🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 115 (from laksa134)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa115.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://variety.com/2011/film/markets-festivals/bunohan-1117946050/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://variety.com/2011/film/markets-festivals/bunohan-1117946050/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/variety.com\/2011\/film\/markets-festivals\/bunohan-1117946050\/","crawl_time":1776049816,"first_indexed_time":1559464430,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,variety!\/2011\/film\/markets-festivals\/bunohan-1117946050\/ s443","src_root_hash":"6137995448256228915","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Bunohan","meta_descriptions":["Bunohan With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, \"The Godfather\" and the Bible, \"Bunohan\" serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that's ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Home\nFilm\nMarkets & Festivals\nBunohan\nWith a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, \"The Godfather\" and the Bible, \"Bunohan\" serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that's ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake.\nWith a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, “The Godfather” and the Bible, “Bunohan” serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that’s ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. The border-hopping Malaysian plotline defies pigeonholing — it’s a fight film with echoes of “King Lear,” and a ghost story about living people who occupy the edge of existence. Specialty bookers could well be turned off by the brutal violence, but a dose of visceral horror is well worth the trip to “Bunohan.”\nHelmer Dain Said mixes together magical realism, the kind of shocking mayhem reminiscent of Tran’s “Cyclo” and philosophical digressions that might throw another movie off course. But “Bunohan” (both a village in backwater Malaysia and a word for “murder”) never loses the fluid momentum Said achieves right from the opening moments, featuring a vicious Muay Thai fight-to-the-death in Thailand, in which the badly outclassed Adil (Zahril Adzim) is rescued by his best friend Muski (Amerul Affendi). This sets in motion a labyrinthine series of narrative connections which again, thanks to Said’s command of his story and medium, only tighten the film’s grip on viewers.\nBecause he’s betrayed the terms of the match, Adil has to flee Thailand, but hot on his heels is hired killer Ilham (Faizal Hussein, the Jack Palance of Malaysia), who’s been hired by the crooked promoter Jokol (Hushairy Hussin) to kill Adil. Ilham left home as a youth, so he doesn’t realize that he and Adil are half-brothers. The pic’s themes of patriarchy, familial betrayal, adultery and despair are served up amid myriad plot twists: Jokol, who’s trying to get control of a local fight club, is in cahoots with Ilham’s other brother, Bakar (Pekin Ibrahim), who is trying to get possession of one remaining piece of their father’s land, the one connecting his own acreage to the sea. This will allow him  to build a development that has already led to the relocation of graves — including that of Ilham’s mother. Ilham’s grief and rage are biblical, as is his taste for retribution.\nActing is uniformly excellent. The arresting photography includes the occasional trip into hallucination — Ilham’s sequence with a possessed bird, for instance; or a ghostly woman in a gown, wading through an endless green expanse of reeds. The interrelationships are knotty but well defined, the many grudges and grievances always clear. It helps that Said is telling a tale rich in literary allusion, but it’s also one aided by its contemporary references: While brothers Adil and Ilham are men of action, violence and basic principles, the loathsome Bakar, the educated one, constantly has a cell phone to his ear and a polo shirt tucked into his Dockers. He’s easy to hate; Adil and Ilham, despite their outward simplicity, are captivatingly complex creatures.