Harvest of Horror Films
Indonesian horror movies are experiencing a harvest season. Last year, one third of Indonesias total film production was horror films. This year, movie goers will face an onslaught of this type of films. Horror movies are very popular: on the average, half a million people watch these films. The movie Kuntilanak was viewed by 1.5 million people!
As a consequence, film producers are busy producing horror films. A video camera, a few unknown actors, one or two locationsthese are sufficient to produce a low-budget movie that eventually reaps a large profit.
Why are Indonesians so fascinated by horror movies? Is it true that modern Indonesian horror films are no longer interested in mystic themes such as the Queen of the South Seas and Nyi Blorong? To what extent are they influenced by horror movies made in Hollywood, Japan, and Korea?
January 30, 2007
In mid-November 2006, Planet Hollywood became Planet of Ghosts. During the premiere of Bangku Kosong, a group of teenagers in school uniformstheir hair in disarray and eyes covered with thick eye shadowwere in attendance. They wanted to look scary but instead they looked amusing.
Outside the cinema, an ambulance supported by a paramedical team was standing by. The team was supposed to be ready, just in case there were shocked viewers, after watchi
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