suzzanna buried alive movie review

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Real-Life Heroes on YouTube for Tweens and Teens

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Suzzanna: buried alive, common sense media reviewers.

Blood, gore, scary imagery in entertaining horror movie.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

No positive messages.

No positive role models.

Horror movie blood and gore. Demonic imagery. One

A home invader takes a woman's panties out of a dr

Some drinking, cigarette smoking.

Parents need to know that Suzzanna: Buried Alive is a 2018 Indonesian horror movie in which a woman murdered by home invaders comes back from the dead to get revenge. While not as bloody and gory as other horror movies, there are still plenty of scary moments that are too much for younger or more sensitive…

Positive Messages

Positive role models, violence & scariness.

Horror movie blood and gore. Demonic imagery. One of the characters is stabbed through the jaw, eyes, and ears with wooden spikes. A character is decapitated by a coiling wire. Characters stabbed to death, stabbed in the throat, through the top of the head, in the back. Character killed by getting impaled on a tree branch. Death by choking. Characters are killed by getting buried alive. Some fighting with punches and kicks. An angry mob burns a house down. A demon attacks a man getting a massage; his back is shown clawed up and bloody. A woman who was come back to life after being murdered is shown with a massive gaping bloody wound across her back.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A home invader takes a woman's panties out of a dresser drawer, presses them to his face, and deeply inhales.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Suzzanna: Buried Alive is a 2018 Indonesian horror movie in which a woman murdered by home invaders comes back from the dead to get revenge. While not as bloody and gory as other horror movies, there are still plenty of scary moments that are too much for younger or more sensitive viewers. The cackle of the lead character after she has transformed into an avenging demon is enough to give most kids nightmares, to say nothing of the more violent moments, such as one of the characters getting stabbed in the jaw, eyes, and ears with wooden spikes. There's also a decapitation when steel wires coil around the neck of one of the bad guys. Characters stabbed in the throat, back, and top of the head. Another character dies by getting impaled on a tree branch. Characters are buried alive. For older audiences, this is an entertaining horror movie that somehow, despite the themes and imagery, doesn't come off as dark and as similar horror movies. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

IN SUZZANNA: BURIED ALIVE, title character Suzzanna ( Luna Maya ) and Satria are a happily married couple living in a luxurious mansion with three servants. They have just received the good news that Suzzanna is pregnant. But when Satria, the owner of a prosperous factory, must travel abroad for business, things take a terrible turn. Four of Satria's employees, frustrated over being poor, hatch a scheme to break into Satria and Suzzanna's mansion while Suzzanna and the servants are away, steal some valuables, and improve their financial standing. But when Suzzanna returns home as the thieves are in the house, the four men, panic-stricken and not very bright, kill Suzzanna. Or, they think they have, but she's still alive when they start to bury her in the back yard. However, when the servants return, Suzzanna is in the house, and aside from acting a little strange and distant, it seems as if nothing has happened. But what the four thieves soon discover is that Suzzanna has become a sundel bolong -- a ghost who was once a pregnant woman -- the angriest and most wrathful of spirits. After consulting with a shaman, the four men must find a way to stop Suzzanna and keep Satria from finding out what happened to his beloved wife.

Is It Any Good?

This is a creepy Indonesian horror movie that manages to balance the scares with a kind of goofy kitschy charm. In other words, it's not as dark as other horror movies centered on avenging demons and the evil side of the spiritual realm. As Suzzanna, the doting pregnant woman who has been murdered by a quartet of bumbling would-be home invaders who is resurrected as a ghost determined to get revenge, Luna Maya's insane cackle is unsettling and thoroughly entertaining -- the stuff from which nightmares are created. It's the kind of cackle that will reverberate in the minds of audiences for weeks after viewing.

And yet, for the darkness of the story, Suzzanna: Buried Alive manages to be escapist entertainment without leaving the audience to spend the rest of the day brooding on overdone horror themes like "the dark side of human nature." The romance and melodrama, intentional or not, come off like the most mawkish of telenovelas, and the secondary characters are almost all goofy and two-dimensional, and none of that affects the quality of the movie overall. If anything, it adds to the fun of the experience. That said, this is the kind of horror movie one can enjoy for its own sake, and for all its scares, it doesn't take much effort to remind yourself and those around you that, "It's just a movie."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about horror movies. How does Suzzanna: Buried Alive compare to other horror movies in terms of story, violence, imagery?

What were some of the ways in which the movie tried to scare the audience? Did it rely more on blood and gore, or on psychological suspense?

How did the movie use humor to perhaps soften the darker elements of the movie?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 10, 2018
• On DVD or streaming : April 3, 2019
• Cast : Luna Maya , Herjunot Ali , T. Rifnu Wikana
• Director : Rocky Soraya
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Horror
• Topics : Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
• Run time : 125 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

The Babadook

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Best horror movies, scary movies for kids, related topics.

• Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

mm2 Entertainment Channel/YouTube

‘Suzzanna: Buried Alive’ is a revenge thriller that lacks bite

Some well-placed gore can't salvage the paper-thin characters and flimsy plotting..

Eddie Strait

Posted on Apr 4, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 3:37 pm CDT

What Joe Swanberg is to American indie dramedies, Rocky Soraya is to Indonesian supernatural horror. Between producing and directing, Soraya cranks out movies at a blistering rate. The last Soraya film I reviewed was The 3rd Eye , back in September, and much of what I said holds true for his latest work, Suzzanna: Buried Alive . Soraya works at such a breakneck pace that it feels like his first drafts go straight from the page to the screen. The film has little conflict, characters don’t act like people, and the story is gibberish. The 3rd Eye  at least found ways to moderately succeed, enough that I deemed it “spooktacular.”

