Spirit Doll

I had never heard about this 2023 Indonesian horror movie titled "Spirit Doll" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance, and opting to sit down and watch it. So I didn't know what I was in for, much less what to expect from director Azhar Kinoi Lubis.

The storyline in "Spirit Doll" was pretty straightforward, though somewhat on the dull and sluggish side, I would say. Sure, the movie was watchable, but it was by no means a phenomenal horror experience. So writer Alim Sudio didn't exactly bring much of anything new, innovative or grand to the horror genre with this 2023 movie.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "Spirit Doll", but I will say that the cast ensemble put on good enough performances to bring the characters and the story to life on the screen.

For a horror movie, then "Spirit Doll" turned out to be a dud. There wasn't anything scary about the storyline or the events that took place in the narrative. And for a life-long horror aficionado such as myself, then "Spirit Doll" was a mere stroll in the park.

I don't even think having familiarity with Indonesian folk lore and superstitions would have helped to make the movie any more interesting or scary.

The effects in the movie were a mixed bag of nuts, because some of the special effects and CGI looked good, whereas others looked dubious at best.

My rating of "Spirit Doll" lands on a generous four out of ten stars. The movie is watchable a single time, but does not have the contents to support multiple viewings.

Asian horror is its own thing and I've always respected that, but the country of provenience is quite important as well. Whenever I see Indonesia, I genuinely do not expect much. Sadly, the lack of budget is always affecting the final product, and even tho there were some incredibly small successful indie films, it happens too rare to account for them.

Spirit Doll has very bad effects, which was expected, bad dialogue, not so great actors and a plot that seems to be a mess. It looks like a college film to be honest, shot in just a few days, first people to be there got the roles and a first time director at the wheel.

I honestly have nothing positive to say about it, because as I previously mentioned, Asian cinema is quite good and manages to shock in different ways than Hollywood or Europe. Here, it was just a rehash of ideas that were brought on the big screen many times before with far better executions. Looks elsewhere, find something different and try that.

Cheers!