Dendam Malam Kelam [Movie Review]

Dendam Malam Kelam [Movie Review] | When I heard Bront Palarae is also starring in the movie, I knew I had to give it a go.

Did it go well for Bront?

SYNOPSIS

Dendam Malam Kelam (2025) Trivia

• Starring: Bront Palarae, Arya Saloka, Marissa Anita, Davina Karamoy
• Director: Danial Rifki
• Producer: Frederica, Arif Rahman Hakim, HB Naveen
• Production Company: Falcon Pictures & Globalgate Entertainment

• Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing

• Release date: June 20, 2025
• Running time: 103 minutes
• Rating: MA
• Country: Indonesia
• Language: Indonesian
• IMDb: 7.7/ 10
• Tomatometer: NA
• Metascore: NA
• Adapted from the Spanish thriller The Body (2012), Dendam Malam Kelam adds its own chilling Southeast Asian twist and cultural depth. 
• Also known as Vengeance in the Dreary Night

The movie starts with a night guard of a morgue encounters something unusual, perhaps undead, too while doing his rounds during a blackout. The police, the forensic and the whole circus came to investigate the incident and discover that one of the corpses is missing, one of Sofia's. 

Her husband, Jefri is called to let him know about the incident and also for a routine Q&A. 

Detective Arya senses something fishy about Jefri. But it seems that his alibi is airtight. 

Turns out that Jefri and Sarah are two lovers trapped in a forbidden affair, while Jefri is still married to Sofia. Sarah wants out of the relationship unless Jefri leaves Sofia. But Jefri and Sofia had a pre-nuptial agreement that he would be penniless and divorced if caught involved in adultery. He will be back as a lecturer at the university and not as the director of a huge international pharmaceutical company if found guilty.

When lust turns into obsession, the two lovers hatch a horrifying plan, which is to murder Sofia and start fresh.

The scheme seems foolproof. The alibi is airtight. Sofia ends up dead. But when the body vanishes, Jefri is in the hot soup as all evidence points to him as the culprit behind the disappearance. 

Is Sofia the victim? Or is she the villain?

MY REVIEW

What I Like:  

• The twist at the last! Nice!
• I keep on guessing the real villain or the plot throughout the movie. 
• Good job Bront!

What I Don't Like:

• Not so much a jumpscare to my liking (just nitpicking)

Will I Watch It Again: Yes, I will.   

Overall: 4.6/ 5.0

The pictures are taken from multiple sources on the Internet. Thank you.

#DendamMalamKelam #Horror #Crime #Thriller #RawlinsGLAM #RawlinsLifestyle #MovieReviewbyRawlins