Plot Summary
The Doll 3 starts with a new girl called Vanya who is struggling to cope with the death of her mother. Aiden, her uncle, runs a doll manufacturing firm and is married to Maira who takes care of Vanya. Maira tries to help Vanya get accustomed to the new home by giving her a new doll prototype called Sabrina alongside a doll she had earlier purchased. To her dismay, Sabrina turns into a demon.
Her character arc follows her mother, but the adults in the film seem oblivious to the processes and challenges a child goes through while trying to deal with and make sense of loss. Vanya’s goal is to bring her mother back. To do so, Vanya engages in something called The Charlie Charlie Challenge, and with the aid of Sabrina, Sabrina becomes the conduit through which a malevolent spirit can enter. Thus, the door to the besiege world opens translating into frightful living conditions for the other members within the house.
As the haunting turns creepy, the family is forced to turn to the experts in The Doll 2, where Larash and Bagas educated us, professional demonologists and exorcists. They have a captivating story about family above that takes us into the riveting world of Vanya while revealing the demon that she possesses – Baghiah caster of utter calamity, wrathful fury, or violent rage as alternate names depict her purpose of subjugation.
In simple words, the movie The Doll 3 offers us an everlasting growth story that teaches so many lessons about loss, grief, family, failure and emotional impact loss of any loved one has on an individual.
Viewing The Doll 3 in a different perspective showcases it as an educational tale for every individual dealing with loss or embarking on the difficult journey of moving beyond grief.
From this point onward, the film escalates into an all-out war between the power of sheer will and human resolve and unrelenting demonic rage. The narrative takes a darker turn as it unfolds the family’s secrets, suggesting that Aiden may have made a pact in exchange for success, thereby enabling Baghiah’s invasion.
Laras and Bagas perform the last of what can be described as excruciatingly painful voodoo on Vanya in an attempt to capture him and expel the demon for good. As expected from horror films with supernatural elements, the resolution is still open-ended, and the possibility of further haunting is left unaddressed.
Cast and Character
Luna Maya as Maira
In what is without a doubt one of the most emotional scenes in the film, Luna Maya as Maira delivers an equally captivating performance as the adopted mother grappling with the desire to connect and feeling guilt, terror, and a growing realization that her niece is not simply a doll.
Christian Sugiono as Aiden
He is a kindly, albeit troubled, Aiden who comes off as a well-meaning businessman; his secrets ultimately put the family at risk. Sugiono captures the two-sided nature of a man stuck in the crosshairs of personal ambition and familial responsibility.
Richelle Georgette Skornicki as Vanya
Vanya’s character arc involves her in her mother’s grief, which never fails to evoke horror and is Vanya’s desire to meet her mother. Richelle handpicked the role as the emotionally damaged child exceptionally well, which greatly added to the story’s emotional impact. Her innocence and vulnerability to the character were remarkable.
Sara Wijayanto as Laras
Laras is revisiting the role she previously portrayed, a ghost hunter with remarkable morals. She adds great intensity into the movie alongside profundity, especially during her exorcisms in the movie’s climax.
Jeremy Thomas as Bagas
As Bagas, with his calm demeanour, sheds much needed experience, wisdom, parallelling the spiritual strife with practical demonology knowledge.
Themes and Symbolism.
Alongside various themes Sabrina has woven throughout, it’s fair to say she uses horror as a foundation.
Grief and Loss
Unfortunately, grief depicted throughout the film tends to flow towards Vanya. Vanya’s emotional tie to her mother fuels so much unnecessary strife for the character, while concurrently depicting grief left unattended leading to tragic situations, especially children are prone to this.
Family and Secrets.
Individually, Aiden, Maira and Vanya wrapped into one unit, serves as the supernatural glue connecting inter-sibling turmoil. The adult skeletons in Aiden’s closet are his past blunders and one’s endless scream of success will undeniably return to haunt them.Faith and the Supernatural
Like most Indonesian horror films, Sabrina also considers conflict resolution in the context of spiritual warfare. Religious rituals, prayers, and ghost banishments are central to the story’s resolution.
Technology vs. Tradition
Aiden’s company represents modernity and mass doll production. Sabrina suggests that, along with modern evil, there are ancient forces that modernity attempts to control or contain.
Cinematic Style and Direction
Many elements of horror, such as flickering lights, abrupt pans, haunting music, and wind-up toys, are included by director Rocky Soraya. He puts his own polish and sheen on these elements. The film is aesthetically pleasant in terms of cinematography. It is sharp and enhances the eeriness that surrounds the family’s home and the hospital where the later exorcism is performed.
Unlike other haunted dolls in cinema, the Sabrina doll, which is far from unique, has an unsuspecting grin along with glass eyes that follow characters around, rendering her blank yet oddly expressive. Soraya doesn’t overuse the doll, and her absence creates suspense.
The film’s sound design is another highlight. Even when the screen appears serene, subtle audio cues increase the tension, and jump scares are perfectly timed so they do not feel overdone.
Reception and Impact
Sabrina has received a mixture of reviews from the audience, some positive and some negative. Several reviewers critiqued indulgence in genre stereotypes, while others admired the movie’s polished visuals, commendable performances, and the effort put into constructing a horror mythology across sequels. Its placement on Netflix expanded Sabrina’s reach to global viewers, and sparked wider interest in Indonesian horror films.
Sabrina achieved commercial and critical success at the local box office and cemented Rocky Soraya’s status as a reliable horror filmmaker in Southeast Asia. Sabrina also attracted fans of franchise horror, as part of an ongoing cinematic universe featuring the same characters and demons.
Conclusion
Sabrina (2018) stands out among the growing collection of Southeast Asian horror films. Although it incorporates elements from Western haunted doll stories, the film blends Indonesian spiritual beliefs and character relationships. It features strong performances, a central doll that is unnervingly lifelike, and a story centered around grief and redemption all contribute to elevating the film beyond being just another paranormal thriller.
Sabrina provides a captivating and pathological experience for horror enthusiasts fascinated by cursed items, paranormal probing, and cultural variations of more commonplace motifs. It does not break new ground within the genre, but rather cements its standing within the received framework of genre expectations, offering frights and sorrow alongside the chilling realization that some threshold once crossed remains perpetually ajar.
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