Noob Film Review - DENDAM PONTIANAK (Revenge of the Pontianak) by Glen Goei and Gavin Yap

Synopsis

A mysterious murder of Rais (Tony Eusoff) triggers a panic situation around the village. The witch-hunt begins as all fingers are pointing towards a newly wed woman and a newcomer to the village. This has Reza (Hisyam Hamid) and Khalid (Remy Ishak) fear upon the return of a past dark episode coming for a payback.

Review

Mina (Fazura) got pregnant after her short relationship with Khalid and returns to claim responsibility. Khalid wants Mina to kill the baby but things turn bad and Khalid, Reza and Rais has no other choice but to bury Mina and put this whole episode behind them. Until Mina returns in a form of a Pontianak and looking for revenge. And to see her son (who survived the episode) for one last time.

At the start of the film, the definition of what Pontianak is shown. This is a text-book introduction of what a Pontianak is. How a Pontianak came into being and how to get rid of them. Pontianak belongs to the nusantara lore and the Malay kampung setup in the 50s, complete with ketua kampung and a bomoh. Hats off to Nam Ron who plays as Su'ut Din (bomoh).

What Pontianak really is

It is the story of bowing to lust and instead of love. Running away from your crime and sweeping everything under the carpet. Pontianak is a karma character created to come back from the dead to even the score. It is to say that you can never run away no matter how you want to hide it. Because afterlife punishment just does not scare some people enough.

And a little social commentary of how witch-hunting even persist now in today's online world. One is already guilty before they are proven innocent. People are driven to quickly burn the witch at the stake. Being a Malay and Islam does not mean anything.

What is nice about this film and Anak Perjanjian Syaitan, that the young are spared because it is never their fault. It is where the future lies and hoping that they will learn from the tales of the past and not to repeat them.
And it is on Netflix!

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