‘Polong’ Is Inspired by a Chilling True Crime Case

By Danial Martinus • 24 Apr 2026 in Movies & TV

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Malaysian horror flick Polong will be making its way to cinemas this May, and a recent teaser trailer gives us a sneak peek into what we can expect.

It’s pretty clear that the film was inspired by the infamous witchdoctor, Mona Fandey, though the teaser doesn’t directly reference or mention her.

“Inspired by a true story”

Despite there being no direct mention of Mona Fandey in the teaser, its visuals show strong similarities to her. They appear to be one-to-one remakes of real photographs of Mona Fandey, her husband Mohamad Nor Affandi Abdul Rahman, and his assistant Juraimi Hassan.

If you’re familiar with the case that brought Mona Fandey’s name to national infamy, this teaser should bring back some memories.

But in case you’re not in the loop, Mona Fandey, along with her husband and assistant, were all charged with the murder of Mazlan Idris, an up and coming UMNO politician who was reportedly gunning for the position of Menteri Besar of Pahang.

Wanting to get a leg up in his career, Mazlan agreed to offer them RM2.5 million for their black magic services. He initially paid RM500,000 and gave them 10 land titles as collateral for the remaining sum.

Of course, as we all now know, he was brutally murdered by the trio, with his body being dismembered into 18 parts and buried in a hole in the storeroom of an unfinished house. The teaser for Polong indeed makes a lot of references to these acts.

But where it differs, at least from official reports, is the presence of a hantu polong, a type of ghost from Malay folklore that’s kept by a human. It does all its master’s bidding, even if it involves killing other people. It’s a tasteful deviation from the real-life case, adding an extra element of horror.

Polong will come to cinemas on 28 May 2026.

Watch the teaser trailer below: