Possessed, aka Rasuk, is a 2022 Malaysian horror movie now available on Netflix. Directed by James Lee and written by Adib Zaini, the film stars Alif Satar as Nazmi, Ikmal Amry as Adli, Abbas Mahmood as Wari, Elisya Sandha as Alia, Ayie Elham as Kechik, Syazwan Razak as Sam, Atiq Azman as Nick, Bella Rahim as Oak Yam and others. The runtime is of 90 minutes and has English subtitles.
The synopsis reads, “A teacher must put aside his personal traumas to rally his school in a fight for survival against a group of violent, possessed students.”
Rasuk aka Possessed Movie Review Contains Mild Spoilers (Trigger Warning: Bloodshed, Suicide)
It’s summer break, and a group of hostel boys with Alia and Kak enjoy a picnic in a forest. One of the boys, Wari, finds a small creepy-looking bottle. He opens the bottle, which releases some demonic energy. Alia and Kak drop the boys at the hostel and head home. The boys sneak inside the hostel, thinking there’s no teacher around. But their teacher Nazmi is back, and as a punishment for sneaking out, he asks them to clean the toilet.
When the boys are working, Wari suddenly gets possessed and transforms into a blood-hungry monster. He starts attacking his friends. Every time Wari attacks and eats another person’s flesh, the person becomes like him. The possessed students are a big threat to the lives of others in the hostel. Will Wari’s friends and Nazmi survive the deadly attacks? Will Alia and her cousin come around and help them? We find out everything in the end.
The story of Rasuk or Possessed is quite familiar. In 2021, Netflix gave us the South Korean horror series. All of Us are Dead, where the high school students have to save themselves from the zombie outbreak. In James Lee’s movie, these monsters are not zombies but are made to appear more like djinns. We see Wari and others like him attack the students mercilessly. However, we were never given a clear idea of what exactly was in the bottle.
A lot of time is spent showing the attacks and others trying to save themselves. But the makers need to explain the backstory of the demon in the bottle. We must believe that whatever was in the bottle makes Wari and others do it. In the end, the reason will be revealed. Instead of giving us answers, the reason for some of the student’s death is blamed on some other tragedy. So the world will never know what happened.
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There were some survivors of the attack. But who is going to believe them? The entire premise of the teacher’s trauma is used for a major twist in the end. After many scenes where people are running here and there, Nazmi’s backstory adds some weight to the plot.
Coming to performances, Alif Satar, Inmal Amro, Abbas Mahmood and Elisha Sandha have major roles to play in Possessed. They all have done a good job. Other actors played their parts well.
Possessed Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, the Malaysian horror movie on Netflix starts well but leaves us with many questions. There are no jumpscares but several eerie and disturbing scenes. The last scene hinted that there might be more. But is there a sequel coming up? Only the makers can answer.
The movie is now streaming on Netflix.
Have you watched the movie yet? Do let us know your thoughts on it in the comments section below.
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