Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Kevin Rahardjo, Rafki Hidayat
Starring: Rio Dewanto, Faradina Mufti, Vonny Anggraini, Jordan Omar, Sulthan Hamonangan, Gambit Saifullah, Nova Eliza, Tony Merle
Numerous thrillers have revolved around the idea of a long lost son or daughter reappearing in their parents' lives, leading to the question of whether they're the real deal or simply an imposter. Inspired loosely by the Indonesian folk tale of 'Malin Kundang', Smothered flips this idea on its head. Here it's a long absent mother who re-enters her son's life. But is she really whom she claims to be?
The script - by Indonesian cult auteur Joko Anwar, Aline Djayasukmana and Rafki Hidayat (the latter co-directing with Kevin Rahardjo) - takes the rather hacky starting point of a character developing amnesia and manages to do something interesting with the idea.
Having spent time in a coma as the result of a car crash, successful artist Alif (Rio Dewanto) returns home to his wife Nadine (Faradina Mufti) and their young son Emir (Jordan Omar). Alif remembers very little of the man he was, and that suits Nadine just fine, as by all accounts Alif was a cold-hearted narcissist who paid scant attention to his family. Alif is repelled by everything he learns about his past self and vows to be a better man. Things had gotten so bad that Nadine was about to leave Alif before the accident, but she views this new version of her husband as an opportunity to hit the reset button and start over.
This premise would be enough to fuel an intriguing drama in its own right. There are parallels with the recent American horror hit Obsession in how Nadine is content for her husband to live a false life because this version of Alif brings her more happiness than his true self. We can sympathise with Nadine in this regard, but the ethics of the situation are complicated, to say the least. Should a man be allowed to embrace his true self, even if his true self is an asshole?
It's a fascinating question that unfortunately becomes sidelined once the thriller plot kicks in. Asif discovers that despite not seeing her since he left home 18 years ago, he had arranged for his mother, Aminah (Vonny Anggraini), to come and stay with his family. When Aminah arrives, Asif has no memory of her, but she seems privy to intimate details of his life. Nadine and Emir warm to this sweet old lady, but Asif can't shake the feeling that Aminah isn't really his mother.
Smothered may turn the usual setup of imposter thrillers on its head, but it still hits all the expected beats. There is a damning lack of suspense, with no real suggestion that Aminah is placing Asif and his family in danger. There's a big twist, but it's one that might have worked better if Smothered had been played for laughs rather than scares. The filmmaking is of a bland TV movie variety, and the script is similarly functional, getting us from one plot development to the next in a manner that feels like we're watching a scriptwriter pin post-it notes to a white board. By the time we arrive at the climax, with its clunky revelations, we've stopped caring.
Smothered is on Shudder from May 29th.
