REVIEWS: Qorin (2022) and Circle Line (2023)
Two reviews for the price of one! Or the price of none actually :) Let's check out the religious Indonesian horror film Qorin from 2022 and the Singaporean monster film Circle Line from 2023.
QORIN
The last Indonesian horror movie I looked at (Perempuan Bergaun Merah) had no Muslim religion in it at all, this time it’s all about a very particular Muslim element that I struggled to follow. But I tried…
Plot
Set in a boarding school for girls where they learn about religion, we follow an exemplary student by the name of Zahra, who seems to do anything she can to ensure she has top marks.
A new student arrives, Yolanda, who has a chequered and troubled past, and at the same time the headmaster of the school, Ustaz Jaelani, forces the all the third year girls, including Zahra and Yolanda, to perfect the Qorin ritual – a ritual where the girls must call out their duplicate spirit.
But the performance of this ritual and its outcomes start to create terrifying results for the girls, leading them to uncover the truth about what is going on the school and the abuse they have suffered.
Check out my full review here:
Genre Supernatural Religious Horror
Director Ginanti Rona Tembang Asri
Starring Zulfa Maharani, Aghniny Haque
Original Title Qorin
Country of Origin Indonesia
Release Date December 1 2022
CIRCLE LINE
It’s not every day you get a monster movie from Singapore. In fact I might be struggling to remember them ever making one! So chalk this up to potentially the first ever Singaporean monster movie (fact check please!)
Plot
A group of survivors are trapped underground on an unfinished train line in the Singaporean metro after a switching error on the train line.
But trapped with them is some kind of creature, an odd looking and highly possessive creature who has taken a shine to a little boy with a traumatic background
At the same time, rain engineers above ground desperately try to work out where the train is and how they can rescue the survivors.
Check out my full review here:
Genre Monster Movie
Director J.D. Chua
Starring Jessica Liu, Andie Chen
Original Title 生死环线
Country of Origin Singapore
Release Date January 5 2023