Histeria The Series Review: Malaysian Urban Horror Scaries at its Best

In the late 2000s, Malaysia went through a pop cultural shift that saw an increase in appreciation towards everything local - be it music, theatre or movies. But in the clutter of it all, one movie that stood out and left an impressive mark in Malaysian cinema then - the movie was Histeria.

Directed by James Lee, the Histeria movie featured a young and untested cast including the likes of Liyana Jasmay, Scha Al-Yahya, Ainul Aishah, and Noris Ali together with seasoned players Vanidah Imran, Ako Mustapha and Namron. Set in an all-girls school, the film tells the story of a group of friends who accidentally unleashed a demon on their school grounds after a prank went super wrong. Yikes!

With Murni (Liyana Jasmay) and Inspektor Polis (Namron) back to reprise their roles, the new Histeria series picks up several years after the events of the film. Murni, now admitted to a mental ward, is still recovering from the trauma - without realizing that something spooky is brewing again.

The spanking new Histeria series explores similar storylines and themes with fresh new faces. Mia Sara Afdlin Shauki leads the cast with her role as Alia, a rebellious new student at the prestigious Fatimah boarding school joining Putri (Amelia Christi), Diana (Sharifah Aryana) and Zee (Serra Kamal) in their adventure to uncover the secrets behind the murder of a former student.

In the first episode alone, James Lee managed to captivate the audience by delivering an eerie pilot with enough suspense and mystery to keep us hooked with the story. Personally, it came as no surprise that the cast showcased a stellar performance as Mia Sara had several theatre plays under her belt and Sharifah Aryana, well, we all remember her performance as Orked, don’t we?

What’s interesting about this series is the kind of scenarios, background story, and character tropes incorporated in the script that is amazingly Malaysian. We all grew up with stories of paranormal stories at boarding schools, tales of mysterious door knocks or even crazier; ghoulish games like the Spirit of the Coin and ouija boards. Histeria hits home with these cultural mentions and plot devices, pulling the nostalgia strings a little too effectively.

But beyond nostalgia, Histeria offers another consistent point that’s evident in most, if not all Astro Original series; the highlight of real and relevant social issues in the story - instigating discussions both on and off the screen.

While the slight mention of these issues may raise eyebrows, we feel that the inclusion of these elements plays a crucial part in connecting with the audience and fortunately, none of them felt shoehorned in. Histeria positions itself as a great example of balancing the much-loved horror genre together with new age conflicts.

All in all, Histeria captures everything we never want to experience in a boarding school—and brings it straight to your homes.

Histeria The Series will be ready to haunt you on Astro Citra, at 9 pm starting 6 of June.