Friends, Suzzanna is not spooktacular.

RELEASE DATE: 4/3/2019

DIRECTOR: Rocky Soraya, Anggy Umbara

STREAMING: Netflix

After a pregnant Suzzanna is killed during a robbery gone wrong, she comes back as a ghost to take revenge on her killers.

The movie basically delivers on its title. There’s a woman, Suzzanna, and she gets buried alive. Then she returns from the dead to take revenge on the bumbling idiots who killed her. Since Suzzanna was pregnant when she died, she becomes a sundel bolong , which, according to Indonesian mythology, is a ghost of a woman who dies while pregnant or in childbirth and gives birth in the grave or through a hole in her back. S undel bolongs  have long, beautiful hair to hide the holes in their backs, and they take on their human form unless they are weakened. So for a while, only Suzzanna’s assailants know what’s happening.

Suzzanna then methodically hunts down and haunts (haunts down?) her killers to death. In theory, this is a decent premise. But the film is simultaneously over- and underwritten, with paper-thin characters and flimsy plotting. It’s as simplistic as a story can be, made simpler by characters who explain every plot development. I assume this is for the audience’s benefit, but I can’t imagine anyone getting lost.

There is a lo-fi charm to Suzzanna , which makes it sporadically entertaining. The kills are gross and gory, and the practical effects are solid. But the movie’s charms get crushed under its bloat. Every scene feels twice as long as necessary, with some bits stretched to the point of unintentional hilarity. If the pacing were sharper, the shaggy dog quality of Suzzanna could be endearing. Instead, the movie is punishing, and I think I’ve gleaned all I can from the Rocky Soraya experience (though, to be fair, Soraya shares Suzzanna ’s directing credit with Anggy Umbara).

While I appreciate the efficiency of Soraya’s approach, his movies leaving me longing for the stronger J-horror run of the 2000s. Curiosity may get me to check out The 3rd Eye 2 , but after sitting through  Suzzanna: Buried Alive , I’m out for now.

Still not sure what to watch tonight? Here are our guides for the absolute best movies on Netflix , must-see Netflix original series , documentaries , docuseries , and movies .

Looking for something more specific? Here are our Netflix guides for the best war movies , documentaries , anime , indie flicks , true crime , food shows , rom-coms , LGBT movies , alien movies , gangster movies , Westerns , film noir , and movies based on true stories streaming right now. There are also sad movies guaranteed to make you cry, weird movies to melt your brain, old movies when you need something classic , and standup specials when you really need to laugh. Or check out Flixable , a search engine for Netflix.

Eddie Strait is a member of the Austin Film Critic Association. His reviews focus primarily on streaming entertainment, with an emphasis on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and other on-demand services.

• Action/Adventure
• Children's/Family
• Documentary/Reality
• Amazon Prime Video

More From Decider

New Shows & Movies To Watch This Weekend: 'Bridgerton' Season 3 on...

Jax Taylor Admits His "Delivery Is Awful" In 'The Valley': "That's One Of...

What Happened to Regé-Jean Page? Did the Duke Bomb His Movie Star Career...

'9-1-1's Malcolm-Jamal Warner On Amir And Bobby, Working With Peter...

'Unfrosted' Has Everyone Wondering "What's The Deal With Jerry Seinfeld?"

Chrissy Teigen Stuns John Legend On 'The Drew Barrymore Show' With Reveal...

Brooke Shields Flashed Her ‘Mother of the Bride’ Co-Star Benjamin...

Andy Cohen Reveals Sarah Jessica Parker's Reaction When He Suggested Rosie...

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to copy URL

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Suzzanna: Buried Alive’ On Netflix, An Indonesian Horror Film Where A Woman Gets Ghostly Revenge On Her Killers

Where to Stream:

• Suzzanna: Buried Alive

Indonesia is an interesting country, one where a mainly Muslim population still likes to explore Eastern-style mysticism in its writings and films. Suzzanna: Buried Alive , a new Netflix horror film, explores what would happen if a certain Indonesian urban legend was actually true. But is it entertaining?

SUZZANNA: BURIED ALIVE : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: It’s May, 1989. Suzzanna (Luna Maya) is overjoyed to tell her husband Satria (Herjunot Ali) that, after years of trying, she’s pregnant with their first child. Satria, a wealthy factory manager, is devoted to Suzzanna and wants to stay with her, but he has to travel to Japan for a business trip, and hopes she and the house’s staff — Mia (Arsi Welas), Mr. Rojali (Opie Kumis) and Tohir (Ence Bagus) — can keep her safe and healthy while he’s gone.

Meanwhile, four workers in Satria’s factory, whose request for a pay increase was rejected by Satria, decide to burglarize their boss’ house and steal one of his cars. Jonal (Verdi Solaiman) is the ringleader, Gino (Kiki Narendra) needs to pay for meds for his mother, and Dudun (Alex Abbad) just wants to score a haul. Umar (T. Rifnu Wikana), who negotiated the crew’s pay with Satria, is most reluctant, especially if it may put Suzzanna in harm’s way; he’s got a bit of a crush on her.

The plan is to rob the house while Suzzanna is out to the movies, but she comes home early, surprising them. A massive struggle ensues, and she almost gets away, but she’s impaled on a pole one of the men uses as a weapon. Then the group bury her while she’s still breathing.

