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New Straits Times

#SHOWBIZ: Tragic horror story, with stellar ensemble cast

DIRECTOR Saw Teong Hin is marking a first in his illustrious, three-decade career. The man who gave us periodic drama gems such as 'Puteri Gunung Ledang The Movie', musicals such as 'Hoore Hoore', and family dramas such as 'You Mean The World To Me' is finally dabbling in horror movies, and 'Laknat' marks his entry into the scary film genre. Saw has brilliantly lined up a solid ensemble cast, headlined by strong and versatile stars such as Puteri Balqis, Aeril Zafrel and Noorkhiriah, as well as the much-revered "atuk" of TV dramas Jalil Hamid, who has bounced back from a recent illness to deliver pure gold. Rounding up the list of A-list stars are the ever-dependable Amerul Affendi who shined brightly in Aziz M. Osman's recent '6 Jilake', seasoned veterans Datin Paduka Umie Aida and Datin Sofia Jane who may have cameo roles but pack a punch, and last but not least Ismail Yaacob who is himself a veteran director and Naque Ariffin who is a respected arts academician. The film's title sounds cruel, and that reflects the cruelty of its characters as well. At the heart of it is a young man named Luth (Aeril), who is grieving over the death of his angsty but loving younger sister Laila (Puteri Balqis), whose badly bruised and bloodied body has just been found by their fellow villagers floating in a nearby river. After funeral prayers involving the entire village, the dead girl's family and the kindly local imam Pak Haswa (Ismail), the elderly man reminds Luth not to get too deep in grief lest he ends up inviting the devil into his life. The pain on Luth doubles after his father Pak Jalil (Jalil) returns home from a pilgrimage, and blames him for failing to take good care of the family's "sweet little baby" Laila. Luth slowly descends into depression, and since he misses his favourite sibling dearly, he makes a pact with the devil by consulting a black magician to communicate with her spirit. Viewers soon get to see flashbacks of Laila's interactions with Luth and the rest of the family comprising elder sister Wani (Noorkhiriah), her shopkeeper husband Nafis (Naque), Luth's seemingly loving and affectionate wife Murni (Mila Mohsin) and her good-for-nothing elder brother Taza (Amerul). Luth, who meets the bloodied, sad and vengeful ghost of Laila in his bedroom one night, gradually learns that all of them resented his late sister in one way or another, and harboured evil intentions against her. From this moment onwards, Luth and the ghost of Laila plot their revenge against their family members, but little does the married man realise that the devil will always demand his pound of flesh. Aeril is fantastic as the tormented Luth, and this character seems to be a long lost brother of his vicious and murderous character in the critically-acclaimed 'Abnormal: Buas' which was screened last year. Puteri Balqis, the go-to child star of the last decade, has truly grown into a leading lady capable of tackling dark, disturbing and mature characters, and she fits the role of Laila perfectly. It is refreshing to see the versatile Noorkhiriah returning to the big screen, having focused on talk shows and TV dramas over the last decade. She is one of the country's best actresses, and like Britain's Helena Bonham-Carter and the US' Kathy Bates, she transitions from comedienne to heroine to villainess like "water". Amerul is a little more laidback in this movie, a stark contrast to the heroic desperado Kuping whom he played in '6 Jilake', but nevertheless he is despicable as Taza. Perhaps the best discovery of this movie is Mila, the daughter of the late, great Hani Mohsin Hanafi and producer-actress Puan Sri Tiara Jacuelina Eu. Possessing the great looks of both her parents, she is a natural actress who holds her own against the veterans and A-listers, and gives Murni a "still waters run deep" persona. The movie was largely filmed at night, and the kampung locations in the districts of Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor and Tapah, Perak proved to be ideal places for horror stories. At times, 'Laknat' feels like a 1970s movie, and this is largely because its introduction and end credits have a "crackling" appearance reminiscent of horror films from that decade, as well as the underrated but well-acted 'Drama Minggu Ini' TV series back then. Saw deserves a standing ovation here, as this respected director is never afraid to experiment with various genres, and dares to tackle a horror movie with important spiritual lessons. While the story does not have a conclusive ending, and there is a high probability that Luth and Laila will be back for a sequel, 'Laknat' takes viewers on a predictable journey with satisfying results. 'Laknat' is jointly produced by Real Films and Tutan Entertainment, and distributed by D'Ayu Pictures. NOW SHOWING LAKNAT