Qorin – Netflix Review (3/5)

QORIN on Netflix is a new horror movie from Indonesia. It’s about a Djinn curse at a boarding school. In other words, it’s about a form of demonic curse, but of the Islamic variety. A religion-based plot that works quite well. Read our full Qorin horror movie review here!

QORIN is a new Netflix horror movie from Indonesia. And let me start by saying that while it is a tad too slow burn and – as a result – has a runtime that is too long, it’s also well-crafted and very nuanced. In fact, you should make sure to check out more horror movies from Indonesia. There are quite a few really good ones.

MORE HORROR MOVIES FROM INDONESIA

Be sure to check out Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion on Shudder >

We’ve watched a few horror movies based on folklore and demonic creatures from the Quran rather than the Bible. If anything, it serves as a reminder that most religions are quite similar. Both in terms of the light and darkness they present. In this movie, it’s very much about the dark side of religion. The occult even!

Continue reading our Qorin movie review below. Find it on Netflix from April 13, 2023.

The All-Female Boarding School

It’s made clear early on that this all-female boarding school is a place where girls are sent to be reformed. A religion-based school with prayer and rules and structure. At least one girl is introduced as a troublemaker (or “notoriously naughty” as one plot states).

Her name is Yolanda and she’s been sent to the school to learn how to behave. With a fairly short haircut and firetruck red highlights in her jet-black hair, she is clearly not looking to be controlled.

The other girls are intrigued by her but have also been at the boarding school for years and know how to behave. Or how to be perceived as behaving. One thing I really enjoyed about Qorin (and many other Indonesian genre films for that matter) is that it’s nuanced.

Everyone is on their best behavior when they’re being watched. But these are also teenage girls and they know how to bend the rules. Or how to not get caught when they break rules.

The Djinn curse and female power

There’s also a male teacher at the all-female boarding school. Something I always wonder about because it seems like an accident waiting to happen. And in the case of the story in Qorin, he clearly wants to run everything. He’s a creep despite being a young and good-looking man.

I say “young and good-looking” only to state that he isn’t some old and gross stereotype. Obviously not to say that his behavior is somehow excused due to his age or appearance. Again, the nuances come into effect here.

It’s also this young teacher (who is married to the daughter of the man who created the school) who works with the occult and dark sides of the Quran. He actually brings about the Djinn curse at the boarding school.

WANT MORE DJINN STORIES?

You might want to check out our review of The Djinn here >

His reason for working with the occult is all about control and his disgustingly creepy ways. The goal is to create doppelgangers for all the girls at the school. If you think about it, the reason why isn’t too difficult to guess.

Watch Qorin on Netflix now!

The director of Qorin is Ginanti Rona, who previously worked as an assistant director on some amazing Indonesian productions. These include the awesome action movies The Raid: Redemption (2011) and The Raid: Retaliation (2014). Also, she worked as assistant director on the “Safe Haven” segment of the horror anthology V/H/S/2 (2013).

And yet, for horror fans, the most intriguing assistant director credit is probably even earlier. Her debut as assistant director was on the 2009 horror movie Macabre which was written and directed by Kimo Stamboel (The Queen of Black Magic) and Timo Tjahjanto (V/H/S/94).

Not only did Ginanti Rona direct this movie (which is her tenth credit as a director), but she also wrote the screenplay with Lela Laila. You might not expect that two female filmmakers would be making horror movies in Indonesia – I wouldn’t myself – but that just goes to show that we don’t know much about filmmaking worldwide.

I will say that it felt like a woman certainly had something to do with the story. I mean, this does take place at an all-female boarding school with very few male characters and many females. And the girls in Qorin might have been learning about honor and respect, but they’re also bright and want to survive.

One last thing: Make sure you pay attention during the end credits. There are a few extra scenes. Could they be pointing toward a Qorin sequel? It’s certainly a possibility. And I’d be ready for Qorin 2. Indonesian filmmakers are quite capable of making strong sequels – Satan’s Slaves and The Raid are just two examples of this!

Qorin is on Netflix in many countries from April 13, 2023.

Details

Director: Ginanti Rona
Writers: Lele Laila, Ginanti Rona
Stars: Zulfa Maharani, Aghniny Haque, Omar Daniel, Aghniny Haque, Dea Annisa, Alyssa Abidin, Cindy Nirmala, Naimma Aljufri, Pritt Timothy, Putri Ayudya, Ridwan Roull Rohaz, Yusuf Mahardika