
Director Teguh Karya intended to make a “real” comedy amidst the many slapstick comedies at the time, and in fact calls this film a bitter comedy. In the film, Ms. Sumirah, a widow who used to be a favourite pretty girl in Padalarang, worries about her daughter Anna, who is shy and self-conscious. She keeps pushing Anna’s brother, Willy, to invite home a co-worker from the clothing factory he works in. Then a change occurs after Anna meets Jaka, an English teacher living near her house. When their relationship starts to bloom, it is found out that Jaka is the son of Saodah, a woman who once had an affair with Sumirah’s husband, Van Nijs. Sumirah changes her mind and opposes their relationship. Finally Anna and Jaka elope.
Friendships are tested when two girls have a crush on the popular boy at school.
We’ve always known that Edgar Wright is a mixologist when it comes to blending sound, light, colour, and texture. This is especially true in the first act of the film. In fact, all of my positive feedback is directed exclusively at the first act of this film.
I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before.
Between its problematic nature, its lack of originality, and the senselessness of its violence, Onslaught cannot be recommended in good faith.
The film blends reality and the supernatural world together, leaving the viewer unsure of what’s real and what’s merely a figment of Michael’s agitated imagination.