THE Langsuir may not be as popular as the Pontianak in Malaysian folklore but she can be equally nasty and scary.
From a distance she may be a beautiful, fair-skinned maiden, but once a lovestruck man gets close and personal with her, she will transform into a hideous, long-clawed and beastly predator.
Singaporean beauty Hannah Delisha and her equally photogenic TV rom-com partner Syafiq Kyle mark their cinematic entry in this romantic horror set entirely in the serene limestone archipelago that is Langkawi in Kedah.
While Hannah's vampire protagonist Suri does get ugly and nasty, for the greater part of the story she is a lovestruck youngster whose scene-stealing act is one where she wears a kemban (cloth worn to cover the bosom downwards)!
No, there are no intimate scenes between Suri and her human boyfriend, KL yuppie Azlan (Syafiq), but it is rare for a vampire to be that revealing in Malaysian cinematic history.
The 90 per cent sweet and 10 per cent scary young Langsuir is mostly clothed in the trademark long, white dress of Malaysian vampires, and she looks almost like a baby-faced version of Maya Karin's Meriam in Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam.
Her kemban scene, fortunately, lasts less than 20 minutes — the change of dress is merely for her to have a wash at her makeshift chalet's well, having had the top of her head nailed — a predictable ritual which turns her into a human and angers her fellow vampires.
In a nutshell, Langsuir which is jointly produced by Guam Teamwork and Osman's Nuansa is a teenage love story involving KL boy Azlan and mysterious island beauty Suri.
Azlan and his five close friends spend their holiday in Langkawi, where they are warned by a boatman (Naza) not to visit the mysterious offshore island Pulau Langsuir (fictitious), as vampires are aplenty there.
However, the saying "boys will always be boys" applies to Azlan and company, and they defy the man's orders to meet and greet a vampire or two.
It is here that Azlan meets Suri, who is curious about the human world and wants to escape from her over-protective elder sister Dewi (Julia).
Still unaware of her family background, Azlan plans to take Suri back to KL, but she politely declines, saying that her world and his cannot mingle.
Meanwhile, Azlan's "wildest" pal Zaman (Firdaus who doubles as the producer), is upset that he is spending too much time with Suri, and believes she is a vampire who may devour him.
He vows to paku (nail) her so that she becomes a mortal, but when he succeeds, Dewi is infuriated and starts tormenting the boys.
The storyline of this movie is straightforward and lacking oomph — when viewers expect a heated confrontation between vampires and humans, all they get is Dewi terrorising Azlan's buddies in their campsite.
Star couple Hannah and Syafiq continue their good on-screen chemistry which they honed in Mencintaimu Mr Photographer, and they are both eye candy from the word "go".
However, this time they seem a little shy and wooden in their conversations, especially Hannah, whose Suri utters cliched lines from past love stories, e.g. "I will love you forever, and never leave your side", to which Azlan replies "I promise I will return to find you".
In fact, Suri's interaction with Dewi is a lot more fun to watch — Dewi playing the role of protective elder sister and Suri acting like a curious teen who wants to see the outside world.
Memories of the overrated film series Twilight come to mind.
Hannah's other saving grace is her superb makeup, which makes her pale yet beautiful like Morticia of The Addams Family and her long, black hair is picture perfect, too.
Syafiq looks a lot darker and manlier than his Mr Photographer character, yet he still sounds boyish and is clearly the "jambu" amongst his gang of six.
As for Azlan's five buddies, they are two dimensional all the way, either small town clowns or annoying bullies, who turn out to be cowards when confronted by Dewi.
One can marvel at their toughness — when Dewi smashes one of the boys on the boulders with full force, he miraculously survives!
Langsuir's cinematography is a winner, focusing on Langkawi's splendid, turquoise lagoons and lakes amidst its lush, green limestone islands and caves.
The cast certainly had a feast for their eyes — filming took place over 25 days in the picturesque but less-known Gua Langsir, Gua Tembus and Pantai Talam Dua Muka, some of the archipelago's best kept secrets.
Langsuir is a decent love story, which does not get melodramatic, and ends with a harmonious crescendo.
Osman who gave us Ombak Rindu and Langit Cinta could have done a lot better, but this movie is perfect for Hannah's and Syafiq's debut on the silver screen.
A pity that the only supporting actor who truly acts is Julia, and she is convincing, beautiful and menacing.
NOW SHOWING
LANGSUIR
DIRECTED BY Osman Ali
STARRING Hannah Delisha, Syafiq Kyle, Julia Farhana Marin, Firdaus Nadxaman, Shah Hakimi Amin, Halim Radzi, Nazri John, Daaim Jailani, Naza Manas
DURATION 90 minutes
RATING PG 13