The fine people of Indonesia don’t
cut their sandwiches in half. You may find that hard to believe. I did. In
fact, despite how much weird stuff Elang sees during Shackled, the sight of the
neighbours shoving whole slices of bread and filling into their gobs is the most
irregular. Maybe it says more about the movie than I thought.
Psychological thriller Shackled
(aka Belenggu), by female director Upi, attempts a David Lynch style murder mystery.
It opened the Terracotta Festival’s Horror All-Nighter jointly presented with
Film4 FrightFest in June. The story follows Elang (Abimana Aryasatya), already
haunted by images of bizarre murders involving a killer with a rabbit costume. Think
Frank from Donnie Darko, only a bit less monstrous, and a little bit silly.
Elang's efforts to solve the mystery
and save the lives of those he thinks are in danger have trapped him in a
downward spiral. He becomes a suspect. The mysterious rabbit figure does not.
Hopping mad, he tries to tell the world about his theory but no one believes
him. In proving his innocence, he will be forced to unveil a horrible and
long-buried secret. Not involving sandwiches.
There’s plenty to enjoy during
the first hour of this thriller. The opening five minutes are wonderfully
bizarre, offering enough questions to keep you interested for a large chunk of
its running time. The backwater locale, nutjob locals with intriguing habits, a
pretty girl next door, and an uncouth lead performance from Aryasatya add weight
to an already absorbing mystery.
There’s little in the way of syrupy
chaos, especially in the second half, but the riddle makes up for it, and will
help you forgive the director for making her lead more and more unlikeable as
the movie goes on. Other characters fare better, and its these established
players that hold the film together, up until the midway point when we’re
introduced to a couple of useless detectives.
Before this misstep, however,
there is a superbly tense scene involving our costumed rabbit throwing knives
at the girl next door, and an out of place, but extremely welcome slice of
brutality involving a brick to the head. The femme-fatale is a bit kooky too. Although, if someone ever said to me, "Thank you. Fate has brought us together," after knowing me for one evening, you wouldn't see me for dust.
Basically, now would be the time to turn off. It takes an eternity for the
detectives to solve a fairly straightforward case, and the entire cast seem to
be tainted by the same monotony engulfing the viewer. With a suspicious past finally
arousing our intrepid detectives, you can’t help but wonder how Elang has been
getting away with everything for so long. Is he mental? Is he insane? Is he
innocent? Why don’t they cut their sandwiches in half? With Elang banged up, the threat is gone. The suspense disappears
with the bunny.
Seasoned horror buffs will find
little to excite them, while most will just lose interest and let their minds
wander instead. I started thinking about Christmas. All in all, a shame,
because Upi has created a bleak but beautiful world, with some eye-catching
imagery to tease the senses. For a while it feels like The Shining. Then it becomes Eyes Wide Shut.
Visions of violent murders, a
giant knife throwing rabbit, and a mysterious femme-fatale aren’t enough these
days. The fascinating opening will draw you in, but the dull as dishwater
second half will be a test of anyone’s patience. Shackled runs out of ideas fast. It doesn't need two dumb detectives to figure that one out. Instantly forgettable. DW
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