Detak (Tarian Lengger Maut) is a 2021 horror-thriller film directed by Yongki Ongestu and stars Della Dartyan, Refal Hady, Alyssa Abidin and Bintang Satria, alongside other cast members. The movie has a runtime of 105 minutes.
Netflix describes the movie as:
When a new doctor arrives in a village and people begin to mysteriously disappear, a young dancer must fight for their traditions — and her life.
– Detak review contains mild spoilers –
Detak, later titled Tarian Lengger Maut, looks great from the first scene. Story aside, it is no doubt that the creators put a lot of heart and soul into making this thriller look stunning. The shadows and colours go well with the theme of the story and create a creepy atmosphere that, in itself, does a part of the movie’s job.
Now, coming to the story – Detak has an interesting premise. A maybe serial killer doctor in a small village, a Lengger dancer and a bunch of mysterious disappearances. There’s a lot going on. However, the movie takes so much time getting to the point that its somewhat normal runtime seems excessive because of its pacing. Dr Jati gets a very interesting backstory but it isn’t enough to save it from being a sluggish watch.
On top of that, in spite of its interesting premise, the movie really doesn’t do anything new. There’s the usual bad guy monologue about how the human heart is an extraordinary device and blah blah. We get it, you’re the bad guy, but seriously, do something new. Another thing that I was very shocked to see was that the movie has little to no blood. Like, for a movie that is opening the chest cavity of an alive and awake person, you’d expect that blood to gush out of them. But it’s just some very delicate sprays here and there and that’s it.
The implication is definitely gruesome but the execution tames in comparison. Detak is an ambitious film with very dark themes. Unfortunately for it, the execution doesn’t compare to its lofty ambitions. As your expectations are dashed thanks to the movie not giving you what it promised, you feel the sheer weight of a thriller that simply doesn’t thrill.
Detak also tries to bring forth the way society views women through Sukma and her dance but that aspect too is underbaked and remains just an afterthought. Sukma’s whole character really doesn’t add anything to the movie and unfortunately, the movie would’ve been just fine without her. Her character arc is nonexistent and she is reduced to just being the good-looking dancer so is quiet and demure. The creators couldn’t mesh the two concepts together well enough for one to affect the other. It thus remains two jarring concepts just there, clashing with each other.
The Detak ending is honestly just the most anti-climactic thing I’ve ever watched and mostly consists of a chase sequence that adds no thrill or excitement to an otherwise underwhelming film. In the end, it’s just another generic thriller movie that tries its level best to add something new to the genre but never really gets around to doing it. It almost feels like the movie tried to be brave but was too afraid to take that first step. I mean, we follow Jati breathing heavily for around 5 minutes and just trying to look intimidating. It’s just so weird.
Refal Hady as Dr Jati only has one expression throughout the movie – mysterious. Which, you know, I get considering he’s a serial killer and whatnot. But seriously, people don’t have one expression for days at a time. Even during times of crisis or fear, his expression holds on to the usual quiet stare as if reminding us that he’s not a good guy and there’s something that he’s hiding. Della Dartyan isn’t any better and just leaves us feeling rather confused with her character.
Summing up: Detak
Detak is such an underwhelming film. The saddest thing is that the movie had something interesting to showcase but just fails to put pen to paper so colossally that you almost feel sad for it. In one sequence, in the end, Jati just throws things around half-heartedly (see what I did there?) to showcase his anger and frustration but it just feels too fake and forced that you can’t but feel nothing for the movie that you’re seeing.
Detak is streaming on Netflix.
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