Interchange (2016) Review : Malaysian Fantasy Meets Kalimantan Mythology

 

Interchange | 2016 | 1h 42m
Genre: Fantasy / Mystery / Thriller | Country: Malaysia–Indonesia
Director: Dain Said | Writers: June Tan, Redza Minhat, Nandita Solomon
Cast: Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin, Shaheizy Sam, Nicholas Saputra, Prisia Nasution
IMDb: 5.2
My Rating: 7/10

Adam, a forensic photographer, becomes caught in a mystery that defies logic when he helps his detective colleague investigate a series of gruesome murders.

Warning:

Contains scenes of murder and disturbing imagery.

Some murder cases are difficult because the killer is clever. Others are difficult because the truth itself seems to come from a world we do not fully understand.

That is what makes Interchange (2014) interesting to me. At first, it looks like another investigation into a series of brutal murders. But gradually, the story moves beyond the familiar logic of crime and enters a world where photography, ancient myths, and modern life begin to overlap. It is an intriguing idea, although the more questions the film raises, the more I find myself wishing that some of the answers had been developed more clearly.

Another horrific murder has occurred, and it appears to be connected to an earlier case that was never solved. Detective Man (Shaheizy Sam) asks Adam (Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin) for help because a strange piece of glass containing a photographic image is found at the crime scene. Adam is a forensic photographer who worked on the previous case, but the experience left him traumatized. He eventually takes a break from his job.

During his time away, Adam occupies himself with photography and spends his days observing the people living around his apartment. Then he notices someone new: Iva (Prisia Nasution), a mysterious woman who has just moved into the apartment opposite his.

Their meeting seems ordinary at first, but Adam eventually discovers that Iva has a connection to the strange photographic fragment found at the crime scene. He takes the glass photograph to his usual photo studio, hoping to repair it and produce a clearer image. While trying to find the studio, Adam unexpectedly runs into Iva, who helps him get there.

What Adam does not realize is that Iva already knows the owner of the studio. From this point on, the mystery becomes even stranger. Adam begins to realize that there is something about Iva that does not fit the ordinary world he knows. The mystery deepens when he discovers photographs of Iva together with several murder victims inside an old book.

So, what exactly is Iva's connection to the murders?

For me, the strongest part of Interchange is its basic concept. This Malaysian film brings together several well-known actors, including Indonesian actors Nicholas Saputra and Prisia Nasution, while drawing inspiration from an indigenous community from inland Kalimantan. The film creates an interesting intersection between the modern world and mythology, and I think that combination is presented quite beautifully.

There is something appealing about watching a familiar modern environment slowly become connected to something ancient and unfamiliar. Photography, police investigation, apartments, and modern technology are placed alongside myths and traditions that seem to follow a completely different set of rules. That contrast gives the film a distinct atmosphere.

However, I also feel that the story still had a lot of room to become much more compelling.

The music and sound effects are quite good and feel original. They support the atmosphere of each scene instead of simply filling the silence. The cinematography, camera movement, and color composition are also handled well. The film pays attention to visual details, and many elements are shown carefully. The use of AI or animation, however, feels less polished in some parts. It is not enough to ruin the film for me, but it is noticeable.

The performances are another strong point. Both the main cast and supporting actors deliver convincing performances, and the story itself is presented in a fairly systematic way. The dialogue is also interesting and generally helps build the atmosphere.

One thing that bothered me, however, is the inconsistent use of language. The dialogue moves between Malay and English, and while this may be common or natural in Malaysia, the switching can still feel confusing to viewers who are not familiar with that style of communication. I think the film would have been easier to follow if one language had been used more consistently as the dominant language.

More importantly, the film leaves me with several questions that are difficult to ignore.

The story suggests that these characters have existed for hundreds of years. If that is the case, then the murders connected to them should presumably have happened many more times than the audience sees. The number of people whose photographs appear in the book seems to support that idea. So why does the police investigation only become serious after the second known case?

Another question concerns geography. The story establishes that they originated from Kalimantan, so how did they eventually end up in Malaysia? It may be possible within the mythology of the story, but the film does not explain the connection clearly enough.

I also think Adam's role as the central character needed stronger development. Out of thousands of people, why is Adam the one who becomes so important to this story? His connection to the mystery is not fully established, and his background is not developed enough to make his importance feel inevitable.

The same problem applies to the owner of the photography studio. It is not entirely clear how he became involved in the case, what his relationship with Iva really is, or why he is willing to help her. These details matter because they could have made the mystery feel more complete.

This is probably my biggest issue with Interchange: the film has an intriguing world, but some of the connections inside that world are not explained deeply enough.

And yet, I still find the film worth watching because the concept itself is memorable. The filmmakers clearly wanted to create something that was different from a conventional murder mystery, and the combination of crime, photography, mythology, and the modern world gives the film its own identity.

One scene that particularly stayed with me involves Belian having to transform into a bird before carrying out a murder. During the killing of Sani, the transformation is shown in considerable detail. The visual process is unusual and immediately catches the viewer's attention. It is one of those scenes that remains in your memory even after the film is over.

The dialogue, “Living forever is pointless. It's a waste of time,” also stayed with me. It sounds simple, but in the context of a story involving people who have lived for hundreds of years, it carries a different weight. Living longer does not automatically mean living better. Time itself is not necessarily valuable if there is no meaningful purpose behind it.

Perhaps that is where Interchange becomes more interesting than its mystery alone.

We often think that having more time would solve everything. More time to change, more time to recover, more time to understand someone, more time to correct our mistakes. But what if endless time only makes someone repeat the same emptiness over and over again?

Interchange may not explain every part of its mythology as clearly as I would have liked, but it still leaves behind an interesting thought: maybe the real question is not how long we live, but what we do with the time we are given.

After all, even an immortal life can become meaningless. And perhaps a much shorter life can become meaningful simply because we choose to give it meaning.

(Aluna Uwie)

Had been published in Alunauwie.com
"This article was originally written in Indonesian and has been adapted into English for international readers."

 

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