Introduction
Possession: Kerasukan is an upcoming Indonesian psychological horror film set to premiere in 2024. Directed by Razka Robby Ertanto, this film is a loose reinterpretation of the 1981 cult classic Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession. Its modern retelling shifts the original’s surrealistic and emotional horror to an indonesian setting. This adaptation is unsettling and deeply immersive while tackling complex issues, including marriage and mental health, spiritual possession, and female empowerment. The film’s haunting narrative and powerful performances mark it as one of the more ambitious attempts in contemporary Indonesian horror cinema.
Overview of the Plot
The movie starts with Faris, a soldier, returning home to reunite with his family after an extended national service. Faris expects to be welcomed back to a warm reunion with his wife, Ratna, and their young son Budi, but is instead met with the unexpected shock that Ratna wishes to divorce him.
Faris struggles to cope with such a bewildering reality which is in stark contradiction to his expectations. He feels confused and mortally hurt trying to make sense of her shift. Further investigation reveals Ratna’s behavioral patterns to be erratic, emotionally volatile and distant. While uncovering what he suspects to be infidelity, Faris discovers much more than just a simple case of marriage gone south. Often, Ratna exhibits signs of case far more sinister and troubling than what is being presented – intermittent loss of consciousness, unexplained scars, violent mood changes, and disturbing vacancy teetering on supernatural possession.
The achieving of Faris’s goals becomes even more difficult with the additional tensions building up in the house. Mita, Ratna’s assistant, does not make matters better with her flirty attitude and subtle ways of getting what she wants. On the other hand, Budi, the couple’s son, continues to suffer and become more and more chaotic because of the disarray disorder in his is family.
Faris resorts to asking help from Toni, a self-proclaimed spiritualist, who tells him that it seems like Ratna is under a curse like the influence of a very powerful evil spirit soul. In addition to dealing with his emotional shortcomings and past failures as a husband, Faris blinding has head meets the harsh truth of the world, the sheer thought that his wife, outwardly a sane person, is likely a victim of some incomprehensibly malevolent possession.
And attempting the balance of chaos and reality created by decaying love, horror, and disordered madness is not just a story filled with the supernatural, but a psychological examination where one characterable examines the unresolved matter of true madness and reality in absolute difference.
Casts, Characters, and Roles
Darius Sinathrya as Faris: This is the heart of the film, an emotional core that the movie revolves around and a showcase of a character who vividly goes through suspicion, torment and fear of the unknown. For my part, it is the most frightening depiction of someone trying to hold all the pieces together, bring his family back, make things appear normal, keep his sanity, and above all keep them all safe from supernatural horror that becomes real.
Carissa Perusset as Ratna: As a woman disconnected from her old self, Perusset captures a remarkable performance. She shifts from tenderness to fury, seductiveness, and blank terror, portraying the supernatural and psychological dimensions of her state.
Sara Fajira as Mita: Adding an ambiguous note to the plot as Mita, who is Ratna’s assistant, Fajira alters the tension with her performance that is a blend of worry and scheming. Her encounter with Faris adds complexity and suggests ulterior motives.
Arswendy Bening Swara as Toni: Swara’s role as a traditional healer brings forth the spiritual angle of the film while grounding it in possession and healing belief systems of Indonesia.
Nugie as Wahyu: Nugie portrays a man suspected to be Ratna’s lover, Wahyu, who serves as a red herring in the story. His calm and mysterious presence further complicates the trust surrounding Faris’s investigations.
Sulthan Hamonangan as Budi: Hamonangan portrays the young son caught in the middle of the chaos, delivering a tender and deeply resonating performance that adds intensity to the film’s escalating horror.
Themes and Interpretation
Although Possession: Kerasukan utilizes supernatural themes as part of its narrative, its true horror lies in emotional fragmentation and personal trauma. A number of central themes arise from this:
Possession as a Metaphor: The film straddles the fine line between actual demonic possession and a psychological breakdown. Ratna’s symptoms can be interepreted in a soft, spiritual or emotional manner, suggesting the pervasive opponent to her will is far more suffocating and deforming than any spirit is likely to be.
Patriarchy and Suppression: In madness or possession, Ratna can be interpreted as the ‘victim’ on the receiving end of prolonged periods of low emotional neglect. The violent change she undergoes is simultaneously a plea for help and an act of defiance against the socially imposed gender norms.
Faith and Traditional Healing: The healer’s involvement highlights a wider context of deep mystical and folk medicine, characteristic of Indonesia. The film does not mock or sensationalize these practices; rather, it blends them into the narrative while treating them with the seriousness they deserve.
Isolation and Emotional Distance: Faris’s prolonged absence, as well as his failure to connect, depicts a more serious problem – the fact that being physically present does not equate to being there emotionally. His efforts to reconnect are puzzling, and so is the idea that he is only trying to save her, when in reality, he is battling his own guilt.
Cinematography and the Atmosphere
The aesthetics of Possession: Kerasukan are pervasive and set within tight frames which reflect the film’s psychological stress, which shows mood and a sense of claustrophobia. Ical Tanjung, the film’s cinematographer, uses tight interior captures to showcase Ratna’s psychological imprisonment along with Faris’s escalating paranoia. Scenes in the family home which were previously pleasant and bright, gradually become darker as the haunting intensifies.
He employs shadows, mirrors, and practical effects to create a pervasive sense of discomfort without relying on jump scares. The horror within the film unfolds slowly, rather than exploding into frenzy, and is character-driven rather than reliant on external marvels. Rather, the director, Razka Robby Ertanto, prefers to cultivate unease over sheer surprise, and the film feels drenched in dread throughout.
Reception
Critics have lauded the film, particularly highlighting the performances of Carissa Perusset and Darius Sinathrya, as well as the film’s bold attempt at psychological horror set in an Indonesian sociocultural context. Some viewers hoping for a more straightforward narrative may find the pacing slow, laden with metaphors, while others have considered these elements mature and ambitious for the film’s storytelling.
Possession: Kerasukan has also gained recognition for its unorthodox approach to genre. Rather than simplistic conclusions, the film offers no easy answers, choosing instead to leave viewers feeling disturbed and pondering the essence of the horror showcased within.
Conclusion
Possession: Kerasukan is much more than just a horror film concerning demonic entities. It is a profound, and at times, a heart-wrenching study of marital conflict, women’s subjugation, spiritual anguish, and the erosion of emotion. It combines psychological distress with the uncanny and offers a disturbing experience that one cannot easily forget.
For admirers of tragedy and horror, as well as those in search of intellectual profundity, Possession: Kerasukan provides an unnerving excursion into the abyss within the human spirit and the cosmos that surrounds us.
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