From Babi Ngepet to Jelangkung

There is a craze among Indonesian moviegoers for (cinema and TV) films peppered with elements of comic mysteries, mysticism and horror, ranging from the box office hit Jelangkung to a mixed repertoire of “mystery stories” now flourishing on all TV channels. Indonesia’s mystery and horror films owe their presence to The Teng Cun, who introduced films of this genre to the Indonesian audience with his Doea Siloeman Oeler (Two Snake Ghosts). Later on, The, a Chinese-Indonesian born in Batavia, Jakarta’s erstwhile name, directed films in the same category such as Siloeman Babi Perang Siloeman Monjet (The Ghost Pig Fights the Monkey Ghost, 1935), Anaknja Siloeman Oeler Poeti (Son of the White Snake Ghost, 1936), Lima Siloeman Tikoes (Five Rat Ghosts, 1936) and Tengkorak Hidoep (Living Skeleton, 1941). How do these films differ from the horror films of the 1970s that gave the accolade of “Queen of Horror” to actress Suzanna? How do they differ from the horror films of the 1990s, which were inclined to exploit sex scenes? Also read TEMPO’s exclusive interview with Suzanna, the reclusive and enigmatic actress.