“SINI ADA HANTU” Movie Review. (Here got GHOSTS). So YOU don’t BELIEVE in GHOSTS? Then you ‘MATI’ lah, sure DIE!

A DOUBLE VISION & ASTRO SHAW Joint Production

75% in MALAY language and 25% in CANTONESE dialect.

Film Director JAMES LEE’s VISION:

“MALAYSIA is a colorful country with a diversity of cultural backgrounds. And I see it befitting to create a film – in the true MALAYSIAN way, showcasing the folklore and the ghostly tales … the way I see it.”

MALAYSIAN FILM “SINI ADA HANTU” (HERE GOT GHOSTS!) PRESS PREVIEW

To put it mildly …..

I wasn’t expecting anything wondrous from this preview.

At first.

I just moved in with the flow.

Art-house sensibilities are out of my realm and not my area of specialty.

This is because Malaysian film director JAMES LEE is touted to be a trendsetter of the artsy stuff,

and I cannot comprehend how an art house flick can strut horror at its bloodiest best, displaying gory butchery and vampirism.

But I was wrong to harbor this notion.

Very wrong, in fact.

Malaysian film “SINI ADA HANTU” (Here Got Ghosts!) is a spooky-cum-scream-out-loud thriller that delivers incredible surprises.

It’s one hardcore commercial buff that will have you glued to the edge of your seat to a heart-stopping ending with a truly wicked twist.

Splendid acting, one devine script, the director’s well-researched detailed treatment serve to put this film one up against horror features from neighboring countries.

“SINI ADA HANTU” is this good.

I always believe in the power and the stories, so let’s first delve into the main plot:

Two blurry-eyed drivers AH MENG and BAKRI take a late-night job to deliver a corpse in a Chinese style coffin to a derelict village far away from town.

Along the way, they share spooky stories of the macabre to refresh their energy, to keep them awake.

From BAKRI comes a superstitious folklore of “THE BANANA TREE SPIRIT” about a mysterious but beautiful temptress who seduces men in their sleep and drinks their blood.

AH MENG continues his part with his version of four desperado buddies “HANTU NOMBOR EKOR” who are out to tempt fate, to seek spiritual guidance from dead spirits as a hapless means to solve their financial woes. Murder, plunder and scary mayhem follow and everyone meets his just desserts.

BAKRI follows with the third vignette “HANTU ASRAMA” about a haunted university where the hungry, roaming spirits of dead Japanese soldiers dwell. This university is sited on a piece of land once occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War Two.

Then the van suddenly breaks down and an apparition is sighted.

It is right inside the van, behind the two drivers!

More …..

BAD THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON.

“SINI ADA HANTU” beckons that, as human beings, we must always bear a conscience over our own doings.

It demonstrates that GHOSTS live and kill deep in the dark, and they lurk within the deepest abyss of our minds.

That every secret is potent and can take on a life of its own.

ALVIN WONG who plays AH MENG and BAKI ZAINAL as BAKRI excel in the acting department.

They are excellent performers, a rare find in the Malaysian entertainment landscape which is known to be favoring pretty boy faces over fine character actors.

“SINI ADA HANTU” is a multicultural potpourri of ghost tales put forward with a wonderful supporting cast.

It will chill your blood and make you want to sleep only with the lights on.

It’s TWO THUMBS UP for this one.