‘Only you, forever’
Revenge of the Pontianak is a 2019 romantic horror film about a newly married couple shaken by the arrival of a vengeful Pontianak, a female ghost.
Written and directed by Glen Goei (The Blue Mansion) and Gavin Yap, the movie, which is also known as Dendam Pontianak, stars Nur Fazura, Remy Ishak, Hisyam Hamid and Shenty Felizaina.
Background:
A Pontianak is a female vampiric ghost in Indonesian folklore. It is also known as a matianak or kuntilanak, sometimes shortened to kunti. The pontianak are said to be the spirits of women who died while pregnant.
Plot:
1965, Malaysia. A small village helps Khalid and Siti prepare for their wedding day.
Soon after, great darkness falls upon the village as a string of horrific deaths and supernatural happenings create widespread fear and paranoia amongst the villagers.
The events force a confession from Khalid to a murder of a girl he made pregnant years before, now believed to have returned as a Pontianak. To kill this vengeful vampire, he rallies all the men of the village and sets out into the jungle to hunt her down. But can the village stop her?
Reviews:
” …with a runtime of just 92 minutes, it’s definitely worth giving a shot. Just don’t expect it to be a quick watch. It is very much a slowburn and feels longer than its runtime. For all its faults, I can’t argue with the fact that this is a beautiful movie.” Heaven of Horror
“The rich, stylised visuals of the film paired with acting that was mainly naturalistic created some dissonance. Sometimes, the performance laboured under the dialogue […] Revenge of the Pontianak remains an innovative take on a popular folklore character…” SINdie
” …there’s no denying that the film slides between the lyrical and the chaos. But what tops it all of is the stunning visuals […] The plot and acting, while not as stellar as the visuals, are forgivable. The plot still follows the cliché, classic tale of revenge, and although it has been given a slight update (hello, feminism), it’s subtle.” Time Out London
” …it could’ve used more frights, mischief and brio; the scare tactics employed here are on the bland side […] Save for a Predator-esque action sequence in the end, folks who are raised on the bedlam of The Conjuring and all those Korean shriek-fests might find Revenge of the Pontianak a bit muted for their liking.” Today
Release:
Revenge of the Pontianak was released in Singapore on 29th August and Malaysia on 12th September 2019. It is currently streaming internationally on Netflix.
Cast and characters:
- Nur Fazura … Mina
- Remy Ishak … Khalid
- Hisyam Hamid … Reza
- Shenty Felizaina … Siti
- Nadiah m Din … Aisha
- Namron … Su’ut Din
- Tony Eusoff … Rais
- Wan Hanafi Su … Penghulu (Village Elder)
- Nadia Aqilah … Ida
- Nik Harraz Danish … Nik
- Hasnah Hashim … Fatimah
- Idris Mat Diah … Dain
- Haslinna Jaaman … Lisa
Technical details:
92 minutes
Related:
The Pontianak has been featured in Malaysian and Indonesian films for many years:
Malaysian films:
- Pontianak (1957)
- Dendam Pontianak (1957)
- Sumpah Pontianak (1958)
- The Pontianak Child aka Anak Pontianak (1958)
- The Return of Kuntilanak (1963)
- Pontianak Musang Cave (1964)
- Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam (2004)
- Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2 (2005)
- The Scream of Pontianak (2005)
- Help Me, I’m a Pontianak (2011)
- Pontianak vs Oil Person (2012)
- The Nail of Kuntilanak (2013)
Singaporean films:
- Return to Pontianak aka Voodoo Magic (2001)
- Dendam Pontianak aka Revenge of the Pontianak (2019)
