Asian Cinema Education”, on the Asian Cinema Education International Journalism and Film Criticism Course.

Apart from a member of FIPRESCI and the Greek Cinema Critics Association, he is also a member of NETPAC, the Hellenic Film Academy and the Online Film Critics Association.

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