Death Whisper

Don't go see this movie. Don't. Especially if you loved the original Korean version. This movie is a huge joke.

This film is a loose remake of the well-known 1999 Korean classic, Whispering Corridor. Well, it's not really a remake because the storyline is different apart from the recurring theme of bullying. The 1999 film involves a more mature and interesting plot while this one is a bit too predictable.

Sunyi has been marketed in cinema since end 2018 until the release non stop with the direct notion that this film is a remake of Park ki hyung's Whispering Corridor. While the aesthetic of the trailer is promising, I still doubt how Awi Suryadi (best known for Danur, but I am a big fan of his early romcom works) and the writers can manage to fulfill the expectation for those who love the original film.

Seniority is a devoted tradition to a famous and exclusive Abdi Bangsa High School, which classifies the freshmen as 'slaves,' the sophomores as 'person,' and the senior as 'king.' Alex, the new freshmen of the year 2000, getting bullied after he encounters a problem with the sophomore's gang. Along with the apparition of three ghosts that rumored died because of bullying, the gang's members start to terrorized and died. Helped by Maggie, another freshman who he attracted to, Alex has to know the mystery behind the terror before everything's too late.

While I am a fan of the original one, I must say this movie able to being different yet faithful to the original version. For example, the ensemble cast narration in the original entirely switched by the first-person narrative. It's highly useful for me because it keeps the movie's plot stays simple, and the audience doesn't have to be confused. Like other Suryadi's horror works, the movie also explores many buildups and jumpscares. All ghosts here aren't that scary, but some of the buildups are memorable (ultimately the swimming scene), really have to be appreciated. One of the strongest points of this movie surprisingly comes from the cast who stays in character. Most of the scenes aren't that challenging, but they manage to keep their role until the end, could make us empathized, and also relatable. Also, the usage of the cinematography with cool landscape exterior shot and spinning camera movement complete the ambiance of the movie. Those things able to makes me stays tune even though I already know the plot.

Now to the things that I not quite love; is this 'bullying is bad' theme that heavily used by the movie. I know the movie's message is that, but the ending is like a preaching scene for me. Quite different than the violent nature of the movie, the end seems so underwhelming and soft. The contrast between both bother me until the last scene. At the same time, the difference also makes the climax isn't that enjoyable, because of the twist, climax, and the ending shares almost the same three minutes, which is for me, not enough to build effect to the end. I think it would be better if the climax scene is more violent and prolonged.

I recommend it for someone who likes K-Horror or decent Indonesian horror movie. It's undoubtedly a refreshing attempt and successfully effective to be scary without being shadowed by the original movie. It has flaws like the others, but knowing that most of this company's horror filmography is not quite my cup of tea, Sunyi makes me want to anticipate another horror movie or the remake.

Nice scoring, nice cinematography, especially in camera angle. One of the flaws is how the school atmosphere showed, too quiet.

Arriving at a new school, a new student finds himself targeted by an older class of students and bullied as a rite of passage, but when he soon begins to notice the ghosts of three former students believed to have died as a result of bullying he teams up with a fellow classmate to investigate the ghosts.

This one turned out to be an effective remake. Part of the film's effectiveness is the rather striking work for the ghost haunting scenes as these are the hallmark of the genre. The opening attack in the school's swimming pool gets this off to a nice start, while a seance scene that remarkably doesn't go awry feels incredibly tense and eerie. That the majority of the scenes that follow tend to focus on longer, more drawn-out suspense helps greatly. These scenes are given a touch of class as a result, focusing on the eeriness that something's not right with the situation that is matched incredibly well with the brutality of the kill scenes as the ghosts' terrifying sudden appearances at the end of these well-done and chilling setups a great combination between these elements. As well, the film also manages to bring awareness to the topical themes of bullying. That we're introduced to this immediately with the arrival at the new school and their treatment of not just him but others in his class provide real depth to the situation. Once the group sees that Alex's he's the perfect target to pinpoint because of his weakness, this allows them to start forcing crueler treatment on him by going through the seance or the embarrassment faced with trying to make an impression on her. Once the ghosts begin to get involved and their torment eases off in favor of them looking into the ghosts' history, the sweet bond they share together through their shared experiences gives those bullying scenes a real meaning. Showing how much better it is to deal with the situation when there's someone else to share with and grow stronger makes for a nice counterpoint to the bullying. Despite the gang leaders' attempts to continue bullying them, that they stand together gives them the strength to overcome and solve the mystery with the ghosts helping to finish it off, giving this one a lot to like overall. Still, there are a few problems with this one. Among the problem here is the cliched storyline that revolves around tired cliches and unsurprising setups. Transplanting the original storyline of the bullied newcomer who develops a burgeoning friendship with a fellow student to solve a ghostly murder spree occurring around them comes off as wholly unoriginal and not that scary. Despite the care given to the suspense and haunting scenes, the storyline is a pale imitation of countless others that are based on the same concepts of the ghosts coming back to seek revenge on their deaths with the new bullies. Likewise, the bullying here is quite odd in that the behavior is allowed or even outright encouraged by the administration without any attempt to stop it feels incredibly off-putting. That the social system in place encourages name-calling and mistreatment on the younger students simply through tradition sets a distressing formula that tries to be rectified by the finale. However, that comes off as preachy and way too little too late to course-correct, ending this on a weak note and being this one's real flaws.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.