One problem: Because she was pregnant, Suzzanna becomes what urban legend calls a “sundel bolong,” a spirit who takes the form of the dead woman, who floats around avenging her death. At home, the sundel bolong looks and acts like Suzzanna, but in the mirror, you can see the hole in her back where the pole impaled her. She can’t kill her killers herself, but when she’s at her most powerful, she can manipulate the world around her to kill her targets or, in one case, get one target to kill another. The burglars get so desperate, they ask Gino’s witch doctor uncle, Mr. Turu (Norman R. Akyuwen) to help kill her, especially after Satria comes back from his trip and finds out what happened and what his seemingly normal wife (who won’t pray anymore) actually is now.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: I Spit On Your Grave , Halloween , Carrie — pretty much any horror movie where someone exacts revenge, whether through supernatural or other means.

Performance Worth Watching: Luna Maya is a little over the top when she’s playing Suzzanna, loving wife to Satria, but when she’s Suzzanna, vengeful sundel bolong, she’s fun to watch, especially when she lets loose her signature cackle.

Memorable Dialogue: “Satria. I am your wife. In life and in death. If you love me, look into my eyes. Before I leave this world.” — Suzzanna to Satria as her ghostly form begs him to trust her.

Single Best Shot: A really good close-up of the hole in Suzzanna’s back as she stalks one of her killers. It’s gross in all the best ways.

Sex and Skin: Aside from one of the attackers getting a massage, nothing.

Our Take: There’s a really fun horror movie in the 125-minute running time of Suzzanna: Buried Alive (original title: Suzzanna: Bernapas dalam Kubur ); scenes like the fight she has to get away from the burglars are entertaining, and while it’s not overly scary, the revenge story takes more than enough turns to keep from getting too boring, and it’s fun to root for the ghost with a hole in her back for a change. It’s also not bad that, while the film has Netflix-funded production values, much of it is still over-the-top and cheesy, just like a good popcorn horror film should be.

• Stream It Or Skip It

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The First Omen’ on Hulu, a Shockingly Relevant, Well-Made Horror Prequel

Stream it or skip it: 'geek girl' on netflix, where an awkward teenager becomes a runway model overnight, but is still totally awkward, stream it or skip it: 'eric' on netflix, where benedict cumberbatch is a troubled dad who turns to an imaginary monster when his son goes missing, stream it or skip it: ‘colors of evil: red’ on netflix, a polish thriller about a mother’s search for answers in her daughter’s murder.

But the big problem is that the movie is far too long. The house’s staff is there as comic relief, and they seem to spend too many scenes sitting there scheming and planning, especially when Mr. Rojali brings up the topic of the sundel bolong. Tohir specifically looks and acts like an Asian stereotype from one of those banned Bugs Bunny cartoons from World War II, complete with a mustache that may still be appropriate in Indonesia but is an uneasy look for Western audience. Could this be a cultural difference between Indonesian and U.S. sensibilities? Probably. But the scenes with the three of them still feel clunky and unnecessary.

Other scenes feel long and drawn out, given the movie’s relatively straightforward plot. But cutting 20 minutes from the film would have picked up the pace, even with some of those scenes left in.

Our Call: STREAM IT, especially if you’re in the mood for a cheesy, semi-gross popcorn movie. Just be aware that there are some scenes that you can let play out while you put away the dishes.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Stream Suzzanna: Buried Alive on Netflix

Does 'Yellowstone' Return Tonight? 'Yellowstone's Season 5 Return Date, Kevin Costner Updates, And More

Sunny Hostin Leaves Her Seat On 'The View' To Advise Whoopi Goldberg About What She Can And Can't Say On TV

'Bridgerton' Showrunner Jess Brownell Explains Why We Didn't Get Penelope and Lady Danbury's Friendship in Season 3

Patricia Richardson Says 'Home Improvement' Ended Because ABC Wouldn't Give Her Equal Pay to Tim Allen

Why Isn't 'The View' Airing A New Episode Today?

Tyler James Williams Admits To "Lying" About His 'Abbott Elementary' Romantic Arc In Past Interviews

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Netflix streaming
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Link to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• Hit Man Link to Hit Man
• In A Violent Nature Link to In A Violent Nature

New TV Tonight

• We Are Lady Parts: Season 2
• Eric: Season 1
• Geek Girl: Season 1
• The Outlaws: Season 3
• Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted: Season 4
• America's Got Talent: Season 19
• Fiennes: Return to the Wild: Season 1
• The Famous Five: Season 1
• Couples Therapy: Season 4
• Celebrity Family Food Battle: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• Tires: Season 1
• Dark Matter: Season 1
• Evil: Season 4
• Outer Range: Season 2
• The Veil: Season 1
• The Sympathizer: Season 1
• Fallout: Season 1
• Bodkin: Season 1
• Under the Bridge: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• Bridgerton: Season 3 Link to Bridgerton: Season 3
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Best Movies of 2024: Best New Movies to Watch Now

25 Most Popular TV Shows Right Now: What to Watch on Streaming

Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

James Gunn’s Superman : Release Date, Trailer, Cast & More

Renewed and Cancelled TV Shows 2024

• Trending on RT
• Vote For the Best Movie of 1999
• Best Horror Movies 2024
• Mad Max Movies Ranked
• TV Premiere Dates

Suzzanna: Buried Alive Reviews

Blood, gore, scary imagery in entertaining horror movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 12, 2019

But the film is simultaneously over- and underwritten, with paper-thin characters and flimsy plotting.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 8, 2019

Stream it, especially if you're in the mood for a cheesy, semi-gross popcorn movie. Just be aware that there are some scenes that you can let play out while you put away the dishes.

