The basic premise is that a mother (Ranti) is forced to marry a demon in order to cure her daughter. Of course, this is a bad idea. But the film does a good job of explaining why she resorted to such an extreme measure.
For whatever reason, this film immediately opens with a pivotal sequence. I understand they did this to intrigue people. But I think it's a mistake. They should have started with the scene that comes after. It explains how her life is and how she doesn't get much support. Especially, from her husband. Thankfully, she does have a good friend in Gita (Arla Ailani Muchtar), her sister-in-law. Her husband's family are awful to her. Her mother-in-law keeps complaining and bitching how she doesn't do anything right, even when she does the most work. She sells precooked chickens on the market, she does the chores in the house, takes care of everyone in the house (also money wise). God forbid, she would ask someone else in the family to do something for her while she is running errands. It's even more aggravating when you see how lazy and useless other family members are. Siti, who is pregnant, is not that lazy, but she is very hostile towards Ranti. And there is absolutely no reason for her to be like that.
Then tragedy occurs and Ranti needs money for her daughter's surgery. None of them are willing to help out. They explain, they can't because they don't have the means. Although, it's implied, they do have the means, but aren't willing to share. Out of despair, Ranti goes to the woman who offered her a good deal, which of course will have dire consequences. Immediately after the ritual, she sows the rewards. Not only has her daughter been saved from dying, she also can walk again. However, it's here when Ranti is starting to change. And it's here where the film starts to have some major pacing issues. I get that they were trying to increase tension. Only, in my opinion, they failed to do that. It's too obvious something is wrong with Ranti. When you do these possessions kind of films, subtlety is important. Ranti looks and acts pretty evil throughout. And it doesn't help that when family members have been brutally murdered, grandma asks everyone to keep things quiet. Why? She says, she doesn't want the people to know. Yeah, so? It's one of the most stupid reasons I have ever heard. Mind you, it could be a case of appeasing the demon and that she was afraid of what was going to happen. You would then think, they would do their best to seek help. It's here where the film really fails. They realized black magic was used. Instead of getting a professional, they went to their neighbour, who told them to pray. Such a laughable suggestion when dealing with demons, but they listen and do relatively nothing. They should have done so, since that would have made events more compelling. I don't think it's particularly interesting when you know how events are going to turn out. All the blood and gore in the world is not going to compensate for that.
The film ends with a predictable cliffhanger ending and makes you realize, you wasted a lot of precious time. The biggest problem I have is that the film is not scary. It fails to build up proper tension and dread. It easily could have replaced filler scenes with scares or terror. The few scenes that are close fail to deliver by the way people react to them. The husband sees something vile happening and he does nothing. These people are so passive. I already thought that most family members deserved what they got. After that scene, he definitely deserved it. Overall, not one I can recommend.
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