Inarah Syarafina’s Temurun is an effective horror film in that it does not let on much. It builds tension gradually, leaving the viewer in the dark for the most part. Since the larger explanation of the ritual/cult/curse is kept at bay, it isn’t easy to piece things together. What is made clear from the beginning is a dysfunctional and traumatic family situation. Fine psychological horror films prey on real human suffering to elicit a strong response. Deep-seated family trauma is a scary genre in and of itself as it hits close to home for many. To develop the supernatural from this base makes sense, if you think about it. Messing with the psyche is disturbing, and every good horror or thriller filmmaker knows that. Skilful storytelling trumps the employment of cheap jump scares every time. Vontian Suwandi’s screenwriting proves that point.
Dewi (Yasamin Jasem) and Sena (Bryan Domani) live with their mother. The former is a technician working for an internet service provider and the latter works as a driver for the local sub-district office. The siblings are poles apart. Dewi is constantly tending to their mentally ill mother who fears that harm is lurking. Despite her daughter’s efforts at pacification, she remains agitated. Meanwhile, Sena is never to be found, leaving all the responsibility to fall on Dewi’s shoulders. He also has a knack of attracting trouble; having relations with his boss’s (the sub-district head) wife, defaulting on instalments for his bike, and so on. Dewi’s justifiable anger towards her brother falls on deaf ears. The situation gets worse with a violent home invasion. Two masked men demand her brother’s whereabouts but Dewi hasn’t a clue. Her mother attacks the criminals viciously but is eventually subdued. Dewi is made to witness the brutal murder of her mother. In the midst of their grief, Dewi and Sena are visited by their estranged father, who requests them to live with him. “What are you apologising for” , “You waited to come until mom was dead” – Dewi doesn’t mince her words. Sena convinces his sister that leaving is the best course of action. When she asks, “Can you guarantee anything?”, he responds with, “Whatever it is, it’s better than being here.” They move to their father’s family mansion, and are welcomed with open arms by their grandmother, Gayatri (Jajang C Noer), and Hesti (Mian Tiara), the trusted housekeeper.
The crux of the story lies in the careful timing of these events. There’s a grand plan that ties the seemingly unconnected happenings of the narrative together. The slow-burn horror film has Dewi’s dead mother paying her unexpected visits to warn her of something, but what that something is remains unknown (as she did in life, so too in death). Grandmother Gayatri and Hesti have a vice-like grip on the house and the goings-on. Access to private rooms is forbidden. When Sena accidentally stumbles upon one of these, he sees a photo chart of the family tree with all the male members having their faces crossed out. When asked about it, his father uncomfortably changes the subject. In another scene, Gayatri tells Dewi about their slaughterhouse business, and how the legacy has been passed on from one woman to another over time. On a tour of the factory, Dewi gets nauseous seeing the conditions of the abattoir. In the background, the workers inform Hesti that the sick cows have been improving ever since the arrival of the children. To top it all off, Dewi reads from a company brochure that the business has been headed by her grandmother since 1935, even though she doesn’t look anywhere near a century old. The aforementioned scenes have much bearing in decoding the mystery at hand.
All the small connections in Temurun are quite eerie, making a case that the mother’s murder was no coincidence. What is also established is that impending danger she was warning Dewi of wasn’t a figment of her imagination. Subtle hints are shared with the viewer to make sense of things. The matriarchal system of their family, the talk of an inheritance ritual, side-lining of their father in the business, everything being tightly controlled by Hesti (on Gayatri’s behalf), it’s all revealing in some capacity. Yasamin Jasem as Dewi is the acting standout of the film, emoting expertly the range of her traumatic experience. Gayatri (Jajang C. Noer) and Hesti (Mian Tiara) are both fiercely protective of the matriarchal legacy, being ominous characters that must be feared. The sinister undercurrents of the mansion and the unnerving secrets it holds are unmistakable, and you, as the audience, feel for Dewi and Sena. After the tragic loss of their mother, the cards they are now being dealt aren’t remotely fair.
The build-up of intrigue and the mystery shrouded around the house (and its legacy) work in Temurun’s favour. In an effort to make the denouement even more enigmatic, there are scenes that are unclear (needing explanation, for sure). But on the whole, the film’s deeply traumatic story of family leaves a psychologically damning impact on the viewer.