Many say that belief in supernatural beings stems from the deep-rooted fears of the community, a concept woven into Indonesian culture for generations. In rural villages and small hamlets, these beliefs are even more intense, where tales of spirits and curses still hold a strong influence. This idea is at the heart of Rizal Mantovani’s new film “Jurnal Risa by Risa Saraswati” (2024), based on a story by Risa Saraswati. The film follows Prinsa, a young girl who finds herself possessed by a vengeful spirit after daring to speak her name. “Jurnal Risa” explores the dark, eerie side of folklore, showing just how real these fears can feel.
The film opens with a professor discussing existentialism, a philosophy that places humans at the center of existence. To truly “exist,” he explains, humans must grasp that they are the only visible beings in their reality. But that doesn’t mean the supernatural isn’t real—it’s just harder to prove. Spirits and unseen forces may only come alive if you believe in them. Whether or not science backs it up, the supernatural’s existence is a matter of faith, lurking just beyond what we can see.
Jurnal Risa by Risa Saraswati (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Who is Risa Saraswati?
Rita is a writer, a band member, a content creator, and the voice behind a popular supernatural-themed YouTube channel called Jurnal Risa. However, what really sets her apart is her “gift” for connecting with spirits. Alongside her friends, she investigates eerie, unexplained events and writes about them, exploring what constitutes reality and how it is different from the paranormal.
Of course, the supernatural world always has its doubters, and Rita’s work gets mixed reactions. Some say she’s just making it all up. However, Rita doesn’t mind and believes that spirits, good or bad, deserve a voice, too. Still, there’s one encounter she doesn’t like to discuss. During a live podcast on her YouTube channel, Rita accidentally summoned a presence that shook her to the core. She won’t even name it, saying it’s best left unspoken. Also, according to Rita, all her family members have the ability to talk to ghosts and supernatural spirits.
What happens at the abandoned Location?
Risa and her crew head to a deserted, creepy place for her latest YouTube video titled “Brave Test. She’s brought her team, plus two spiritual masters to “cleanse” the area before filming starts. Among the group is Prinsa, an eager young woman who’s thrilled to be there. She thinks this video will be her big break. She’s especially curious about that one mysterious spirit Risa mentioned in a past video—the one that should never be named.
When night falls, Prinsa with a handheld camcorder, decides to sneak off on her own to check out the place. Ignoring all warnings, she calls out the name of the forbidden spirit. In an instant, the entity makes its presence known, and Prinsa is briefly taken over by something sinister. However, just as quickly as it comes, the spirit seems to release her, and Prinsa snaps back to normal. With everyone a little shaken, they pack up and leave the haunted grounds. Risa, however, has a feeling that this encounter might just be the start of something even darker.
Who is Uwa Satirah aka Samex?
Though Prinsa seems perfectly normal, Risa and her crew keep a close eye on her. Risa suspects that the spirit now lurking within Prinsa is Uwa Satirah—a woman from a legend who became obsessed with spirits and the occult. Some say Uwa herself was possessed before she died. Her spirit was so dangerous the villagers had to perform a powerful ritual to trap it, renaming it “Samsex” and banishing it from the mortal world. There’s also an eerie warning about Samsex. It says that if someone is possessed by this spirit and it isn’t expelled within five days, it will consume their soul, taking full control of their body forever.
Risa has every reason to be terrified of saying the spirit’s name. It seems to bring misfortune to anyone who dares. She finds this out the hard way. Moments after accidentally uttering the spirit’s name, her car gets rear-ended out of nowhere. And the next time she slips up and mentions it, her son lands in the hospital with a high fever. This is no coincidence and enough proof that the spirit of Uwa Satirah brings trouble to anyone who calls on it.
Why Jurnal Risa Team Travel to Uwa Satirah’s Village?
Back in the present, two of Risa’s team members decide to spend the night at Prinsa’s place for the night, hoping to figure out if she’s actually possessed. Prinsa, meanwhile, feels totally normal. If anything, she’s loving the attention her viral video has brought but others on the team suspect something sinister has latched onto her. When they gently suggest another cleansing ritual, Prinsa lashes out in a way that doesn’t quite seem like her. Things get only creepier from there. Prinsa starts acting strange, like grinning wickedly while playing with knives in the dead of night. The next morning, she wakes up alone and naked in a studio, with no memory of how she got there.
Risa and her team try every cleansing ritual they can think of to free Prinsa from the spirit’s grip. But nothing seems to work. Desperate and out of options, Risa’s father attempts to perform the ritual himself. Unfortunately, even he comes up short. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he tells Risa that their last hope lies in taking Prinsa to the spirit’s native village, where a specific, powerful ritual might be able to break the spirit’s hold permanently.
Jurnal Risa by Risa Saraswati (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Can the Village Ever Break Free from Uwa’s Curse?
When the team arrives in the village, they quickly realize things are far from normal. For the past few days, eerie events have been unfolding, and lives have already been lost. The villagers, seized by fear, sense that something dark and sinister is about to happen. Adding to the tension, it’s revealed that the village has been struggling with drought and poor harvests for years, which many believe is a curse cast by Uwa’s spirit. Things get out of hand when Uwa takes over Prinsa again, this time to feed on a newborn. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen and the baby is rescued.
The village elder performs a powerful ritual to drive Uwa’s spirit out of Prinsa and send it back to the underworld but things take a dark turn. The ritual forces Uwa out of Prinsa, only for the spirit to jump into another girl nearby. Once the link is broken, the elder orders the crew to leave the village immediately, and they don’t waste a second packing up. So, what becomes of the village now? Although Prinsa is free, Uwa’s spirit still lingers, just waiting for the next host. The villagers will keep up their age-old rituals, as they always have, but the curse that haunts their land seems far from broken.
