ROH (2020)

Cinematographically pleasing, but still lacking in various aspects. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Before I begin this review, those who are interested to watch this movie must, MUST remember that it's an indie arthouse horror flick. It's produced by Kuman Pictures, a low-budget film company that is relatively new in the industry, but supported by veterans in both the filmmaking industry and the writing industry. 

ROH is directed by Emir Ezwan and is set in the past. It tells the story of a small family (a mother and her two children) living in the forest who were one day visited by a mysterious child. This child laid the foundation for all the events that transpires throughout the movie. 

It doesn't take long for the story connected to the child to unfold, but this movie is a slow burn and those expecting fast paced dialog and scenes will be severely disappointed. 

From the beginning of the movie to the end, the cinematography was spectacular. The play on lighting and symmetry of the scenes were fantastic and the ambience, paired with the music, just isolated the whole film giving you a sense of claustrophobia (despite it being set in the forest) which enhanced the horror vibes even greater.  

"Give me some sugar, I am your neighbour" Not really, but if Emir Ezwan directed the music video to the song Hey Ya! by Outkast, this would be one of the scenes. (Photo courtesy of ohmedia.my)

The beginning of the movie reminds me so much of movies like The VVitch and it was such a refreshing revelation to watch the scenes come round full circle. 

In terms of casting, it was nice to see people that were cast based on their acting abilities and not for their attractiveness. The child actors that were hired were great as well. They didn't overshadow any of the other characters and kept their abilities limited to fit the overall mood of the movie. Some would say that their acting was flat, but I disagree. It was necessary that they maintain a certain composure because the general theme of the movie was somber. But there were choice moments that required them to deliver more than what the ambiance provided and deliver they did. The only thing that irked me was acting at the end from Harith Haziq who portrayed the son. It could've been done better and the director and producer should've done multiple takes and conveyed to the child actor what the scene needed. Other than that, I have no issues with Farah Ahmad, Mhia Farhana, Namron, Junainah M. Lojong and especially Putri Qaseh who performed exceptionally well that you were left guessing what her motives were and what we could expect from the scenes after that.

Ugh. That symmetrically-framed scene though. So good. (Photo courtesy of moviesandmania.com)

The entire plot of the movie is a nod to the Al-Baqarah and Al-Kahf verses in the Quran which tells the story of the Syaitan/Satan/Demons not willing to bow down before Adam because he was made from clay or earth and they from fire and flames. Thus, they were cast down from heaven but not before swearing an oath to god that they will corrupt the sons of Adam until the day of judgement. 

Once you've reached the end of the movie and this realisation hits you and you re-watch the movie in its entirety with this epiphany in mind, you'll see that the script and the events that play out make perfect sense. 

It's like watching Mother! and then realising that it was just a metaphorical play-by-play of the bible and then slapping your forehead. But, obviously this wasn't as meticulously done as Mother!, but it served its purpose. 

I've had constant issues with Malaysian horror movies either falling short of what they wanted to deliver or not achieving it entirely, but ROH is such an intelligent movie. There were some scenes that I was disappointed in, but it's just me nitpicking and can easily be construed to my desire to, for once, watch a really good horror movie. ROH falls short slightly short of an excellent horror movie, but don't get me wrong, it's a great horror movie. They don't rely on jump scares, but overall the theme and ambiance, which makes me really glad. There was one jump scare, but viewers can easily forgive it for how the director, script writer, composer and editor set the tone for it. 

"What's a forest like you doing in a girl like this?" (Photo courtesy of cinapse.com)

All in all, ROH is such a rewarding Malaysian horror movie to watch. I had no issues with the script as it was necessary to achieve the reveal at the end of what the whole movie was about. The acting was good, no doubt about that and the cinematography was spectacular. The only thing I had a problem with was Harith Haziq's acting at the end and the design for the demon. But other than that, we'll be expecting great things from Kuman Pictures in the future. Also, I feel Mubi is still unstable as a streaming website, but that's not on this movie. 

Asian Does Horror gives ROH four ghost emojis out of five. 👻👻👻👻