Netflix has come up with another Indonesian horror movie that promises to thrill and chill viewers. With a runtime of 97 minutes, the film is adapted from Kuyang: Sekutu Iblis yang Selalu Mengintai by Achmad Benbela.
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Kuyang Movie Cast
Dimas Aditya, Alyssa Abidin, Putri Ayudya, Elly D. Luthan, Egi Fedly, Totos Rasiti, Luthfi Triadi, Andri Mashadi
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Kuyang Director
Yongki Ongestu
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Native Title
Kuyang: Sekutu Iblis yang Selalu Mengintai
When Bimo gets a job as a teacher in a remote village, he moves with his wife Sri in order to start their lives. However, the moment they step foot, Sri starts to get haunted by a demonic entity that wants nothing more than to lay its hands on her unborn baby.
Indonesian film Kuyang tries its level best to create a thrilling atmosphere before doing anything remotely horror-related. The bumps in the night, the dead kids in the school and whatnot – there’s a ton of atmosphere building before we get into the thrills of the film. However, with a runtime of 95 minutes, the movie not only feels stagnant but also extremely confusing.
When it comes to the storyline, the movie showcases a pregnant woman being haunted for one reason or another. It is clear that there is some tension between the couple from the first minute of the runtime and it makes for an infuriating watch when, as per usual, Bimo ignores his wife’s concerns when it comes to the village and something being amiss. Bimo, in general, is a character who has no self-preservation – in one of those classic scenes, he pokes his head into an overhead opening to check on a young girl and proceeds to scream her name. Even if horror movies did not exist, I doubt anyone, after taking in the circumstances, would make these choices. Bimo’s character becomes clear in that moment and he proceeds to be quite useless afterwards as well, leaving us feeling a kind of rage like no other.
Things pick up a little steam towards the halfway mark, mostly because we see the body-less apparition floating around more often. However, it does nothing to make us invested in the story because you know what’s about to happen. The only saving grace is Alyssa Abidin, who is fantastic as Sri. The moment she turns into a fearful demon comes out of the blue and does a great job of scaring us. It’s the first moment which does so in the movie. Other than her, there’s not much happening in the movie and neither do the characters’ motivations make sense all that much. The apparition, which should be the most shocking part of all this, is so funny to watch that it takes away any and all scares from the film.
The last few minutes of Kuyang deliver a nice twist that, although cliched, makes things a little more interesting. Although it doesn’t save the movie, which turns out to be quite boring with extremely dramatic performances, it does make it somewhat worthwhile. Putri Ayudya has a ferocious charm to her that separates her from everyone in the movie and she’s fantastic in bringing about a swift change to the vibe of the film. That being said though, the film brings nothing new to the table when it comes to characters or scares. Sure, it gives us a look at who is doing what and tries to discuss the why but there’s not enough to make us care for the characters or the situation in any way. Plus, the gore, although there, is not done practically and it shows – it looks fake from every angle.
Kuyang Review: Final Thoughts
Forgettable and thoroughly unimpressive, Kuyang‘s last few minutes save it from being an all-around debacle without any scares. However, maybe it’s too little too late and leaves us feeling unsatisfied in all sorts of different ways. The battle of the heads is hilarious though.
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