Full Review | Apr 4, 2019

• Advertising

• Prime Video
• Best & Worst

Select Page

Suzzanna: Buried Alive (1/5) – Netflix Movie Review

Posted by Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard | Apr 3, 2019 | 3 minutes

Suzzanna: Buried Alive  is a new horror movie on Netflix. It’s from Indonesia and directed by Rocky Soraya and Anggy Umbara. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly a movie we can recommend. Read why in our review here!

Suzzanna: Buried Alive is an Indonesian horror movie on Netflix now. Officially, it’s a horror, comedy, drama hybrid. But really, it’s mostly horror with some very off-beat comedy elements.

Most notably a character with a grotesque overbite – the kind you might expect to see in old American movies featuring a stereotypical Asian servant character. He comes along very early in the movie and was almost enough for us to stop watching. It’s a small thing that speaks volumes about the kind of story you’re about to watch.

Honestly, we can’t recommend watching  Suzzanna: Buried Alive on Netflix.

Unless, of course, you want to have fun with a kitsch B-movie in the style of 80s horror that takes itself way too seriously.

Horror B movie galore

As stated in the former paragraphs, I suppose you can watch  Suzzanna: Buried Alive (org. title  Suzzanna: Bernapasdalam Kubur ) as a sort of joke. If you expect a serious and dark horror movie, you  will be very disappointed.

I know I was!

The character of Suzzanna (Luna Maya) isn’t exactly buried alive, as the title states, but I’ll let you figure out how all that unfolds on your own.

Watch  Suzzanna: Buried Alive on Netflix now!

The director of  Suzzanna: Buried Alive (with the original title  Suzzanna: Bernapas dalam Kubur ) is Indonesian horror director Rocky Soraya along with Anggy Umbara.

Rocky Soraya has made quite a few horror movies so far. Most notably to many are the doll horror movies The Doll  and  The Doll 2 as well as the spin-off, Sabrina . 

If I was to base my opinion of Indonesian horror on Rocky Soraya movies, I would not be impressed. It seems more important to release a lot of movies instead of creating something original and well-made. 

However, there is also at least one absolutely brilliant horror movie from Indonesia called  Satan’s Slaves . 

Recommended reading: Our review of Joko Anwar’s awesome horror movie  Satan’s Slaves here >

Of course,  Satan’s Slaves  was directed by the truly remarkable director Joko Anwar, who also directed the Indonesian episode of the Asian HBO horror anthology  Folklore  ( read our review here ). If you want to watch  really good horror from Indonesia, then Joko Anwar movies are your best bet.

If you’re curious about how well Rocky Soraya can actually make a horror movie, then check out  The Doll instead. For me,  Suzzanna: Buried Alive  was actually a waste of time. 

Suzzanna: Buried Alive is out on Netflix in the US from April 3, 2019.

Directors: Rocky Soraya, Anggy Umbara Stars: Luna Maya, Herjunot Ali, T. Rifnu Wikana, Verdi Solaiman, Alex Abbad

After a pregnant woman is murdered, her spirit seeks revenge against her increasingly terrified killers, who are determined to finish her off for good.

• Recent Posts

• Handling the Undead – Movie Review (3/5) - May 31, 2024
• Agak Laen – Review | Netflix (2/5) - May 31, 2024
• The Hangman – Movie Review (2/5) - May 30, 2024

About The Author

Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!

Related Posts

Velvet Buzzsaw (3/5)

February 1, 2019

Badland Hunters – Netflix Review (3/5)

January 26, 2024

March 24, 2017

Tiger King 2 – Netflix Review (3/5)

November 17, 2021

Pin It on Pinterest

Suzzanna: Buried Alive

Where to Watch

Luna Maya (Suzzanna) Herjunot Ali (Satria) T. Rifnu Wikana (Umar) Verdi Solaiman (Jonal) Kiki Narendra (Gino) Alex Abbad (Dudun) Asri Welas (Mia) Opie Kumis (Pak Rojali) Ence Bagus (Tohir) Norman R. Akyuwen (Mbah Turu)

Rocky Soraya, Anggy Umbara

After a pregnant woman is murdered, her spirit seeks revenge against her increasingly terrified killers, who are determined to finish her off for good.

Recommendations

Advertisement

Home » Movies

‘Suzzanna: Buried Alive’ Netflix Film Review

The unashamed throwback silliness of  Suzzanna: Buried Alive  is, I think, what I like most about it. But that’s also probably what people looking for a more traditional horror movie will hate about this genre-blending homage to Indonesian horror icon Suzzanna, perhaps not even aware that it’s a homage at all.

And that’d be a shame. But it is an unfortunate consequence of Netflix’s reach, and since  Suzzanna: Buried Alive  arrived there today, the double-edged sword of international exposure might cut Rocky Soraya and Anggy Umbara ‘s romantic horror-comedy off at the knees a bit. Taken as a single two-plus-hour genre film, it’s baggy, overlong, and tonally inconsistent; a weird mishmash of ideas and influences that only really form a cohesive whole if they’re viewed through the lens of intentional throwback pastiche. And even then the film is more fun than it is truly engaging or suspenseful.

It is fun, though. Luna Maya plays the titular Suzzanna (authentically made up for nostalgia), the happily pregnant wife of Satria ( Herjunot Ali ). Slightly less happy are Satria’s employees Jonal ( Verdi Solaiman ), Umar ( T. Rifnu Wikana ), and Dudun ( Alex Abbad ), who want a raise and, since they won’t be given one, plot to rob Satria’s home while he’s away on business. This wacky home-invasion scene results in the murder of Suzzanna and her re-emergence as a folkloric ghoul, determined to seek revenge on her killers. This is all played for maximal 80s insanity and slathered in fair helpings of over-the-top period gore, but it notably lacks any real suspense or, indeed, any actual  horror .