\nTech credits are superb, notably the work of d.p. Charin Pengpanich. For the record, the film’s English title according to press materials (but nowhere onscreen) is “Return to Murder.”","attrs_markdown":"![an image, when javascript is unavailable](https:\/\/sb.scorecardresearch.com\/p?c1=2&c2=6035310&c4=&cv=3.9&cj=1)\n\n- [Plus Icon Film](https:\/\/variety.com\/v\/film\/)\n- [Plus Icon TV](https:\/\/variety.com\/v\/tv\/)\n- [Plus Icon What To Watch](https:\/\/variety.com\/what-to-watch-streaming-movies-shows-online\/)\n- [Plus Icon Music](https:\/\/variety.com\/v\/music\/)\n- [Plus Icon Docs](https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/documentaries-to-watch\/)\n- [Plus Icon Digital & Gaming](https:\/\/variety.com\/v\/digital\/)\n- [Plus Icon Global](https:\/\/variety.com\/c\/global\/)\n- [Plus Icon Awards Circuit](https:\/\/variety.com\/e\/contenders\/)\n- [Plus Icon Video](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@variety\/videos)\n- [Plus Icon What To Hear](https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/what-to-hear\/)\n\nPlus Icon\n\nClick to expand the Mega Menu\n\nPlus Icon\n\nClick to Expand Search Input\n\n- [Got a Tip?](https:\/\/variety.com\/tips)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/cloud.email.variety.com\/signup\/)\n\n[Switch edition between U.S. Edition Asia Edition Global Edition](https:\/\/variety.com\/2011\/film\/markets-festivals\/bunohan-1117946050\/)\n\n- [U.S.](https:\/\/variety.com\/)\n- [Asia](https:\/\/variety.com\/c\/asia\/)\n- [Global](https:\/\/variety.com\/c\/global\/)\n\n[Variety](https:\/\/variety.com\/)\n\nPlus Icon\n\nClick to expand the Mega Menu\n\nPlus Icon\n\nClick to Expand Search Input\n\n[Variety](https:\/\/variety.com\/)\n\n[Plus Icon Read Next: ‘Hunting Matthew Nichols’ Review: A Missing Brother’s Cold Case Heats Up In Canadian Found-Footage Horror](https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/reviews\/hunting-matthew-nichols-review-found-footage-horror-1236719625\/)\n\n1. [Home](https:\/\/variety.com\/)\n2. [Film](https:\/\/variety.com\/v\/film\/)\n3. [Markets & Festivals](https:\/\/variety.com\/c\/markets-festivals\/)\n\nSep 11, 2011 5:01pm PT\n# Bunohan\nWith a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, \"The Godfather\" and the Bible, \"Bunohan\" serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that's ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake.\n\nBy  [John Anderson](https:\/\/variety.com\/author\/john-anderson\/)\n\nPlus Icon\n\n### [John Anderson](https:\/\/variety.com\/author\/john-anderson\/)\n- [Oscars: ‘True Power of the Human Spirit’ the Theme of Best Picture Nominees](https:\/\/variety.com\/2016\/film\/awards\/oscar-best-pic-contenders-linked-by-survival-theme-1201688213\/)\n  10 years ago\n- [IFP Gothams Boost Further Kudos Campaigns](https:\/\/variety.com\/2015\/film\/awards\/ifp-gothams-kick-off-awards-season-1201648921\/)\n  10 years ago\n- [Ridley Scott Honed His Craft in Commercials for Apple and More](https:\/\/variety.com\/2015\/film\/features\/ridley-scott-apple-commercial-1201633811\/)\n  10 years ago\n\n[See All](https:\/\/variety.com\/author\/john-anderson\/)\n\n**With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, “The Godfather” and the Bible, “Bunohan” serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that’s ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. The border-hopping Malaysian plotline defies pigeonholing — it’s a fight film with echoes of “King Lear,” and a ghost story about living people who occupy the edge of existence. Specialty bookers could well be turned off by the brutal violence, but a dose of visceral horror is well worth the trip to “Bunohan.”**\n\n## Related Stories\n[![Dan Bucatinsky at the Human Rights Campaign's 2026 Los Angeles Dinner held at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera\/Variety via Getty Images)](https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2268370944.jpg?w=250&h=167&crop=1)](https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/columns\/the-comeback-dan-bucatinsky-ai-realities-of-shrinking-tv-budgets-were-not-euphoria-1236719867\/)\n\n### [‘The Comeback’ Star Dan Bucatinsky on Why the Show Doesn't Take Sides on AI and the Realities of Shrinking TV Budgets: ‘We’re Not “Euphoria”’](https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/columns\/the-comeback-dan-bucatinsky-ai-realities-of-shrinking-tv-budgets-were-not-euphoria-1236719867\/)\n\n[![Jean Smart - Zendaya - Hacks - Euphoria](https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Jean-Smart-Zendaya.jpg?w=250&h=167&crop=1)](https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/awards\/zendaya-jean-smart-emmys-sweep-euphoria-hacks-1236719640\/)\n\n### [Zendaya and Jean Smart Eye First-Ever Emmy Sweep by Women for a Single Series. Will They Pull It Off?](https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/awards\/zendaya-jean-smart-emmys-sweep-euphoria-hacks-1236719640\/)\n### Popular on Variety\nHelmer Dain Said mixes together magical realism, the kind of shocking mayhem reminiscent of Tran’s “Cyclo” and philosophical digressions that might throw another movie off course. But “Bunohan” (both a village in backwater Malaysia and a word for “murder”) never loses the fluid momentum Said achieves right from the opening moments, featuring a vicious Muay Thai fight-to-the-death in Thailand, in which the badly outclassed Adil (Zahril Adzim) is rescued by his best friend Muski (Amerul Affendi). This sets in motion a labyrinthine series of narrative connections which again, thanks to Said’s command of his story and medium, only tighten the film’s grip on viewers.\n\nBecause he’s betrayed the terms of the match, Adil has to flee Thailand, but hot on his heels is hired killer Ilham (Faizal Hussein, the Jack Palance of Malaysia), who’s been hired by the crooked promoter Jokol (Hushairy Hussin) to kill Adil. Ilham left home as a youth, so he doesn’t realize that he and Adil are half-brothers. The pic’s themes of patriarchy, familial betrayal, adultery and despair are served up amid myriad plot twists: Jokol, who’s trying to get control of a local fight club, is in cahoots with Ilham’s other brother, Bakar (Pekin Ibrahim), who is trying to get possession of one remaining piece of their father’s land, the one connecting his own acreage to the sea. This will allow him to build a development that has already led to the relocation of graves — including that of Ilham’s mother. Ilham’s grief and rage are biblical, as is his taste for retribution.\n\nActing is uniformly excellent. The arresting photography includes the occasional trip into hallucination — Ilham’s sequence with a possessed bird, for instance; or a ghostly woman in a gown, wading through an endless green expanse of reeds. The interrelationships are knotty but well defined, the many grudges and grievances always clear. It helps that Said is telling a tale rich in literary allusion, but it’s also one aided by its contemporary references: While brothers Adil and Ilham are men of action, violence and basic principles, the loathsome Bakar, the educated one, constantly has a cell phone to his ear and a polo shirt tucked into his Dockers. He’s easy to hate; Adil and Ilham, despite their outward simplicity, are captivatingly complex creatures.\n\nTech credits are superb, notably the work of d.p. Charin Pengpanich. For the record, the film’s English title according to press materials (but nowhere onscreen) is “Return to Murder.”\n\n#### Read More About:\n- [Seth Byers,](https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/seth-byers\/)\n- [Toronto International Film Festival](https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/toronto-international-film-festival\/)\n\n[Jump to Comments](https:\/\/variety.com\/2011\/film\/markets-festivals\/bunohan-1117946050\/#article-comments)\n\n## Bunohan\n## Malaysia\n- **Production:** An Apparat presentation. (International sales: Easternlight Films, Hong Kong.) Produced by Nandita Solomon. Executive producers, Dain Said, Nandita Solomon. Co-producer, Tim Kwok. Director, writer, Dain Said.\n- **Crew:** Camera (color), Charin Pengpanich; editor, H.K. Panca; production designer, Said; music, Tan Yan Wei; visual effects supervisor, Adam Kitingan. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival -- Discovery, Sept. 9, 2011. Running time: 97 MIN.\n- **With:** With: Faizal Hussein, Zahril Adzim, Pekin Ibrahim, Bront Palarae, Namron, Wan Hanafisu, Amerul Affendi, Hushairy Hussin.\n\n## More from Variety\n- [![Haru and Tae](https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Feature-Film-HARU-AND-TAE.jpg?w=250&h=167&crop=1)](https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/asia\/taiwan-pavilions-filmart-1236692954\/)\n  \n  ### [Horror, Fantasy, Drama Top Taiwan Pavilion’s Films and Series Highlights at FilMart as It Makes Play for International Partners and Audiences](https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/asia\/taiwan-pavilions-filmart-1236692954\/)\n- [![Johnny Keep Walking](https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Stills-for-Johnny-Keep-Walking_03.jpg?w=250&h=167&crop=1)](https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/asia\/chinese-johnny-keep-walking-french-remake-1236691941\/)\n  \n  ### [Chinese Hit Satire ‘Johnny Keep Walking!’ to Get French Remake Through Master Movies 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[Home](https:\/\/variety.com\/)\n2. [Film](https:\/\/variety.com\/v\/film\/)\n3. [Markets & Festivals](https:\/\/variety.com\/c\/markets-festivals\/)\n## Bunohan\nWith a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, \"The Godfather\" and the Bible, \"Bunohan\" serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that's ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake.\n\n**With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, “The Godfather” and the Bible, “Bunohan” serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that’s ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. The border-hopping Malaysian plotline defies pigeonholing — it’s a fight film with echoes of “King Lear,” and a ghost story about living people who occupy the edge of existence. Specialty bookers could well be turned off by the brutal violence, but a dose of visceral horror is well worth the trip to “Bunohan.”**\n\nHelmer Dain Said mixes together magical realism, the kind of shocking mayhem reminiscent of Tran’s “Cyclo” and philosophical digressions that might throw another movie off course. But “Bunohan” (both a village in backwater Malaysia and a word for “murder”) never loses the fluid momentum Said achieves right from the opening moments, featuring a vicious Muay Thai fight-to-the-death in Thailand, in which the badly outclassed Adil (Zahril Adzim) is rescued by his best friend Muski (Amerul Affendi). This sets in motion a labyrinthine series of narrative connections which again, thanks to Said’s command of his story and medium, only tighten the film’s grip on viewers.\n\nBecause he’s betrayed the terms of the match, Adil has to flee Thailand, but hot on his heels is hired killer Ilham (Faizal Hussein, the Jack Palance of Malaysia), who’s been hired by the crooked promoter Jokol (Hushairy Hussin) to kill Adil. Ilham left home as a youth, so he doesn’t realize that he and Adil are half-brothers. The pic’s themes of patriarchy, familial betrayal, adultery and despair are served up amid myriad plot twists: Jokol, who’s trying to get control of a local fight club, is in cahoots with Ilham’s other brother, Bakar (Pekin Ibrahim), who is trying to get possession of one remaining piece of their father’s land, the one connecting his own acreage to the sea. This will allow him to build a development that has already led to the relocation of graves — including that of Ilham’s mother. Ilham’s grief and rage are biblical, as is his taste for retribution.\n\nActing is uniformly excellent. The arresting photography includes the occasional trip into hallucination — Ilham’s sequence with a possessed bird, for instance; or a ghostly woman in a gown, wading through an endless green expanse of reeds. The interrelationships are knotty but well defined, the many grudges and grievances always clear. It helps that Said is telling a tale rich in literary allusion, but it’s also one aided by its contemporary references: While brothers Adil and Ilham are men of action, violence and basic principles, the loathsome Bakar, the educated one, constantly has a cell phone to his ear and a polo shirt tucked into his Dockers. He’s easy to hate; Adil and Ilham, despite their outward simplicity, are captivatingly complex creatures.\n\nTech credits are superb, notably the work of d.p. Charin Pengpanich. For the record, the film’s English title according to press materials (but nowhere onscreen) is “Return to Murder.”\n\n![](https:\/\/px.ads.linkedin.com\/collect\/?pid=1429113&fmt=gif)","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Description	Bunohan With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, "The Godfather" and the Bible, "Bunohan" serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that's ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake.
