WHEN Razaisyam Rashid decided upon the house he was going to use as the setting for his upcoming horror film, Pusaka, little did the director know that he got more than he bargained for.
Razaisyam recalls: “We were clueless that the house we rented in Taman Titiwangsa for the shoot was really haunted.”
Two of his crew members suffered a ‘possession’ while filming, and the production team had to call in an utaz (a religious official) to perform special prayers to ward off any further ghostly disturbances.
These incidents added to the chills in this horror film about supernatural events surrounding a pair of twins.
The trailer for Pusaka looks chilling, creepy and eerie. Scheduled for release in cinemas on Oct 31, the film stars Syafiq Kyle, Sweet Qismina, Mimi Lana, Faizal Hussein, Ogy Ahmad Daud and Aloy Paradox.
The story begins with Inspector Nuar (Syafiq) entering an abandoned house and discovering Qistina, who is trapped in the house along with the body of her twin sister, Balqis (both played by 22-year-old TV host and actress Sweet).
Not long after that, Nuar begins to experience a series of unexplained hauntings, and soon, individuals linked to the case begin mysteriously dying. When Nuar investigates further the situation surrounding the twins, he uncovers a shocking secret that shatters his life.
Razaisyam states that Pusaka is a combination of horror and a police investigation, adding that “very few Malaysian films combine both these elements, and that is [going to be the] selling point of Pusaka”.
This is Razaisyam’s second feature after the 2014 comedy, CEO, starring Remy Ishak and Beto Kusyairy. Previously, Razaisyam was known more for his television work, with over 10 TV productions to his name.
But the 34-year-old admits loving the horror genre, citing The Shining, The Exorcist and The Conjuring as his all-time favourite horror films.
Razaisyam is full of praise for his cast for delivering convincing performances, particularly his lead actor Syafiq.
The director confesses to not being all that impressed by Syafiq’s performance initially, but the actor surprised him by really getting under the skin of his character.
The 27-year-old Syafiq, who recently won the most popular TV actor award at the Anugerah Bintang Popular BH last month, explains how he asked his older brother, a police officer, to introduce him to his colleagues.
“I interviewed them about their daily lives and their job,” he says. “I studied their body language.”
Syafiq then incorporated what he had learned into his character. “I was determined to make Inspector Nuar believable.”
Syafiq, who has appeared in films as varied as Osman Ali’s Langsuir and Umi Salwana Omar’s Gol & Gincu 2, says he never chooses his roles based on money. “I always choose roles [that] challenge me to become a better actor.”
The actor is also out to prove his critics wrong – that audiences won’t come to see a TV actor on the big screen. “At the end of the day, if you give a convincing performance, people will pay to see you.”
According to one insider, the actor who really shines in Pusaka is veteran actress Ogy Ahmad Daud, who plays the grandmother to the strange twins.
Ogy, 56, relishes her role. She explains: “My character, Opah, is diabolical and has secrets to hide.
“She does not have a lot of dialogue. I have to rely on my body language and eyes to [relay] her emotions.”
The actress based her role on her own maternal great-grandmother, whom she described as “a bit of a hunchback” and who passed away when Ogy was 11.
She says: “I slept with her. I fed her. I played with her. It is easy for an actor to [imitate] people she knows.”
As for the supernatural incidences, Ogy says she did not see anything strange. But she remembers feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up when she entered the compound of the house where they were shooting.
“A crew member told me he saw a strange-looking child walking near me,” she recalls, which scared her.
Syafiq, who spent a lot of time in that house and who shot scenes in a graveyard, took several precautions.
He says he never failed to wash his legs and face, and say a little prayer, before entering his own house.
“The last thing I want is to bring a restless spirit into my house,” he adds.