Intentional? Probably. But a problem nonetheless? Absolutely. Most people tune into horror films with the expectation of being scared, and the fact that  Suzzanna: Buried Alive  is a celebration of schlocky Indonesian genre cinema isn’t going to cut it as an excuse for some of those people. The film’s much better at being over-the-top than it is at being scary, and at over two hours, with certain sequences extended to a point of near-absurdity, I suspect that the sense of nostalgia isn’t going to be enough. Still, this is a well-constructed and thoroughly weird experience that is well worth a look for anyone who’s in the market for such things.

Article by Jonathon Wilson

Jonathon is one of the co-founders of Ready Steady Cut and has been an instrumental part of the team since its inception in 2017. Jonathon has remained involved in all aspects of the site’s operation, mainly dedicated to its content output, remaining one of its primary Entertainment writers while also functioning as our dedicated Commissioning Editor, publishing over 6,500 articles.

Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King review – the Bitcoin boom makes for another riveting con

Where is Josh from Emergency: NYC now?

This website cannot be displayed as your browser is extremely out of date.

Please update your browser to one of the following: Chrome , Firefox , Edge

Film Review – Suzzanna: Buried Alive (2019) [Video]

It’s no secret that Netflix wants to dominate the streaming market on a global scale. Especially with Disney+ and Apple TV+ on the horizon, they’re in a bit of a scramble to capture as much market share as possible in the next few months. So while Suzzanna: Buried Alive may not seem like a big deal to you or I, it’s a much bigger deal in other places in the world. And that’s exactly how Netflix wants it.

The following review will be spoiler free.

Directed By:  Rocky Soraya and Anggy Umbara

Written By:  Bene Dion Raja Gukguk, Ferry Lesmana, and Sunil Soraya

Starring:  Luna Maya, Herjunot Ali, T. Rifnu Wikana, Verdi Solaiman, Kiki Narendra, and Alex Abbad

Suzzanna (Maya) and Satria (Ali) have been married for seven years but they have not been blessed with children. They live in a house with three assistants: Mia, Tohir, and Pak Rojali. Suzzanna’s long- awaited pregnancy finally happened, but unfortunately it clashed with Satria’s international work assignment. This was exploited by four of Satria employees: Jonal, Umar, Dudun, and Gino, who held grudges against Satria and intended to rob Satria’s house when his house was empty.

But unlucky for them, their robbery plan turned out to be a murder when Suzzanna who was supposed to go with her three assistants went home by herself instead due to the weak condition of her body. Panicked, they then buried Suzzanna’s body at the backyard of the house. Strangely, the next day, Suzzanna continued to act as usual at home, as if nothing had happened. Is Suzzanna still alive ? Did Suzzanna succeed in fulfilling her promise to wait for Satria to come home?

For a discussion of Suzzanna: Buried Alive ,  watch the video from Austin Burke below:

Information

To watch more content from Austin Burke, check out his  YouTube channel by clicking here .

Thank you for reading! What are your thoughts on Suzzanna: Buried Alive? Comment down below!

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to MovieBabble via email to stay up to date on the latest content.

Join MovieBabble on Patreon so that new content will always be possible.

What movie topic should I discuss next? Whether it be old or new, the choice is up to you!

A current young professional in the Richmond, Virginia area, Nick founded MovieBabble in October of 2016 when he was a bored college student with nothing else to do. (And he kicks himself every day that his story isn't better.) Nick is also a member of the Online Film Critics Society, the Internet Film Critics Society and the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association. You can follow him on Twitter @nkush42

Related Articles

‘trunk’ is a tightly controlled ride, ‘ehrengard: the art of seduction’ – love has the..., ‘fingernails’: a low-key romantic drama that asks important questions, ‘flora and son’: the mother-son bridge that music crosses, ‘the wonderful story of henry sugar’: a faithful adaptation..., ‘you are so not invited to my bat mitzvah’:..., ‘eldorado: everything the nazis hate’ – a warning not..., ‘reality’: captured on tape, captivating on screen, ‘ghosted’ just can’t be real…can it.

You state in your article the couple was married 7 years, but in the movie, rather the English subtitiles.. they state 5 years. Fun movie.. my husband and u watched eating chips and dip.

Join the MovieBabble staff: https://moviebabble971852905.wpcomstaging.com/join-moviebabble/

Like MovieBabble on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moviebabblereviews/

Follow MovieBabble on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moviebabble/

Follow MovieBabble on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MovieBabble_

Leave a Comment Below! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Discover more from MovieBabble

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

• Start a new list…
• Add all films to a list…
• Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

Where to watch

Suzzanna: buried alive, suzzanna: bernapas dalam kubur.

Directed by Rocky Soraya , Anggy Umbara

Satria's employees intend to rob his house when he is out of the country but their robbery turns into murder when they find Suzzanna in the house as they bury her body in the backyard.