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Boilerpipe Text	Home Film Markets & Festivals Bunohan With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, "The Godfather" and the Bible, "Bunohan" serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that's ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, “The Godfather” and the Bible, “Bunohan” serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that’s ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. The border-hopping Malaysian plotline defies pigeonholing — it’s a fight film with echoes of “King Lear,” and a ghost story about living people who occupy the edge of existence. Specialty bookers could well be turned off by the brutal violence, but a dose of visceral horror is well worth the trip to “Bunohan.” Helmer Dain Said mixes together magical realism, the kind of shocking mayhem reminiscent of Tran’s “Cyclo” and philosophical digressions that might throw another movie off course. But “Bunohan” (both a village in backwater Malaysia and a word for “murder”) never loses the fluid momentum Said achieves right from the opening moments, featuring a vicious Muay Thai fight-to-the-death in Thailand, in which the badly outclassed Adil (Zahril Adzim) is rescued by his best friend Muski (Amerul Affendi). This sets in motion a labyrinthine series of narrative connections which again, thanks to Said’s command of his story and medium, only tighten the film’s grip on viewers. Because he’s betrayed the terms of the match, Adil has to flee Thailand, but hot on his heels is hired killer Ilham (Faizal Hussein, the Jack Palance of Malaysia), who’s been hired by the crooked promoter Jokol (Hushairy Hussin) to kill Adil. Ilham left home as a youth, so he doesn’t realize that he and Adil are half-brothers. The pic’s themes of patriarchy, familial betrayal, adultery and despair are served up amid myriad plot twists: Jokol, who’s trying to get control of a local fight club, is in cahoots with Ilham’s other brother, Bakar (Pekin Ibrahim), who is trying to get possession of one remaining piece of their father’s land, the one connecting his own acreage to the sea. This will allow him to build a development that has already led to the relocation of graves — including that of Ilham’s mother. Ilham’s grief and rage are biblical, as is his taste for retribution. Acting is uniformly excellent. The arresting photography includes the occasional trip into hallucination — Ilham’s sequence with a possessed bird, for instance; or a ghostly woman in a gown, wading through an endless green expanse of reeds. The interrelationships are knotty but well defined, the many grudges and grievances always clear. It helps that Said is telling a tale rich in literary allusion, but it’s also one aided by its contemporary references: While brothers Adil and Ilham are men of action, violence and basic principles, the loathsome Bakar, the educated one, constantly has a cell phone to his ear and a polo shirt tucked into his Dockers. He’s easy to hate; Adil and Ilham, despite their outward simplicity, are captivatingly complex creatures. Tech credits are superb, notably the work of d.p. Charin Pengpanich. For the record, the film’s English title according to press materials (but nowhere onscreen) is “Return to Murder.”
Markdown	![an image, when javascript is unavailable](https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6035310&c4=&cv=3.9&cj=1) - [Plus Icon Film](https://variety.com/v/film/) - [Plus Icon TV](https://variety.com/v/tv/) - [Plus Icon What To Watch](https://variety.com/what-to-watch-streaming-movies-shows-online/) - [Plus Icon Music](https://variety.com/v/music/) - [Plus Icon Docs](https://variety.com/t/documentaries-to-watch/) - [Plus Icon Digital & Gaming](https://variety.com/v/digital/) - [Plus Icon Global](https://variety.com/c/global/) - [Plus Icon Awards Circuit](https://variety.com/e/contenders/) - [Plus Icon Video](https://www.youtube.com/@variety/videos) - [Plus Icon What To Hear](https://variety.com/t/what-to-hear/) Plus Icon Click to expand the Mega Menu Plus Icon Click to Expand Search Input - [Got a Tip?](https://variety.com/tips) - [Newsletters](https://cloud.email.variety.com/signup/) [Switch edition between