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After much anticipation, the film Kahar: Kapla High Council is out on Netflix, especially for those who prefer watching it at their own pace and timing. With a runtime of under two hours, this film serves as a continuation of the Project: High Council episodic/television series.

As the film title suggest, this film follows the journey of Kahar as the head/leader of the High Council, which is an organisation of  nighttime after-school activities that show off their levels of masculinity/tahap kejantanan by engaging in physical fights. Through the visual medium, viewers like you and me are shown the transformation of Kahar, from a rather reserved schoolboy to someone who is a monster through his acts of gangsterism in a well-known fictional boarding secondary school, Kolej Tengku Deramat (KUDRAT).

The early scenes take you through the history of Kahar’s father as a former alumnus, which to me, while adds context to the story, somehow makes the film much less exciting – compared to its TV series, which received high ratings and had a much better pace. However, if you’re looking forward to mainly the action, then, perhaps, this might be more up your alley.

There’s hardly any comic relief – which would have made a slight difference to the film.

(Un)surprisingly, there’s barely any subplot so the entire story is largely action and within the confines of the school.

But I think we can all agree that Kahar has cemented his position as the leader of the group, planning to topple the prefectorial board and be disruptive, making the school environment unsafe for particularly its staff and students.

That part about saving one’s face and protecting one’s father’s name hit home, but they also somehow reinforce the very concept of patriarchy.

If you can stomach the film till the end, good for you as Kahar and his father realise their places as members not only of the school but also of society as well.   

Ultimately, the message is loud and clear: other than costing the lives of others, it will also cost you your reputation.

Apart from standard Malay used in school communications, boarding school speak and variants of Malay are also used. There’s also hints of English, where its use is deemed more efficient and succinct for expression.

The film was initially released in Malaysian cinemas, with English and Chinese subtitles in November 2024. It was then made available on Netflix on a per-subscription basis from July 2025.