Munafik 2

While the scary parts were actually very scary, it is quite unfortunate that the director/scriptwriter had to infuse his own flavor of political Islam into the batter, leaving the final product to be a tad too unpalatable for its market audience from more diverse backgrounds.

This film is the pinnacle of sanctimony and racial chauvinism; comes even with a supernatural force that claims to profess the Jewish religion and culture. That was exactly the point when I began to disassociate from the film's cluttered ethos, and henceforth only focused on the horror aspects.

Dear Syamsul Yusof, nobody comes to see a horror movie only to listen to a religious sermon. There's nothing wrong with some Islamic education in a movie but this one was just a bit too in-your-face, and Islam did not win new followers because this film alienated this segment of the audience away from it.

Plot wise, it was ridiculous that a cult leader of deviant islamic teaching could rise to such great height with nary a pushback from neighboring villages from the get go. That a woman so lusted after by the villain could keep her distance at such length for that long. That the personal space kept by the entranced chanters could be so mathematical. This storyline just beggars belief from multiple angles.

Oh well, still enjoyable though, if you could suspend your disbelief to a fatter ranger.

"Munafik 2" is a Malay language supernatural horror movie that was released in 2018. It is the second part of the trilogy. The third is coming on its way. This film became the highest-grossing local film in Malaysia.

"Munafik" refers to a person who is a hypocrite. It's a purely Islamic horror flick. There are many references from Quran and Hadith in this movie. The story of this film is connected with the first part. But if you haven't watched the previous part, there won't be any such problem to understand.

Abuja wants to divert the faith of villagers from Islam and forces them to follow his teachings. If anyone denies following his path, he tortures the person with his black magic. Sakinah, daughter of the Imam of the village asks for help from a preacher to save her family from the devil. Adam who already cluttered himself in his thoughts agrees to help Sakinah and the villagers from Abuja.

Syamsul Yusof is the director, producer, and male protagonist in this film. He is indeed a talented person. Camera work is impressive but the editing is extremely poor. I found the treatment dramatic. The jumpscares are predictable.

If you want to watch a horror movie at midnight inside a dark room then you would find this movie scary. Otherwise, "Munafik 2" is good for a one-time watch.

A sequel from the first Munafik (2016), this movie have a lot of positive feedbacks from viewers. I took my chance to watch this movie in cinema yesterday and I must admit that Munafik 2 is a good movie. The cinematography in this movie didn't dissapoint me, it's quite good for most of the scenes. For storyline, it does contain a lot of messages and references but there are 2 or 3 plot holes that make me questioning myself until today. At first you will confuse for a while about the timeline in this movie but you will understand the story better later on. I like the background music in this movie because it suits the movie very well and I hope in the future, Malaysian film will have a Malaysia version of "Hans Zimmer". I also like the horror elements and most of the horror elements is unpredictable. I suggest that you watch this movie and share your views with us.

Munafik = Hypocrite

The original installment made grossing history of collecting approximately RM 20 million which is a big leap at that time in Malaysia and its neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Singapore, two and a half years later comes the awaited sequel everyone has been longing for. It is as if you still haven't gotten the idea, Munafik 1 is known to have been the scariest, if not the best horror movie of 2016 in the continent of Asia. Will Munafik 2 live up to its success or will it fall down the dread hole eaten by its own hypocrisy of turning this into a cash-grab movie?

The sequel takes on a heavier and wider approach than the predecessor and that shows the maturity of the progress made for a better film and it pulls off successfully well.

Syamsul Yusof, the director, actor, editor and etc of Munafik 2 (Donald Glover's Malaysia, variety of talents) proves it again that he can break the tire and dire formula of horror films where the first act of the movie is the little to no scariness and lots of draggy parts for merely character developments while the audience thinks if they are watching a horror film or else but this guy... he does it by starting the movie with lots of scares that would make some of you at the edge of your seat not preparing for the demons to appear at all. He will leave you in the hall breathless since the very beginning.

The energy in this movie is so strong and vigorous that constitutes from one effective scene to another which consequently makes your adrenaline rush and sends shivers down your spine. It sends off electricity that gets you nerving and keeps your eyes peel on the big screen. You'll be excited to know more of what's gonna happen next.

How shocked was I when I saw how brilliantly they worked on the technical aspect. The cinematography and lighting are top-notch, I was in awe with the unique inclined camera angles, the blue-green eerie atmosphere and the precision that it takes to construct such creativity to make it sing with the territory of this being a horror film.

My hat tips off for the excellent use of sound effect because this is probably the first Malay movie I solemnly think that is qualified to compete its sound mixing and editing with Hollywood. Plus, the music is paralleled to how the scenes are emotionally portrayed, means that if a scene ought to make you terrified, then the music builds up to its terror.

Syamsul Yusof and Maya Karin have the spotlight for Munafik 2. Syamsul's acting is getting better and better each time, he now knows how to make those nuances of expressions on his face and he plays Ustaz Adam in a very believable way. Maya Karin was in hiatus for a long time in the filmmaking industry, she plays as Sakinah, a woman in distress of having to defend herself and her family from the hypocrite Abu Jar played by Nasir Bilal Khan, as he and his followers is trying to manipulate into seducing her to commit apostasy with his misguided religious teachings. She is good in playing the role except sometimes, I expected her to be better because she could be but she's a bit lacking this time unlike her acting in Pontianak: Harum Sundal Malam. The others also contributed great performances.

Believe it or not, I shed tears as the movie comes to a closed credit, it is so hard these days to find a horror film with true powerful good meanings being thrown at us all the time. I love the core values this movie has given us especially when I was sensing the plot is taken bits by bits from Islam's Prophets' ideal stories. Albeit the climax is quite similar to the first, but the message is sublime and the last minute wraps it as a perfect ending.

The negative thing is that there are a few of unintentionally funny moments emerge throughout as the messages do get transmitted to the audience smoothly like a bullseye however, a slight awkwardness comes along because they go over-the-top at achieving something new but bizarre attempts.

Furthermore, a lot of twists and turns happen which most of them are unexpected and great, but there is one particular twist that I totally did not see it coming which should be good in general but I hated it because of lack of rational explanations and of the same reason, the excessive and exaggerated degree of the twist itself.

Verdict: It's a rollercoaster ride from the starting point 'till the finishing line. This is the true definition of a horror movie and a rare one in a good way as it flood with a full spectrum of emotions. Simply crowns as the best Malay and horror movie of 2018 and possibly my top 10 movie this year!

92/100

Well I don't really enjoy horror movies because of the faint heart. I don't even watch the prequel. This is really memorable movie for me. Can't wait for the third installation. I watched the Nun afterward, and it is mediciore at best.