Luna Maya Herjunot Ali Asri Welas Ence Bagus Opie Kumis Verdi Solaiman Teuku Rifnu Wikana Alex Abbad Kiki Narendra Clift Sangra Norman R. Akyuwen

Directors Directors

Rocky Soraya Anggy Umbara

Producers Producers

Sunil Soraya Anand Mahtani Dian W Sasmita Ferry Lesmana

Writer Writer

Bene Dion Rajagukguk

Story Story

Sunil Soraya Ferry Lesmana Bene Dion Rajagukguk

Casting Casting

Dewi Yulia Razif

Editor Editor

Sastha Sunu

Cinematography Cinematography

Ipung Rachmat Syaiful

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Rendy Jasin Yohanes Gatot Subroto Ateeq Shah

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Bounty Umbara

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Raam Soraya

Art Direction Art Direction

Rico Marpaung T. Moty D. Setyanto

Sound Sound

Khikmawan Santosa

Makeup Makeup

Pyotr Gorshenin Tatyana Melkomova

Soraya Intercine Films

Alternative Titles

Suzzanna: Enterrada Viva, Suzzanna : buried alive, 수사나: 산 채로 묻힌 여자, 活埋之怨, Chôn Sống, Suzzanna: Enterrada viva

Drama Horror

Releases by Date

15 nov 2018, 03 apr 2019, releases by country.

125 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by TukangNonton ★★★★

My favourite gender is Suzzanna laughing at men getting slaughtered.

Review by pal ★★★★ 1

bertambah lagi film lokal dengan genre horror yang berkelas. terlihat jelas jika Suzzanna: Bernapas Dalam Kubur ini digarap dengan serius, bukan semata-mata hanya untuk mencari keuntungan dengan melibatkan nama besar mendiang Suzzanna.

film ini juga sukses membawa para penontonnya pada film horror klasik yang sederhana, memberi kesan menakutkan tanpa harus menyuguhkan banyak jump scare yang berisik seperti film horror zaman sekarang.

Suzzanna: Bernapas Dalam Kubur memang tidak menyajikan horror yang membuat bulu kuduk berdiri, tapi menampilkan paduan pas antara drama, komedi, dan adegan gore yang tidak disangka cukup terlihat sadis.

p.s: nostalgia yang menyenangkan ketika menonton film ini.

Review by Panji_Respati ★★★½ 7

Surprisingly elemen paling menonjol dalam film ini adalah ROMANCE.

Dari sisi horror pun tidak terlalu seram karena jump scares yg tak terlalu efektif, bahkan sisi komedi-nya pun cukup kuat walau porsinya sedikit. Bisa dibilang ini FILM TERBAIK dari ANGGI UMBARA bagi saya. Walaupun ANGGI TIDAK MENYELESAIKAN FILMNYA SECARA UTUH dan dia dibantu oleh ROCKY SORAYA.

Luna Maya benar-benar menjelma jadi Suzanna KW. Tapi Highlight saya ada pada Herjunot Ali yg tampil mengesankan

SUZANNA BERNAPAS DALAM KUBUR ADALAH FILM ROMANCE YG DIBALUT KOMEDI DAN HORROR SEBENARNYA...

Review by Moresbi ★★★

Just for context, "Suzzanna: Buried Alive" is a remake of 1981's "Sundel Bolong", which (again) I haven't seen -> letterboxd.com/film/ghost-with-hole/

The plot was ok, though I think the execution wasn't the most effective. The movie was definitely too long and it dragged a bit in parts, while also being underwhelming in its horror elements for big stretches (though it gets much better in the latter stages).

In the acting department, Luna Maya was the natural stand out as the main lead (though a bit over styled, at times). Generally, I think the cast were competent in their respective roles, with a few stand outs there as well.

Very surprised the movie is not considered a comedy lol It definitely is…

Review by Austin Burke ★★★

⚠️60% YouTube review - Click  HERE 2019 list - Click  HERE

A 3/5 may look like a rough score (to some), but I will remember this movie as a nice surprise (considering my expectations). It’s an Indonesian film that tackles genre conventions from the 80’s and applies them to a screenplay in 2019 . I found that extremely surprising and pleasing, to a degree. Suzzanna is an incredibly entertaining main character who dies and returns to haunt these men who killed her. Instead of focusing on the more horrific elements, it tends to tell the story more from her perspective. When it tries to be scary, it’s not ; but it rarely tries. It is very self-aware, which adds to the quality of the…

Review by CJ ★★★★ 2

Keeping it in the family, Rocky Soraya pays homage here to the Suzzanna films of yore, most notably 1981's Sundel Bolong (produced by his father Ram Soraya, who also produces this). Set in 1989, Buried Alive casts Soraya regular Luna Maya as a character named Suzzanna and makes her up to look uncannily like the real Suzzanna. When a house break-in goes wrong, pregnant Suzzanna - in the wrong place at the wrong time - gets a pole through the gut and is buried alive, left to die a slow, painful death. As a result of being pregnant at the time of said death, she becomes a Sundel Bolong - albeit a slightly coy variant of what that actually is…

Review by Hary Susanto ★★★½

Mungkin saya adalah sedikit orang yang gak pernah setuju dgn proyek-proyek "Reborn". Ya, kenapa kita tidak membiarkan saja para legenda itu beristirahat tenang bersama karya-karya epik mereka? Tapi harus diakui "Suzana Bernafas dalam Kubur" adl pengecualian, sebuah kejutan yang menyenangkan, bahkan lebih menyenangkan timbang dwilogi "Warkop DKI Reborn" yang super duper MEH itu.

Review by Sudar 😌 Manto ★★★★ 3

Suzzana: Bernapas Dalam Kubur sempat syuting ulang dan berganti sutradara, dari Anggy Umbara ke Rocky Soraya, karena perbedaan visi dengan produser Sunil Soraya. Cerita filmnya sendiri dibuat segar, tidak berhubungan dengan film lawas Bernafas Dalam Lumpur (1970) atau Beranak Dalam Kubur (1971). Namun tetap berlatar masa 1980an.

Mungkin ada bocoran!!!