U.S. Edition Asia Edition Global Edition](https://variety.com/2011/film/markets-festivals/bunohan-1117946050/) - [U.S.](https://variety.com/) - [Asia](https://variety.com/c/asia/) - [Global](https://variety.com/c/global/) [Variety](https://variety.com/) Plus Icon Click to expand the Mega Menu Plus Icon Click to Expand Search Input [Variety](https://variety.com/) [Plus Icon Read Next: ‘Hunting Matthew Nichols’ Review: A Missing Brother’s Cold Case Heats Up In Canadian Found-Footage Horror](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/hunting-matthew-nichols-review-found-footage-horror-1236719625/) 1. [Home](https://variety.com/) 2. [Film](https://variety.com/v/film/) 3. [Markets & Festivals](https://variety.com/c/markets-festivals/) Sep 11, 2011 5:01pm PT # Bunohan With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, "The Godfather" and the Bible, "Bunohan" serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that's ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. By [John Anderson](https://variety.com/author/john-anderson/) Plus Icon ### [John Anderson](https://variety.com/author/john-anderson/) - [Oscars: ‘True Power of the Human Spirit’ the Theme of Best Picture Nominees](https://variety.com/2016/film/awards/oscar-best-pic-contenders-linked-by-survival-theme-1201688213/) 10 years ago - [IFP Gothams Boost Further Kudos Campaigns](https://variety.com/2015/film/awards/ifp-gothams-kick-off-awards-season-1201648921/) 10 years ago - [Ridley Scott Honed His Craft in Commercials for Apple and More](https://variety.com/2015/film/features/ridley-scott-apple-commercial-1201633811/) 10 years ago [See All](https://variety.com/author/john-anderson/) With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, “The Godfather” and the Bible, “Bunohan” serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that’s ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. The border-hopping Malaysian plotline defies pigeonholing — it’s a fight film with echoes of “King Lear,” and a ghost story about living people who occupy the edge of existence. Specialty bookers could well be turned off by the brutal violence, but a dose of visceral horror is well worth the trip to “Bunohan.” ## Related Stories [![Dan Bucatinsky at the Human Rights Campaign's 2026 Los Angeles Dinner held at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. 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Because he’s betrayed the terms of the match, Adil has to flee Thailand, but hot on his heels is hired killer Ilham (Faizal Hussein, the Jack Palance of Malaysia), who’s been hired by the crooked promoter Jokol (Hushairy Hussin) to kill Adil. Ilham left home as a youth, so he doesn’t realize that he and Adil are half-brothers. The pic’s themes of patriarchy, familial betrayal, adultery and despair are served up amid myriad plot twists: Jokol, who’s trying to get control of a local fight club, is in cahoots with Ilham’s other brother, Bakar (Pekin Ibrahim), who is trying to get possession of one remaining piece of their father’s land, the one connecting his own acreage to the sea. This will allow him to build a development that has already led to the relocation of graves — including that of Ilham’s mother. Ilham’s grief and rage are biblical, as is his taste for retribution. Acting is uniformly excellent. The arresting photography includes the occasional trip into hallucination — Ilham’s sequence with a possessed bird, for instance; or a ghostly woman in a gown, wading through an endless green expanse of reeds. The interrelationships are knotty but well defined, the many grudges and grievances always clear. It helps that Said is telling a tale rich in literary allusion, but it’s also one aided by its contemporary references: While brothers Adil and Ilham are men of action, violence and basic principles, the loathsome Bakar, the educated one, constantly has a cell phone to his ear and a polo shirt tucked into his Dockers. He’s easy to hate; Adil and Ilham, despite their outward simplicity, are captivatingly complex creatures. Tech credits are superb, notably the work of d.p. Charin Pengpanich. For the record, the film’s English title according to press materials (but nowhere onscreen) is “Return to Murder.” #### Read More About: - [Seth Byers,](https://variety.com/t/seth-byers/) - [Toronto International Film Festival](https://variety.com/t/toronto-international-film-festival/) [Jump to Comments](https://variety.com/2011/film/markets-festivals/bunohan-1117946050/#article-comments) ## Bunohan ## Malaysia - Production: An Apparat presentation. (International sales: Easternlight Films, Hong Kong.) Produced by Nandita Solomon. Executive producers, Dain Said, Nandita Solomon. Co-producer, Tim Kwok. Director, writer, Dain Said. - Crew: Camera (color), Charin Pengpanich; editor, H.K. Panca; production designer, Said; music, Tan Yan Wei; visual effects supervisor, Adam Kitingan. