The Dendam Malam Kelam (2025) is a suspenseful and twisted revenge thriller movie from Indonesia. “Dark Night’s Revenge” is the English movie title of the movie “Dendam Malam Kelam” in Indonesian. Although it seems that the makers have also released it with the “Vengeance in the Dreary Night” movie title.
Additionally, it is worth noting that the Indonesian film is based on “El Cuerpo” (2012 – The Body), an original Spanish movie. Furthermore, the same Spanish film was also remade with the title “The Body” (2019/Hindi) in India and now in Indonesia. And to be honest, we saw the 2012 Spanish movie more than a decade ago.
Suspenseful Crime Drama Thriller With Shocking End!
Spoiler-Free Movie Review of the Dendam Malam Kelam
The synopsis
Jefri (Arya Saloka) and Sarah (Davina Karamoy), a young couple who are having an affair. The two of them have to desperately create an alibi after Sofia (Marissa Anita), Jefri's legal wife, is killed and her body disappears. Arya Pradana (Bront Palarae), a police investigator, uses all his logic to find the truth.
Has her corpse come back to life and exacted revenge on her killer? Or what are the real facts?
A brief note about the storyline
We sincerely hope and assume that you have not seen the original Spanish (2012) and the Hindi (2019) remake versions of this movie earlier.
Dendam Malam Kelam (2025), this Indonesian movie wholeheartedly follows the premise, mystery, suspense and story of the original Spanish movie. As it shares the same screenwriters. And you know the plot twists. If you have seen either of the films mentioned above, then you might not enjoy this crime drama mystery.
On the other hand, if you have not seen the films mentioned above, then go right ahead and watch this twisted tale of revenge. Actually, you might enjoy the unexpected twists and turns in its plotline.
In the opening scene of the movie, the dead body of Sofia (Marissa Anita) disappears from a Police mortuary building. So, has Sofia’s ghost woken up? Or is Sofia still alive? Or did someone remove Sofia’s dead body? The police try to find out the truth. But they have so many queries. Was Sofia murdered? Who killed her?
The movie uses a smart storyline and flashbacks to peek into the past lives of the four key characters, Jefri (Arya Saloka), Sarah (Davina Karamoy), Sofia (Marissa Anita) and Arya Pradana (Bront Palarae). Keep a close eye on the shocking twist in the closing scenes of the movie. You might not see it coming.
We wish to tell you more in detail about its storyline, but that will only ruin your viewing pleasure. Okay.
Four key actors, Arya, Bront, Marissa & Davina kept us engaged
The protagonist is a police official, Arya Pradana (Bront Palarae), who is trying to get to the bottom of what went wrong. Where has Sofia (Marissa Anita) disappeared? And is the antagonist, Jefri (Arya Saloka), a suspected murderer? It appears as if he has murdered his wife, Sofia (Marissa Anita). Is it true? And did he succeed? In addition to these three characters, the role of the young Sarah (Davina Karamoy) also looks suspicious. Is she involved in the murder as well as the murder cover-up operations? Well, almost all the key characters have dark shades of grey in this movie.
Fascinatingly, we are sure that we heard the Malaysian actor Bront Palarae (aka Nasrul Suhaimin bin Saifuddin) use the Hindi swear word quite a few times in this film. Besides, just like the Malaysian lead actor, the other main Indonesian actors, Arya Saloka, Marissa Anita and Davina Karamoy performed well. All four of them did a good job of playing these realistic characters, who displayed human-like emotions. And it is credible that they also manage to keep the mystery and suspense right till the final closing scene of the film. The rest of the ensemble cast also played their supporting roles adequately.
The conclusion
So, is “Dendam Malam Kelam” a good crime thriller movie? Well, to be honest, it is an engrossing and fairly decent mystery drama movie to watch. Although it is not as good as the original Spanish film, it is still better than the Hindi remake of the same. Especially for first-time viewers, it is an entertaining film to watch.
Rating: Dendam Malam Kelam (2025/Indonesian) Movie
| FM Rating | 3.55/5 |
Poster: Dendam Malam Kelam (2025/Indonesian) Movie
Key Details: Dendam Malam Kelam (2025/Indonesian) Movie
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
| Original Language | Indonesian |
| Duration | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Screenwriters | Oriol Paulo & Lara Sendim – (based on their Spanish film) Danial Rifki |
| Director | Danial Rifki |
| Composer | Mondo Gascaro |
| Cinematographer | Hani Pradigya |
| Editors | Febby Gozal & Sentot Sahid |
| Main Cast | Arya Saloka (Jefri), Bront Palarae (Arya Pradana), Marissa Anita (Sofia), Davina Karamoy (Sarah), Ibnu Gundul (Lio), Megatira (Julie), Putri Ayudya (Dr. Nadia), Agus Firmansyah (Head of Security), etc. |
| Network | Netflix |
The Trailer: Dendam Malam Kelam (2025/Indonesian) Movie
Also, check out the YouTube links to the trailers in two languages
1. Spanish film - El Cuerpo (2012) Movie Trailer &
2. Hindi film - The Body (2019) Movie Trailer.
Lastly, read the FM Movie Review of the Pasutri Gaje (2024/Indonesia) Movie in our Focus Magazine, another film from Indonesia.
Poster and Featured Image of the Dendam Malam Kelam (2025/Indonesian) Movie | Pictures Credit: Falcon Pictures & Netflix.
