Review : Sini Ada Hantu

Film : Sini Ada Hantu (2011)

Director : James Lee

Producer : Gayatri Su-Lin Pillai

Cast : Alvin Wong,Baki Zainal,Fasha Sandha,Beto Khusairy,Pete Teo,Eira Syazira,Kuswadinata,with Patrick Teoh and Mano Maniam.

Language : Malay,Cantonese,a little Hakka,Japanese and Tamil

Running time : 98 mins

We Malaysians are unbelievably obsessed (some possessed as well :p) with horror films.Any horror film of any language is a staple diet for the average local film goer,be it Korean,Japanese,Indonesian and especially Thai,they lap it up like streaming hot chocolate !

Lately,there's a frenzy on local horror comedies,judging by the very recent phenomenal success of Ngangkung and Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah,both grossing more than RM7.5 mil,a feat never achieved by any other local film ever before.Those figures says a lot about the taste of the majority.

Enter James Lee,a force to be reckoned with in the independent circle into the scene.With one horror film under his belt,Histeria,he's back to serve us this.Marketed as a ' potpourri of popular local ghost stories',i went in expecting a peek-a-boo laughfest of a horror film like the two above-mentioned hits and started out something like one too.Lee picked two relatively unknown actors,Alvin Wong (Chinese) & Baki Zainal (Malay) to play the leads,as van drivers working in a company owned by Rama(Indian),establishing the 1Malaysia right from the start as a noble attempt to truly Malaysia-nise the film.

The plot is simple.The two are forced to deliver a coffin to the deceased's house on a last minute assignment by the boss with triple pay benefits,an offer the two find too hard to refuse hence they agreed.As an effort to stay awake,the two began belting out a series of ghost stories,popular ones as per their respective cultures which would otherwise turn to be a boring chilly night journey.

We are then taken into three ghost stories within the film,'Hantu Pokok Pisang',Hantu Nombor Ekor' and 'Hantu Asrama',each representing a popular folklore,with the real-time journey serving as the fourth story.Sufficient research was done for each segment and the performances from most of the cast was good except a few who simply wasn't 'there'.( spoilers ahead !).By trying not to reveal much,i'd say the all three ghost stories are good,with my personal favourite being the second,backed by Pete Teo's man in crisis act,and then there's the climax of the third story in the dorm's toilet which was really very well-done.Rounding of my favourite scenes is the best of all,the 10 minutes plus climax where the two leads displayed great comic timing with excellent facial expressions which pretty much salvaged the film from being slumping into the mediocre slot.

The pace and feel of the film is typical of other James Lee films,unfolding relaxedly but never to the extent of challenging the audience's patience although at times it was a tad too draggy.Being a horror film,the lighting was as expected,brooding and 'cold',the third narrated story displaying the best utilization.The dialogues were uneven though,the best chunk( and most )of it between the two leads,who deserve a special mention here for their fresh and natural tongue-in cheek performances which really delights the screen,especially in the above-mentioned delighting climax which drew roaring laughter from the audience.The utilization of music was mostly appropriate although at times it felt out of place and a little too loud.One thing which really let me down was the under-usage of the veteran big-names especially Patrick Teoh,i really expected more of him here and it could've been done actually.

Overall,i'd say this is a respectable effort,considering James' vision of making this is a truly Malaysian horror fest,and with a budget of half a million ringgit,the result is an entertaining piece of local cinema with strong moral values ingrained appropriately.

Rating : B

Reviewed by

Amreish Siman