Suzzanna (Luna Maya) dan Satria (Herjunot Ali) akhirnya dikarunia kehamilan setelah lima tahun menunggu. Hidup mereka bahagia bak bulan madu di pelangi. Baru berbahagia, mereka sudah terpisah. Satria mesti dinas ke Jepang. Dia bos di sebuah pabrik. Sebagai bos dia menghadapi tuntutan karyawannya yang ingin naik gaji terus.

Seorang karyawan, Umar (Teuku Rifnu Wikana), memprovokasi karyawan-karyawan lain untuk tuntut naik gaji. Para buruh itu diwakilkan empat orang: Umar, Dudun, Jonal,…

Review by Reyzando Nawara ★★½

Aku akan tetap menjadi istrimu dalam keadaan hidup atau mati, Mas.

Sebagai salah satu film horor Indonesia yang cukup diantisipasi kehadirannya tahun ini, Suzzanna: Bernafas dalam Kubur , sedikit kurang dapat dikatakan berhasil menjadi remake salah satu film klasik kesayangan pecinta horor Indonesia.

Secara segi cerita, film ini mungkin tidak menawarkan sebuah cerita yang baru, bagi yang pernah menonton versi lamanya, kurang lebihnya pasti sudah tahu jalan ceritanya. Namun, selipan dari kombinasi film-film lain Suzzanna ada yang diselipkan disini, sehingga terdapat sedikit variasi yang membuatnya tampil lebih fresh. Memamg genre utamanya ialah horor, namun film ini justru tidak terasa seram sama sekali, mungkin disitulah letak kelemahan utamanya. Namun, berbagai rentetan jokes yang diumpankan oleh tiga karakter pembantu Suzzanna, --Asri Welas; Oppie…

Review by Fikri Ariyanto ★★★½

Film ini benar-benar definisi dari paket lengkap. Elemen horor, komedi, maupun romance berhasil dipadukan serta sukses dibangun sangat baik tanpa terasa tumpang tindih. Luna Maya dapat memerankan Suzzanna dengan cemerlang. Tak lupa 3 asisten rumah tangga yang mencuri perhatian dan bagian teknis jempolan membuat Bernafas Dalam Kubur sangat sulit untuk tidak memberikan hiburan yang menyenangkan sekalipun dengan beberapa kekurangan yang ada. Fun!

Review by Cliff ★★★

Horror director Rocky Soraya pays homage to the late Indonesian genre star Suzzanna by remaking one of her movies and naming the main character after her. She - the fictional Suzzanna - is a woman who's married to a wealthy business owner, but his disgruntled staff decide to burgle their house and they kill her in the process. Except the next morning, Suzzanna finds herself back at home as normal. But she isn't normal, she's a vengeful ghost version of herself with a massive hole through her abdomen, and driven to kill her murderers in elaborate fashion.

This is a film that spends too long being jolly and fun before finally getting to the actual meat. At 125 minutes, it's…

Review by Jakarta Cinema Club

A group of underpaid (enough is never enough) labors expect a raise after an actual raise. Money is always a problem. What’s next? Do ANYTHING to get them, even it concerns harmful plans. What a sad life.

Let’s admit that the makeup work for Luna Maya along with her performance are the spotlights here. She’s the soul of the tragedy in this drama. Nice job.

Related Films

Select your preferred poster

Suzzanna: Buried Alive

Stream & Watch Suzzanna: Buried Alive

Cast & Crew

Suzzanna new generation collection.

Suzzanna: Buried Alive is an Indonesian horror-fantasy film that will be released on November 15, 2018. This film will 'rebirth' the legendary figure who is also dubbed the “queen of national horror films”, Suzanna. The sequel is titled Witchcraft on the Science of Melting Life

Movie Details

Similar movies.

Movie Reviews

Follow Moviefone

Latest trailers.

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .

• TV Listings
• Cast & Crew

Suzzanna: Buried Alive Reviews

• 2 hr 5 mins
• Drama, Horror, Suspense
• Watchlist Where to Watch

A pregnant woman's ghost haunts her murderers on a quest for vengeance. As their terror escalates, the killers vow to rid themselves of her once and for all.

Suzzanna: Buried Alive

Original title: suzzanna: bernapas dalam kubur.

Streaming in:

We checked for updates on 248 streaming services on May 30, 2024 at 9:12:31 AM. Something wrong? Let us know!

Suzzanna: Buried Alive streaming: where to watch online?

Currently you are able to watch "Suzzanna: Buried Alive" streaming on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads.

Where does Suzzanna: Buried Alive rank today? The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

Streaming charts last updated: 5:20:43 PM, 05/30/2024

Suzzanna: Buried Alive is 25622 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 21281 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than No Time for Sergeants but less popular than The Second Mother.

Satria's employees intend to rob his house when he is out of the country but their robbery turns into murder when they find Suzzanna in the house as they bury her body in the backyard.

Videos: Trailers, Teasers, Featurettes

Streaming Charts The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

Production country

People who liked suzzanna: buried alive also liked.

Popular movies coming soon

Similar Movies you can watch for free

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Suzzanna: Buried Alive

• After a pregnant woman is murdered, her spirit seeks revenge against her increasingly terrified killers, who are determined to finish her off for good.
• Suzzanna and Satria have been married for seven years but have not been blessed with children. They live with three assistants: Mia, Tohir, and Rojali. Suzzanna's long-awaited pregnancy finally happens, but unfortunately it is coincided with Satria's official plan abroad. This opportunity is utilized by four Satria employees: Jonal, Umar, Dudun, and Gino, who hold grudges against Satria and intend to rob Satria's house when his house is empty. But unlucky, their robbery plan turns into the murder of Suzzanna who is supposed to go out with her assistants but to return home by herself due to a weak body condition. Because of panic, they then burry Suzzanna's body in the house's backyard. Strangely, the next day, Suzzanna continues to act as usual at home, as if nothing has happened. — Eldwin Muhammad

It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. Be the first to contribute.

