The Platform 2 (2024) Movie Review

 

The Platform 2 (2024) Movie Review

The Platform 2 (Original title: El hoyo 2) | 2024 | 1h 39m
Genre: Dystopian Sci-Fi/Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller | Country: Spain
Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia | Writers: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, Pedro Rivero, David Desola
Cast: Milena Smit, Hovik Keuchkerian, Natalia Tena
IMDB: 4.9
My Rate: 7/10

Perempuan chooses to stay in the Vertical Self-Management Center to calm herself after the events that befell her, as do other participants who live there for various reasons. Everything runs smoothly before a dispute arises between the barbarians and the loyalists who act arbitrarily.

Warning:

Contains scenes of violence, nudity, and strong language.

 

Synopsis:

Perempuan (Milena Smit), an artist, decides to enter the Vertical Self-Management Center with the aim of calming herself. She experiences an unpleasant event with her boyfriend, whose child died during her exhibition. This makes Perempuan need time to process everything. She hopes that by entering the institution, she can think clearly.

Perempuan is on the same level as Zamitian (Hovik Keuchkerian), which is level 24. Zamitian is a large man who claims to be a professor. However, Zamitian has problems managing his emotions, especially when he finds out his food is eaten by people on the upper levels. This is because each inmate can only eat the food they ordered when entering the institution.

One day, a barbarian causes chaos that results in the death of people on level 23. One of the survivors asks Perempuan and Zamitian to throw away the food that should have been eaten by the dead people. However, Zamitian regrets this and often eats it secretly.

A month later, Perempuan and Zamitian wake up on a lower level. Zamitian’s mistake is discovered by 'The Messiah,' Dagin Babi (Óscar Jaenada), who orders the Loyalist group to find him. Zamitian chooses to commit suicide by burning his body so Perempuan will not be affected by the problem.

Perempuan then moves to level 51 with Sahabat. Sahabat has an unpleasant experience with Dagin Babi that caused her to lose her hand. This makes Perempuan dissatisfied with the presence of 'The Messiah' and tries to break the rules, which eventually puts her in trouble.

Will Perempuan be able to survive inside the institution?

 

Review:

The Platform 2 is a prequel to The Platform (2019) that presents the story before the events of the first film. This movie can be watched separately without having to see the first film because it has a slightly different conflict. However, to fully understand the ending, it is recommended to watch the first film first.

This film offers more intense and sadistic scenes than the first. While the first film is more artistic and emotional, focusing on the emotional play of the characters, especially Goreng, this one shows less emotional turmoil and more fighting between characters.

The story foundation is better built than in the first film. Viewers are given backgrounds not only of the main character Perempuan but also several other characters, strengthening the story’s foundation. Interactions among the participants are more visible than in the first film. However, the big question from the first film remains unanswered: the origin of the organization and how people find out about it.

Additional questions arise with scenes of children playing on a pyramid slide. There is no clarity about who the children are, how they got there, or their purpose. This remains a big unanswered question in the film.

Another strength in building the story background is that the institution’s purpose is clearer by showing somewhat reasonable rules, where participants can only eat the food they ordered before entering. However, another question arises: who made these rules? Although the character Dagin Babi appears as the leader, it is not explained how he became the leader.

Conflicts arise from various problems, especially dissatisfaction with how Dagin Babi manages the place. Some rebellious ‘barbarian’ characters refuse to follow the rules. Conflict intensifies after Perempuan sees the injustice done by Dagin Babi, leading her to incite the Barbarians to rebel. The conflict development is quite good and focuses differently than the first film.

The resolution is somewhat unsatisfying. The philosophy from the first film becomes a bit unclear when combined with this prequel. However, we see the character development of Perempuan, who finally makes peace with her past. The appearance of Trimagasi in this prequel serves as a bridge to the first film, where Trimagasi is an important character in Goreng’s story. However, his meeting with Goreng from the first film and the presence of the child on level 333 raise new questions.

At the end of the story, it is shown that the organization deliberately places children on level 333, not just one child but rotating. After Perempuan, many characters afterward do the same, which is to save the child on level 333. The question is how those children can survive on level 333 when even the upper levels do not get food. Do the children eat the corpses thrown down? Do the children also not move between levels? How long must they survive there before being 'rescued'?

Another question that should have been answered in this second film is the fate of Goreng. As we see, Perempuan, others, and Goreng end up below level 333. The audience does not know what happens there or how they survive. Do they also eat the corpses discarded there? Because there is a scene where people run toward a corpse that falls into a black hole.

The acting by the cast is quite good, where we can see impressive expressions from the characters, especially the main character. Camera movement and cinematography are also quite good, especially showing important scene details. For example, when Perempuan’s hand is cut, we can see the blood effects spurting from her arm. The use of music and sound effects is also appropriate in each scene.

As with the first film, the character names sound a bit odd to Indonesians. Some names have meanings unusual for use as personal names. Perempuan means 'Lady,' Sahabat means 'Friend or best friend,' and Daging Babi means 'Pork.'

Overall, this film is quite interesting to watch, especially considering the success of the first film. Unfortunately, that success becomes a heavy burden for this prequel. Instead of providing answers to questions from the first film, it adds more unanswered questions. Many plot points still need further development.

 

Memorable scene:

Zamitian burns himself to protect Perempuan from punishment. Zamitian made a mistake by eating the food of a deceased participant, which led the leader of the place to hunt him down for punishment.

In this scene, we can see how Zamitian admits his mistake and is willing to face the consequences. What is emphasized is that he does not want innocent Perempuan to suffer the consequences as well. Therefore, he makes an extreme decision.

 

Memorable dialogue:

"We are prisoners of ourselves, there is no escape."

 

Ending:

Cliffhanger Ending

 
Recommendation:

Worth to Watch

 

(Aluna)


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