Movie Review: Sumala: An Horror Story

It all began in a small village where a group of children went to play ball in the field, before they left, one of the parents warned them to return home before sunset. As they played, time passed by quickly and the sun began to set. Most of the children decided to leave but two of them refused and wanted to play a little longer.

One of them passed the ball harder and it went into the bush. As they searched for it, darkness fell. Then, a voice called out to the boy. Curious, he ignored the girl's warning and wandered deeper into the bush. The girl tried calling him back not to go, but he declined and kept going until he was attacked by this young girl who smashed his head on a rock, and he died.

Terrified, the girl ran home to inform her parents what had happened. But no one believed her except for a man who had lived in the village all his life. The man knew the truth and revealed a chilling story of what had happened 29 years ago to them.

A Desperate Pact with the Devil

A couple in the village had been barren for years. The wife had tried all means but nothing was happening. Under pressure from her husband who threatened to get married again if the wife didn't conceive by the following year, she travelled to another village to meet an old woman for help. Unknown to her, the woman was a servant of the devil, luring people into dark pacts.

The old woman promised she would get pregnant within two months under one condition - she had to be bound to the devil forever. In her desperation, she agreed. The old woman warned her that she would give birth to twins - one would be beautiful and human while the other would be ugly and belong to the devil. She was instructed to love and care for both children until they turned ten, and the ugly child would return to the devil, allowing the family to live happily ever after.

But as the saying goes, no one makes a deal with the devil and goes scot-free.

A Tragic Mistake

Two months later, the wife became pregnant and eventually gave birth to twins. The first baby, Sumala, was hideous, very white and ugly, and did not cry upon birth. The second, Kumala is very beautiful and human but was born with a deformity.

The husband, disgusted by the sight of Sumala, immediately killed her. The woman, weak in labour, could not do anything. But by breaking the pact, they unknowingly set off a curse that would haunt them forever.

Kumala started growing up, but at three years, she'd not started walking or talking. This became a big concern for the parents.

As Kumala grew, she was mistreated and neglected by her parents, except for her old aunt who loved her so dearly. Even the neighbourhood children constantly mocked her for her deformity. At night, the father would lock her up in a storehouse outside the house and torture her, while her mother remained silent out of fear.

Despite her loneliness, Kumala found comfort in an unseen presence - her twin sister, Sumala, who had returned. Bound by the curse, Sumala promised to be by her side and never be lonely and alone again.

The village was soon thrown into chaos. The first sign of trouble came when Sumala, now a vengeful spirit possessed Kumala and killed the children who mocked and bullied her. The people panicked and suspected Kumala, but her mother knew the truth - Sumala, the devil's child, had returned.

As the haunting escalated, they soon found out there was nothing to do to stop Kumala, who was now completely taken over by Sumala. Every sunset, she would roam the village, hunting every child who was still outside.

Though I enjoyed this movie as it has an intriguing storyline, it was a story without closure. There was no resolution - no way to capture or destroy the evil spirit. The only way to survive was to be indoors before sunset which felt like an incomplete solution. The movie could have made more sense if there had been a way to end the terror and bring peace back to the village.

That being said, the movie was entertaining. The story was gripping, the horror elements were intense and the gory, violent scenes were just exactly what I loved in horror stories. There were lessons taken from the movie - when you make a deal with the devil, he ensures you pay back heavily, no mercy.

Also, I blame the husband. It was all his fault. His impatience and pressure pushed his wife to desperately find a solution, leading to the tragedy that followed.

I'd rate Sumala a 5/10, the storyline was strong, the characters did well, and the atmosphere was eerie and gory enough to keep me engaged.

If you love supernatural horror with a heavy touch of violence, Sumala is worth watching. Only that the end was incomplete.

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_{All images are screenshots from Imdb}