Archive for the ‘Indonesian Films’ Category
Another crazy Indonesian Ghost story….set on what I’m told is an actual haunted island somewheres in the East Indies……“Pulau Hantu” is the latest on Neko’s list of DVD acquisitions from Malaysia. Is it a creepy lil’ scarefest or the worst piece of crap to ever sneak outta Indonesia? Lets find out!!
So our story begins pretty much the way one might expect……eight over-indulged, well-to-do 20 somethings are out for a trip on one of the boy’s daddy’s powerboat when a frantic phone call threatens to cut their little trip short….but fear not! While roaring about the high seas without a clue, they manage to end up close to an island resort where they can get dropped off and picked up later by the boat pilot. Sure they don’t know where they are…sure, they don’t have reservations……but they have daddy’s Plastic, and that’s all that matters. Serves daddy right for being such a stick in the mud anyway. Too bad this is the infamous “Pulau Hantu”, the “Ghost Island”……
Yep……Neko’s got herself some more Indonesian DVD’s!! This time out it’s “Lawang Sewu: Dendam Kuntilanak” by director Arie Azis, who also did “Suster Ngesot” which I reviewed a while ago.
The Synopsis for this one reads: ” A group of teenagers decide to go to the town of Semarang to spend their school holidays. Little do they expect that when they arrive at the ruins of Lawang Sewu, that they will encounter a series of frightening events that will unravel each of their well-kept secrets.”
Does it measure up? Let’s see, shall we?
Oooooohhhh!!! More Indonesian horror DVD’s have snuck into my mailbox…. the last load I ordered before my Debit card got all screwy…… (but that’s another horror tale all it’s own….)
Anyways…. I managed to find an english friendly copy of the latest “crawling nurse/ ghost” thingee, “Suster N: Dendam Suster Ngesot”. Is it a creepy cousin of the other film I reviewed, “Suster Ngesot”? Is it a cheap rip off? Let’s find out……
Hehehehe…… your favorite lil’ Catgirl has been watching those goofy Indonesian DVD’s again……. and this time out it’s the creepy Ghost/ Horror film, “The Wall”, submitted for your approval!!
The synopsis goes somethin’ like this: “The Wall stories about making of a movie at a frightening villa. Sabrina (Nessa Sadin), a gothic writer trying to write the script at the villa to find the scary moments. Unfortunately, many strange incidents happened in the villa. The crews one by one killed mysteriously. The main talents: Fathan (Rifky Balweel) and Mischa (Deriell Jaqueline) feel threatened. During the tension, Fathan�s ex-girlfriend, Olla (Safira) shows up. Mischa feels jealous to her. Triangle love conflict appear among them. The production becomes mess. All crews choose to escape from being terrorism victims. Why the villa threatening everyone? Who’s behind it?”
Sound good? Well then… by all means, “Read On”!!
Well I curled up good and cozy and watched several recent DVD arrivals last night and so naturally it’s review time! We start off with another recent Indonesian Horror film, “Lantai 13″……
The synopsis I founds reads as follows: “Lantai 13 (Thirteenth Floor) is an Indonesian horror movie starring Widi Mulia, member of the singing trio “AB Three”. The story is about a girl named Luna (Widi) who got a job in an office at thirteenth floor. But Luna experiencing a lot of strange things when she works at the office. She often heard someone whisper in her ears, crying in the toilet and smells something weird in the lift. Later she knows those strange things happened because one year ago, 6 June 2006, the owner of the building killed 12 women to become a sacrifice so that his business can grow. He tricked the women to become secretary of his company, but then he killed it. It’s supposed to be 13 women, but one year ago a woman didn’t respond to the invitation letter he sent. The thirteenth woman is Luna. And after one year, Albert, the building owner is still going to complete his sacrificing ceremony.”
Haunted Office Buildings? Hasn’t Neko gone this route before? Will the Indonesians have anything new to say? Lets find out!!
Well this time out it’s off to Indonesia for “Hantu”, a sorta ghost/ monster/ spirit movie….
Yep… it’s another goofy horror movie from Indonesia… this time the story of a group of 20 something hikers versus one of those nasty forest spirit thingees that seem to infest Indonesia like some kinda mystical cockroaches.
The synopsis I found for it reads as follows: “Gali (Oka Antara) decides to go camping in an uncharted forest to find a lake called Setra Wingit. He brings along his girlfriend, Rinjani, and his three other friends: Ray ,Maya and Indra. Trouble ensues when Gali cannot find the lake, and a weird encounter with an old man leads to Rinjani’s disappearance. Can she be found? What mysterious secret does the forest actually possess?”
Well… if this lil’ Catgirl is any judge, that secret is that the jungles of Indonesia are the last place you’d wanna go for some rest or recreation….
Let’s “Read On” shall we?
This time out, your favorite Catgirl movie geek is bringing you the details of “Suster Ngesot”, an Indonesian Horror film…… one of a number of them, actually all telling some version of an Urban folklore store about a ghostly crippled nurse out for revenge.
Yep…. I’m not kidding….. I’ve found reference to at least 4 different versions of this story…. but this is the most recent, (and the only one with english subtitles that I could find….) that I could snap up out of a Malaysian DVD source that I already had been using.
So…… it’s plot is fairly simple……as the synopsis explains: “Two girls, Vira (Nia Ramadhani) and Silla (Donita), go from Bandung to Jakarta in order to work as nurses at a rundown clinic. They end up having to stay at a creepy room in the clinic’s womens dormitory, closed for 20 years by a mysterious disappearance of the last occupant. Soon thereafter, strange things start to happen at the lodging. Vira talks to a woman named Mak Saroh, who tells her about another young nurse who used to live there 20 years ago named Lastri Sulistia (Lia Waode). She learns that she was the murdered girlfriend of Dr. Herman, one of the doctors at the clinic who is beleived to have killed Lastri because she found out about his affair with her best friend Mila. Her ghost is accidentally released by similar events happening between the girls and a love triangle developing with Vira’s boyfriend, Mike (Mike Lewis) and now roams the place in search of her revenge killing all those who cross her path.”
Wanna know some more? Then you are gonna want to “Read On”…..
Whew…….well I’ve fallen a wee bit behind in my attempts to do a review a day, but worry not…here we go again. This time it’s a truly nifty lil’ chiller from Indonesia, one of a number of excellent discs I’ve managed to score from overseas in the last week or so…and “Oh boy!!”
“Kuntilanak” was a big surprise….a truly wonderful film that I liked a whole lot. I had expected a simple genre exercise in more “Long Haired Ghosts”…..with only a modest plot and effects, but this one was a big, big scary surprise….and something truly different and uniquely Indonesian.
Firstly…the disc itself was completely subtitled into english….film, trailer, and even the half hour long “Making Of” feature. That’s something I don’t often get even from Korean or Japanese discs…..big thumbs up from this lil’ kitten!
The film itself was letterboxed, and the subs were actually understandably written, not the usual weird translations I’m used to seeing. A great thing considering this was a $9.95 US disc…….I don’t get THAT lucky with $27-$45 US discs from Korea or Japan….or anywhere for that matter.
So…..what’s this one about? Why has your favorite Catgirl Princess gone all nutty for a practically unknown Indonesian horror film? (At least in North America, anyway……and I’m guessing it’s a well kept secret most anywhere outside of Indonesia itself…)
To find out, you’ll just have to read on……silly people!
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