Film Review: Confinement 陪月 (2023) Singapore 🇸🇬 
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)
Horror thrillers genre films are supposed to be scary or at least thrilling, but Singaporean director Kelvin Tong’s “Confinement” works better as a mystery drama than the former. That’s a shame as there are some good moments in the film, but by the end of the film, the audience feels rather cheated from the experience and resolution. With that being said, the film was were acted by the two key protagonists, but as the film diverges into murder mystery and out of control mental illness, the horror elements is often ignored.
Popular award winning Singaporean actress Rebecca Lim headlines the film main role as a single mother on the verge of giving birth to a child and all alone within a creepy old town and house in Singapore. Entrusted with a confinement nanny played by the wonderful veteran Singaporean actress Cynthia Koh. The combo gives the audience a good enough chemistry to last the duration.
All in all, “Confinement” is one of those film that loses out as it tries to cover too many grounds. The ending twists and turns only adds to the insult to the audience’s own intelligence. That’s sad, as the film is genuinely well acted, adeptly directed by Tong, only to be constrained by the film’s often ridiculous storyline. Sometimes, you got to just decide whether you want to do a horror thriller or a mystery drama. Otherwise, it’s just like getting lost in the park.
I rated it 5.5/10