Not three weeks after its release, social media reported the success of “Vina: Before 7 Days”, which has now reached 5 million views. This is considered a phenomenal achievement, and this figure is still creeping up. The horror trend remains the biggest magnet for local audiences, and now with all the sensational news and various controversies, its success has become even more remarkable.
“Vina: Before 7 Days” was directed by Anggie Umbara, a comedy specialist filmmaker who, in recent years, has often worked on horror films, such as Si Manis Jembatan Ancol, Khanzab, Siksa Neraka, and Munkar. As we all know, Vina’s story is based on a real incident from 2016, where a young couple was brutally assaulted and murdered, and the case remains unsolved. This film stars Nayla Denny Purnama, Fahad Haydra, Gisellma Firmansy, and seasoned actors Lidya Kandou and Pritt Timothy. So what is the quality of the film itself? Is it as exciting as the news suggests?
Vina (Purnama) and Linda (Firmansy) watch an art performance in Cirebon square. They are both taken home by two colleagues, and Vina is accompanied by Eky. Unfortunately, Vina and Eky are brutally abused and killed by a group of motorbike gangs. Surprisingly, the police at the crime scene consider the incident to be a single accident. Vina’s grieving family resigned themselves to settling the case with the police. A young journalist named Dani feels there is something strange about the incident and begins an independent investigation. Meanwhile, Linda reads a letter that Vina gave her before she died, indicating that her friend was being bullied by her fellow students at school. Linda eventually gives all the information she knows to Dani. At one point, the girl is possessed by Vina’s spirit, and new facts are revealed.
Biographical films or docudramas like this are usually scrutinized for the dramatization of scenes. Reality is often flat and boring, and the demands of the audience force filmmakers to make changes they believe will make the story more intense and interesting. *Vina* also met this fate, especially with the addition of horror elements. We don’t know exactly what has been added or subtracted. Did the possession by Vina’s spirit really happen, and was the spirit able to describe all the events and the perpetrators in detail? Did Vina’s spirit, like in Suzzanna’s films, brutally abuse the perpetrator as shown in one scene?
Regarding the story, ‘Vina’ has an interesting premise aside from the horror aspect, which clearly feels excessive. The mystery of Vina’s death is slowly revealed through the journalist’s investigative actions, and a flashback segment from Linda’s perspective further confirms this. Unfortunately, the horror aspect spoils the mood of the investigative action, making everything in vain. The script emphasizes the horror aspect with a spectacular show of Vina’s spirit possessing Linda. It is said that this scene is based on a sound recording that actually happened. Whether this is real or not is not the issue. If Vina’s spirit can take revenge directly as shown in the film, why should she bother to possess Linda? This is a ridiculous choice purely for audience satisfaction. The supernatural side could actually be used to strengthen the investigative side, not the other way around, even though we have seen this approach in many films. The horror dimension (vengeful spirits) and scientific, real investigations (docudrama) do not combine well.
The horror aspect itself is not special. Some typical jump scares manage to make the entire cinema scream incoherently. The audience seems overly engrossed. The filmmaker, clearly experienced in making horror films, was unable to create something fresh like in ‘Suzzanna: Buried Alive” (with Rocky Soraya). The crackling sound of Vina’s spirit eating ice cubes is actually more intimidating than her jump scare. The focus on the horror side is clearly on the emotional scene of Linda being possessed by Vina’s spirit. Some of the dialogue feels ridiculous, considering that afterward, Vina herself acts violently and beats the perpetrator. Some spectators were whispering, “Just finish them all” (Javanese). That’s what the audience wants, right?
Despite all the controversy, “Vina: Before 7 Days” succeeded in maximizing the power of sensation through a mediocre story and technical achievements. As mentioned above, horror and docudrama are not easy to blend. It’s different if the story is purely fiction. The result is a decent “horror” film, but apparently not for the mass media. A tagline appeared in the media, “Vina’s story is not finished.” The media reports became fun to follow as if this was a continuation episode of the film. The pressure from netizens is getting stronger and hotter. This case was brought up again by the police and is still widely discussed today.
Whatever the outcome, I hope the “Vina” polemic can end soon and that this is the first and last film of its kind. Hopefully, filmmakers won’t follow this trend by making other tragedy on the big screen. However, looking back, it seems unlikely. This is a logical consequence of a successful product and it will be heartbreaking. How bad it would be if our film industry were remembered for selling a tragedy. We’ll see and let time tell.
