{"id":3927,"date":"2013-12-20T01:30:30","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T00:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=3927"},"modified":"2013-12-22T23:00:50","modified_gmt":"2013-12-22T22:00:50","slug":"shackled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/12\/20\/shackled\/","title":{"rendered":"Shackled (Belenggu)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Shackled\"<\/a>
Shackled<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> DVD

\nRelease date:<\/B> 25 November 2013

\nDistributor:<\/B> Terracotta Distribution

\nDirector:<\/B> Upi Avianto

\nWriter:<\/B> Upi Avianto

\nCast:<\/B> Abimana Aryasatya, Avrilla, Laudya Cynthia Bella, Jajang C. Noer

\nOriginal title:<\/B> Belenggu<\/I>

\nIndonesia 2012

\n100 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Indonesian writer\/director Upi\u2019s first foray into psychological horror sticks to a well-trodden path, but Shackled<\/I> has enough twists and turns in the second half to keep viewers interested. And while budget restrictions and lack of finesse prevent it from being especially gripping or frightening, Upi\u2019s grubby visuals and claustrophobic camerawork lift what could have been a very mediocre story.<\/p>\n

The influences are obvious from the first scene: a woozy, Lynchian dream sequence where a bedraggled man, Elang (Aryasatya), is picked up from the roadside by someone in a bunny costume with a car-load of bloodied corpses. It\u2019s one of many gory delusions suffered by Elang, a twitchy outsider who everyone thinks might be the town\u2019s infamous serial killer. The riff on Donnie Darko<\/I> is clear, except this rabbit looks like it\u2019s come from a cheap kid\u2019s party where only the very young would be remotely afraid. <\/p>\n

Elang soon falls in with an abused prostitute, Jingga (Therinne), who tries to convince the unstable loner to kill the men who raped her. Halfway through, the film shifts from Elang\u2019s unreliable perspective to that of the policemen trying to piece together exactly what the hell is going on. While the explanation is intriguing, it\u2019s laid on a bit thick. Anyone who\u2019s been to Shutter Island<\/I> will probably have a good idea where things are headed, but even going through the motions, Upi is able to create some bold visuals, steeped in tension and baroque religious iconography.<\/p>\n

The horror itself is quite tame, almost comical. Elang\u2019s frequent visions feature a mother and daughter who live next door being slaughtered by the rabbit, but the violent acts themselves are over the top. The arcs of thick blood and squelchy noises, with little shock factor, seem strange given the rest of the film\u2019s controlled approach. They are fantasy sequences, but everything is done too seriously, and these missteps might be more to do with Upi\u2019s inexperience with the genre.<\/p>\n

Performances are similarly restrained, except for Aryasatya in the lead role. His bug-eyed gurning gets a bit tiresome, but unfortunately he\u2019s given very little to do except to sweat and panic. It\u2019s something of a relief when the plot shifts to being about him rather than trying to tell the story through his eyes.<\/p>\n

With its rabbit hole of a narrative, Shackled<\/I> is engaging when it doesn\u2019t try to overthink things. There are some clich\u00e9s, but it\u2019s refreshing to see Indonesian cinema succeeding in going for a genre story that competes with its bigger, and much better funded, neighbours.<\/p>\n

Richard Badley<\/I><\/B><\/p>\n

Watch the trailer:<\/B><\/p>\n