Contribute to this page

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More from this title

More to explore, recently viewed.

Suzzana: Buried Alive

About this movie.

Advertisement

Supported by

Critic’s Pick

‘Handling the Undead’ Review: When the Dead Don’t Die

A zombie movie is wrapped in a gentle tale of mourning and love.

• Share full article

By Alissa Wilkinson

The yearning to reverse death is baked into human nature, a longing to defeat evil, to set things right, to conquer mortality. In “Handling the Undead,” that desire is the fruit of great love. Who hasn’t, upon losing someone, wished desperately for just one more chance to see them, hold them, tell them how much they mean?

“Handling the Undead” has an earnest and simple premise that sounds like enough for a whole thriller: One day, out of nowhere, with little explanation, the dead are reanimated en masse. The film is unconcerned with the global ramifications of this phenomenon; instead, its focus is on three groups of Oslo residents whose lives are upended by the event.

There is Mahler (Bjorn Sundquist) and his daughter, Anna (Renate Reinsve), a single mother whose young son died some time ago. The two of them, from the looks of it, have never recovered from the loss — Mahler weeps on his grandson’s grave, while Anna tries to bury her anguish in work. Meanwhile, Tora (Bente Borsum) grieves her partner, Elisabet (Olga Damani), who has died after their long life together. And David (an outstanding Anders Danielsen Lie ), an aspiring comic, is shocked when his beloved wife, Eva (Bahar Pars), is killed in a car accident, barely knowing how to keep living with their two teenagers.

This is merely the beginning of the story. But what follows is simple, and the director Thea Hvistendahl wisely takes her time getting to any real action. Instead, with a slow-moving camera and plenty of filtered sunlight, she conjures a dreamlike state, the sense of hanging between planes of existence that tends to accompany those who grieve. There are times when the film veers too near the maudlin for comfort, but it always finds its way back to something spare and meaningful. What would you do, the story gently asks, if your fondest and most impossible wish was granted, and you realized it wasn’t at all what you’d hoped it would be? How far does real love go to maintain a connection with those whose time has come?

Hvistendahl wrote the screenplay with John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of the novel on which the movie is based (as well as the quiet vampire story “Let The Right One In”). The drama borrows from zombie movies, but for something distinctly unzombielike. What’s under examination is the strange permeable barrier between life and death, and the way it appears to those who are left behind to deal with the fallout. In exploring it with a hint of mysticism, “Handling the Undead” joins a rich variety of entertainment, like “Fringe,” “The Leftovers,” “The Good Place” and “Six Feet Under.”

It’s also a foundational plank in the “Avengers” films, which take as one of their major plot points the notion of what’s called “the snap.” A villain manages to exterminate half of earth’s population, only to have the process reversed five years later. Outside of a few TV show plotlines, the Marvel Cinematic Universe — being big-budget Hollywood entertainment — has never really managed to reckon in a satisfying way with the chaos of a world where the dead are made alive again. Instead, the logistical nightmares and odd inevitable grief of the reversal (what if you remarried, and then your spouse suddenly returned?) are quickly dealt with in favor of defeating the next big bad.

“Handling the Undead” also eschews any of the practical questions, but with a more humanist intent: to lean single-mindedly into its characters’ emotions — and also its eerie mythical resonance. It’s a somber film, underplaying its potential for sentimentality. But it does have an oddly cheeky beginning. As the camera slowly moves through Mahler’s drab flat, we hear a choir singing in English. “God so loved the world, so loved the world,” they begin, in the British composer Bob Chilcott’s choral setting of John 3:16 . Both verse and song end with the promise that whoever believes in God’s son, Jesus, “should not perish but have everlasting life, everlasting, everlasting life.”

The verse and its text are such a cultural touchstone that the oddly macabre implications can be lost. It’s meant to be somewhat metaphorical, referring to an eternity spent in the presence of God, but on the surface it’s something much weirder: life that never ceases, that simply goes on and on, forever and ever, without end.

There’s something very terrifying in that premise (just ask vampire movies), and that’s what “Handling the Undead” taps into. There’s an old truism that it’s death that gives life meaning, that mortality is what makes every moment count. But truisms become truisms because they are true, and when a life ends, it changes the people it once touched. It’s cruel and wrong to suggest that death is good — but it’s kind, at least, to recall what death can mean to the living.

Handling the Undead Not rated. In Norwegian, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes. In theaters.

Alissa Wilkinson is a Times movie critic. She’s been writing about movies since 2005. More about Alissa Wilkinson

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Leslye Headland’s new “Star Wars” show, The Acolyte,” is a dream come true, but she knows it carries enormous expectations .

Once relegated to supporting roles, the comedian Michelle Buteau  is a star of the film “Babes” and is moving to a bigger stage, Radio City Music Hall, for her new special.

American audiences used to balk at subtitles. But recent hits like “Shogun” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” show how much that has changed .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

Suzzanna: Buried Alive

More Details

More like this.

Coming Soon

Questions? Call 1-844-505-2993

• Help Center
• Media Center
• Investor Relations
• Redeem Gift Cards
• Buy Gift Cards
• Ways to Watch
• Terms of Use
• Cookie Preferences
• Corporate Information
• Legal Notices
• Only on Netflix

Netflix Indonesia