BOTTOM LINE
Thriller With a Juicy Twist
PLATFORM
NETFLIX
RUNTIME
1H 43Mins
What Is the Film About?
Jefri, a modest chemist, falls in love with the much older business baron Sofia at a conference. After early bliss, their marital life goes south. While Sofia tries to keep the marriage alive, Jefri is barely interested, for he is having an extramarital affair with a girl named Sarah. One day, Sofia is found dead at her home due to a heart attack. After another mysterious death, a sharp-witted cop, Arya Pradana, takes charge of the case.
Performances
While the film, with its racy screenplay, doesn’t offer a vast scope for actors to showcase their mettle, the cast sticks to its job without tampering with the story’s spirit. If Arya Saloka (as Jefri) teases you with his deception and nervous energy, Marissa Anita (as Sofia) transparently brings the unexpressed trauma of a woman in a dysfunctional marriage to the fore.
Bront Palarae (as Arya), in the shoes of a cop who means business and is yet to come to terms with his personal trauma, fully gets into the skin of the part. He effectively conceals the many layers of the character while still offering a palpable sense of them to the viewer. Davina Karamoy (as Sarah) is a symbol of feminine charm and intelligence in the story, performing well within the limitations of her role.
Analysis
Thrillers exist in various hues, one might unveil crucial info about the core mystery in one stretch, another teases you with hints of various versions of the incident or crime, while a few play around with multiple suspects. An aspect that unites most offerings in the genre is the choice to withhold information from the viewer and knowing the right moment to put it out in the open.
Dendam Malam Kelam does well to safeguard its mystery and keeps the viewer genuinely interested. For those unaware, the Indonesian film, now out on Netflix, is a remake of the Spanish film titled The Body, which has been adapted into multiple languages and countries over a decade and a half (including two versions in India: a Tamil/Kannada bilingual and a Hindi film with Emraan Hashmi).
Yet, it’s safe to say that the new adaptation successfully preserves the original’s vigour. The narrative, though primarily a thriller, is deceptively structured with elements of supernatural tension and mind games, building the story’s nervous energy steadily with its surefooted, yet experimental, treatment. More than a whodunit, the film is a ‘whydunit,’ leaving you restless for answers.
The premise, despite reserving the heart of the story for a somewhat rushed climax, is still expanded with taste. A security guard at a morgue dies under mysterious circumstances, and the body of an influential woman goes missing. Her husband, with suspicious credentials, comes under the scanner, while a middle-aged cop, yet to recover from a personal trauma, connects the dots.
The secret spice that holds the narrative together is the mysterious characterisation. The setup is compact, the screenplay is eventful, the narrator is generally unreliable, and the motives are consciously guarded. While there are enough hints in the proceedings to suggest that the culprit will meet his or her end, there remains an unpredictability about the modus operandi.
That the film distracts you with all its gimmicks while revealing its true colours in instalments is its greatest asset. Regardless of its experimentation with form, there’s an appreciable simplicity in the storytelling; it just wants to be a good tease and succeeds at it. The choice to unravel all its layers at one go with the ending leaves you with too much information to process at once, yet it doesn’t hinder its impact as much.
Dendam Malam Kelam is a whydunit executed with taste; the timing of the twists, technical finesse and good performances help it sail along seamlessly.
Music and Other Departments?
The background score (by Mondo Gascaro) never tries too hard to assert its presence in the film, wisely letting the anxiety in the ambience take over, thus doing its part to preserve the mood. Despite the limitations in the backdrops and the scope of the setting, Hani Pradigya’s visuals are aesthetically pleasing, without indulging in any excesses. The editing is sharp, and the tweaks to the original are commendable (holding the soul of an original that released in 2012).
Highlights?
Experiments well with the genre
Keeps you hooked with good twists, reveals
Good performances, technical precision
Drawbacks?
A few bumps in the latter hour affect its momentum
Too much is left to be said for the ending
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
A good popcorn viewing for thriller enthusiasts
Dendam Malam Kelam Netflix Movie Review by M9
