The jungle has rules. Ask most Southeast Asians and they can probably cite some of the superstitions about how to behave when visiting the jungle. One big rule is to not disrespect nature in order to avoid offending whatever lives there, or risk incurring their wrath. Clearly the kids in Mystic Singer didn’t get the memo.
In this Indonesian horror movie, Ayu, a teenaged girl, is possessed while making a video with some friends at the Watu Kandang river in Trenggalek, Indonesia. None of them realise that one of the cameramen, Abidin, secretly pocketed a rock he found. This casual act of theft angers the river’s guardian spirit, Sariten, who possesses Ayu to unleash her vengeance.
Now, most ghosts would go on a rampage, murdering everyone in their way. Not Sariten. She goes full diva, making Ayu dance, sing and smile. When she’s done performing, Ayu faints and goes limp, freaking out everyone around her. If you think about it, being made to sing beautifully in public isn’t the worst possession case ever.
Ayu’s parents, however, don’t think so. They visit every spiritual expert in Trenggalek for help. All the bomohs fail to exorcise Sariten. Finally, Ayu’s father, Pak Gito, calls on the services of a trio of young YouTube ghost chasers. Why these content creators who have more experience chasing subscribers than the supernatural would do any better, we’ll never know, but hey, Gito was desperate.
It’s ironic how in the beginning, Gito was more worried about his family being ostracized by the other villagers because of the stigma of having a cursed daughter. But the entire kampung rallies together to help the family perform a ritual to save Ayu’s life. It’s a genuinely moving expression of Indonesian culture and community spirit uniting in a common goal.
Sara Fajira, the young actress who plays Ayu, delivers an impressive physicality in her performance. She embodies Sariten’s musical possession in movements that are both mesmerizing and disturbing. When Ayu is overcome by nature spirits and made to cavort on a table, Fajira convincingly conveys a simian animality in such a small space. This girl’s ready to star in the next Planet of the Apes instalment.
Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is riddled with issues and inconsistencies. Events and scenes jump around with little regard for continuity, editing, or narrative logic. Granted, there was a pretty cool transition to a flashback scene at the river where Ayu was first possessed, but this isn’t enough to make up for how haphazard the story is generally told.
Mystic Singer also pulls every tired visual trick and trope from the horror genre bag. Here, leaves rustle ominously, lights go out on cue, and doors even creak pointedly. There’s the obligatory suggestion from the YouTubers to split up as they’re wandering in the dark. It’s a good thing Pak Gito wasn’t paying them, because their camera girl ended up being the one who needed saving.
This movie had such potential to be so much more. It opens with this quote: “Take nothing except pictures, leave nothing except footprints. Kill nothing except time.” The quote frames the story’s overarching theme of respecting nature. Yet the logical inconsistencies that plague the movie seriously derail any potential ecofeminist message it could have developed.
A major plot hole is why Sariten possessed Ayu instead of Abidin, the boy who stole a rock from her river. Why would a female nature spirit punish an innocent girl? Abidin then conveniently disappears, burdening Ayu to bear Sariten’s anger. This just reinforces the notion that men can take what they want while women suffer. Is this really the message a modern movie wants to make?
Mystic Singer claims to be based on a true story. The credits show footage of the real Ayu in interviews detailing her family’s experiences. Sadly, the credits were the most engaging part of this movie. If they’d put together these interviews into a documentary, it would probably have been more interesting to watch.
The best horror is full of heart and humour. Horror can provoke us to consider our world in new ways. The one thing horror must never do is bore. Sadly, Mystic Singer violates this contract with the audience by delivering more head scratches and eye-rolls than actual scares. As a movie, it goes limp all over, just as Ayu does whenever Sariten grows bored of her.
Follow Us