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival -- Discovery, Sept. 9, 2011. 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Readable Markdown	1. [Home](https://variety.com/) 2. [Film](https://variety.com/v/film/) 3. [Markets & Festivals](https://variety.com/c/markets-festivals/) ## Bunohan With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, "The Godfather" and the Bible, "Bunohan" serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that's ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. With a list of ancestors that includes Shakespeare, Tran Anh Hung, “The Godfather” and the Bible, “Bunohan” serves up a feast of archetypes and violence amid a story that twines like a basketful of cobras to deliver a movie that’s ripe as a mango for a U.S. remake. The border-hopping Malaysian plotline defies pigeonholing — it’s a fight film with echoes of “King Lear,” and a ghost story about living people who occupy the edge of existence. Specialty bookers could well be turned off by the brutal violence, but a dose of visceral horror is well worth the trip to “Bunohan.” Helmer Dain Said mixes together magical realism, the kind of shocking mayhem reminiscent of Tran’s “Cyclo” and philosophical digressions that might throw another movie off course. But “Bunohan” (both a village in backwater Malaysia and a word for “murder”) never loses the fluid momentum Said achieves right from the opening moments, featuring a vicious Muay Thai fight-to-the-death in Thailand, in which the badly outclassed Adil (Zahril Adzim) is rescued by his best friend Muski (Amerul Affendi). This sets in motion a labyrinthine series of narrative connections which again, thanks to Said’s command of his story and medium, only tighten the film’s grip on viewers. Because he’s betrayed the terms of the match, Adil has to flee Thailand, but hot on his heels is hired killer Ilham (Faizal Hussein, the Jack Palance of Malaysia), who’s been hired by the crooked promoter Jokol (Hushairy Hussin) to kill Adil. Ilham left home as a youth, so he doesn’t realize that he and Adil are half-brothers. The pic’s themes of patriarchy, familial betrayal, adultery and despair are served up amid myriad plot twists: Jokol, who’s trying to get control of a local fight club, is in cahoots with Ilham’s other brother, Bakar (Pekin Ibrahim), who is trying to get possession of one remaining piece of their father’s land, the one connecting his own acreage to the sea. This will allow him to build a development that has already led to the relocation of graves — including that of Ilham’s mother. Ilham’s grief and rage are biblical, as is his taste for retribution. Acting is uniformly excellent. The arresting photography includes the occasional trip into hallucination — Ilham’s sequence with a possessed bird, for instance; or a ghostly woman in a gown, wading through an endless green expanse of reeds. The interrelationships are knotty but well defined, the many grudges and grievances always clear. It helps that Said is telling a tale rich in literary allusion, but it’s also one aided by its contemporary references: While brothers Adil and Ilham are men of action, violence and basic principles, the loathsome Bakar, the educated one, constantly has a cell phone to his ear and a polo shirt tucked into his Dockers. He’s easy to hate; Adil and Ilham, despite their outward simplicity, are captivatingly complex creatures. Tech credits are superb, notably the work of d.p. Charin Pengpanich. For the record, the film’s English title according to press materials (but nowhere onscreen) is “Return to Murder.” ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=1429113&fmt=gif)
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