Stumbling upon the 2012 Indonesian horror/thriller "Belenggu" (aka "Shackled") by random chance here in 2023, of course I opted to sit down and watch it. I had never heard about the movie, not that it mattered, and with it being an Asian horror movie that I hadn't already seen, of course my interest in the movie was caught.
However, writer and director Upi Avianto delivered a movie that fell short of entertaining me. The narrative and script was simply a bit too confusing, erratic, surreal and chaotic for my liking. It was sort of like watching an Asian version of a David Lynch movie, so if you enjoy his style of directing and movies, then "Belenggu" might be something for you.
The acting performances in "Belenggu" were fair. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble, given my somewhat limited exposure to the Indonesian cinema. But they had a good cast ensemble, and the actors and actresses did put on good performances, despite of the storyline not appealing to me.
Visually then "Belenggu" was okay. It was not a movie that made use of CGI, but relied on practical effects. The effects were adequate and served their purpose well enough.
I wasn't particularly impressed or entertained by "Belenggu", but it was a semi-watchable movie, albeit a rather forgettable one for me. As such, then my rating of "Belenggu" lands on a four out of ten stars.
