Malaysian horror amnd susuk? Yes please, because there’s something particularly dark about the idea of a supernatural beauty ritual becoming a family problem – you think you’re getting something that makes you more beautiful, powerful or successful, but then somebody eventually has to pay for it.
Pewaris Susuk takes that idea and turns it into a story about inheritance, sacrifice and a mother trying to protect her daughter from something that has already been passed down to them.
And from the synopsis, whatever Seroja has inherited isn’t exactly the sort of family heirloom you put on a shelf.
A Perfect Life With a Very Ugly Secret
Seroja, played by Sarimah Ibrahim, appears to have the sort of life that most people would probably be jealous of, but there’s a catch – she’s bound to a forbidden pact that demands lifelong loyalty, and everything she’s gained comes with a price that eventually has to be paid.
Meanwhile, Maya, played by Alya Iman, begins uncovering the mystery surrounding Seroja and finds herself caught in something that involves blood, sacrifice and a dangerous supernatural inheritance, and this film seems to be asking the question:
What if the thing that gave your family its success is also the thing destroying it?
Trailer
Faizal Nadxaman Directs
Faizal Nadxaman directs the film and shares the screenplay credit with Naza Manas, while Hariff Ahamat is credited with the original story – the producers are Rosnita Abdul Rahman and Nor Shahila Harun Shah, with Hariff Ahamat and Nini Yusof serving as executive producers. Bob Fitri is the cinematographer.
The main cast includes Sarimah Ibrahim as Seroja, Alya Iman as Maya and Rosyam Nor as Hadiff, alongside Dayang Fajra Nadifa, Trisha Ooi, Hairie Othman, Aleza Shadan, Sherie Merlis, Abon and Fitri Farok.
Alya Iman is also taking on her first leading protagonist role with the film, according to reporting around its release, and the production was filmed in Hulu Langat, which seems like a sensible choice for a story that needs its supernatural side to feel connected to a more rural environment.
What Exactly Is Susuk?
This is the bit that makes Pewaris Susuk more interesting to me than another generic Malaysian possession film – Susuk is traditionally associated with the insertion of small objects, often gold needles or other materials, into the body for purposes such as beauty, attractiveness, protection or other desired effects.
The practice has a long history within Malay cultural belief, although the way it is understood and represented varies considerably, and horror filmmakers obviously love the idea, because anything involving putting something supernatural inside your body already sounds like a terrible decision.
The really dark part of Pewaris Susuk though is that the consequences aren’t necessarily limited to the person who originally made the choice.
They’re inherited.
That’s where the title comes from, and it gives the film its central horror idea.
Nothing Comes for Free
The film’s marketing repeatedly comes back to the idea that everything Seroja possesses is essentially a loan, and every loan has a price, and I quite like that wording because it tells you what sort of horror this is without giving away everything.
The supernatural isn’t just some random evil force.
There’s an exchange involved – you want something, you get it, and eventually the bill arrives.
That idea works particularly well with susuk because the folklore itself is associated with people seeking something they want – beauty, influence, protection or some other advantage.
Horror simply asks the obvious question:
What happens when you get exactly what you wanted?
The Family History Is Where It Gets Ugly
Director Faizal Nadxaman has described the film as exploring inherited sins and a mother’s sacrifice for her daughter, with the story following Maya and Ayu as they attempt to rebuild their lives after Maya’s mother Juriah dies a terrible death.
That makes the family element more important than it might initially appear, as this isn’t just Maya stumbling across an old supernatural object and accidentally getting cursed – she’s discovering something about her own family, and that’s always where these stories get more uncomfortable.
You can’t simply throw the problem away when the problem is part of your history, because you have to work out who started it, why they did it and what you’re prepared to sacrifice to end it.
What I have always liked about Malaysian horror at its best is that the supernatural can feel tied to belief, family and local traditions, rather than existing as a completely separate horror universe – Pewaris Susuk seems to lean heavily into that.
The title itself tells us the supernatural isn’t being discovered for the first time, it’s being passed down, and that changes the whole dynamic, as Maya isn’t simply investigating something that happened to a stranger, she’s effectively discovering that her family’s history has consequences for her.
It also gives the film a nice connection to the older idea of inherited curses, but with a specifically Malay cultural element rather than simply sticking a generic curse onto the story.
Blood, Beauty and Sacrifice
There is also something quite twisted about the contrast between beauty and horror here – Susuk is traditionally associated with improving or protecting the person who uses it, so Pewaris Susuk takes that desire for something better and turns it into a source of danger.
That’s a classic horror trick, but it works because the original desire is understandable, because people want to be beautiful, have power, and want their families to succeed.
None of those things are particularly monstrous of course, but it’s what you’re willing to do to get them that becomes the problem, and that’s where I think this film could work particularly well if it doesn’t over-explain everything.
I’ve seen plenty of possession movies where the family has absolutely no idea why some demon has decided to ruin their week, but here, there’s apparently a history behind the problem – someone made a choice, someone benefited from it, and now somebody else has inherited the consequences.
The cast is another reason I’m curious, particularly Alya Iman getting her first leading protagonist role. If the emotional side works, the supernatural stuff has something solid to sit on rather than just being a collection of creepy images.
And I like that the film isn’t enormously long.
At roughly 94 minutes, it should have enough time to establish the family history and get into the horror without spending half the movie explaining the mythology.
Fingers crossed.
Check out some more Malaysian horror movies.
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