Director: Hadrah Daeng Ratu
A mother's desperate attempt to save her failing business opens the door to something far worse than debt in this 2024 Indonesian horror thriller from director Hadrah Daeng Ratu.
What is Nearing Death about?
Shareefa Daanish stars as a struggling mother who turns to a supernatural shortcut to rescue her business, unaware of what she is actually inviting into her home. The bargain goes wrong, and an evil spirit takes hold of her, twisting her into something her own children barely recognize. Caitlin Halderman, Daffa Wardhana, and Shakeel Fauzi Aisy play the three children who watch their mother slip further away and scramble to find anyone who can help before it is too late. Ruth Marini, M. N. Qomaruddin, Michael Olindo, and Dewi Pakis round out a cast caught between skepticism and dread as the family's options run out one by one, and the line between rescue and ritual grows harder to see.
Cast & crew
Shareefa Daanish anchors the film with a physically committed performance as the possessed mother, shifting between fragile vulnerability and something unsettling within the same scene. Caitlin Halderman, Daffa Wardhana, and Shakeel Fauzi Aisy play the three children with a rawness that keeps the family drama grounded even as events turn supernatural. Ruth Marini and Michael Olindo add weight to the search for help, while M. N. Qomaruddin and Dewi Pakis fill out the surrounding community with brief but memorable turns.
Context & significance
Nearing Death comes from Indonesia's active horror scene, a national industry that has built a strong international following through possession and folk-horror stories rooted in local belief systems. Director Hadrah Daeng Ratu leans on family desperation as the engine of the plot rather than jump scares alone, using financial hardship as the crack through which the supernatural enters. Released in 2024, the film sits alongside a steady stream of Southeast Asian horror titles that pair economic anxiety with spiritual dread, a combination that has resonated well beyond its home market.
Where & how to watch
Nearing Death is available on K-Time with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, so viewers can choose whichever format suits them best. Reading this page costs nothing; streaming the film itself only requires signing in with a free K-Time account, and the platform's Farsi interface is built with Persian-speaking audiences abroad specifically in mind.