Safe Return Doubtful

Malaysia 2023

Here is a fine example of what can be done through the genre of horror, as first time Director Amanda Nell Eu observes the coming of age of a 12 year old girl in rural Selangor in Malaysia.

This is brave film making as she sees puberty through the eyes of the girl, who is the first in her school class to reach that stage. Zafreen Zairizal is extremely impressive as Zaffan through whom we see her world, as she struggles with parents who don’t understand their only child, and with friends who become bullies.

Such a story might struggle to be entertaining if it wasn’t for the performances, the cinematography, the appealing location of the rainforest and the Titwangsa mountains, and most of all the moments of magic realism.

Horror is the most powerful of genres. There’s a lot of dross out there, but with careful sifting, one can find gems such as this.

IMDb score 6.2 / 10 – My score 9 / 10