Teka Teki Tika

Truth to be told, I kinda expect to feel disappointed with Ernest Prakasa's attempt to expand his typical comedy fair by entering into a mystery-thriller scene. While not entirely working, with most of the excursion being done half-baked, the film actually is still an enjoyable treat. Just wish he cut short the film's epilogue, especially the definitely unnecessary action scene.

Once the trailer came out, I was hyped because finally Indonesia made this kind of genre. But when I watched this movie, I felt like everything was so half-assed. The mystery, the comedy, like, I had no idea what kind of movie was this supposed to be. The comedy was cringe af, I couldn't enjoy it. And they put it in the wrong times that resulted in ruining the thrilling vibes. The twists were forced. The actors played like they read the whole script.

I kinda loved the scoring, though. It's pretty good. The building too.

Not twisting, predictable, characters all boring, even Sheila Dara's role is very unnatural. But it's a good start since crime genre is still rare in Indonesia.

This film seems to have an identity crisis. It cannot determine what genre it will lead to. If you only read the synopsis, you would definitely think that this film will have a thriller or at least a mystery genre. However, the reality is that the thriller or mystery is not felt in the film at all. The repeated plot twists actually feel too exaggerated amd make the story seem absurd.

(Film ini seolah mengalami krisis identitas, karena tidak bisa menentukan akan mengarah ke genre apa. Thriller dan misteri yang disuguhkan pada sinopsis sama sekali tidak terasa dalam film. Plot twist yang bertubi-tubi justru terasa terlalu berlebihan sehingga membuat ceritanya terkesan absurd)

After watching it, I found it surprisingly enjoyable, though I couldn't help but laugh at its ending. The same goes for this mystery(?) film. Reviews from JAFF audiences were mixed, with most being negative. Despite my skepticism, I decided to watch it and brought my parents along, since they enjoyed Ernest's previous work, Imperfect. Here's what I thought after watching it:

The first 70 minutes, or the "prologue" of the film, were decent. By decent, I mean it was fairly watchable. The premise was interesting and engaging. The casting of the Budiman "Cindo" family was convincing, though I only really enjoyed Dion Wiyoko's performance (Tansri Kemala was acceptable for her acting debut). I also appreciated the interior design and cinematography. Notably, the film's comedy stood out, as Ernest is known for his skillful blend of humor in any situation.

However, the main issue lies in the film's logic. There were numerous questionable elements. For instance, why are the characters so distressed about paying a "blackmailer" 100 million rupiah when their house is likely worth tens of billions? To them, 100 million might be as insignificant as buying ayam geprek for us. Additionally, it's hard to believe that Ayu Laksmi is the only person handling housekeeping for such a large house.