Macabre

The first film to be released under the Singapore label Gorylah Pictures set up by Eric Khoo and Mike Wiluan, Darah (or Macabre as it is known internationally) is a one of a kind slasher film from this part of the region, written and directed by the Indonesian duo Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto, collectively known as The Mo Brothers, who actually had a short film version of this made back in 2007 which was simply called Dara, also starring actress Shareefa Daanish as the Mother of all Evil.

As a horror film, it did take its time to set up the premise, rather than to jump headlong into flat out boo-tactics. For about 20 minutes, we're introduced to a group of 4 guys and 2 girls, and their relationship with one another, some by blood, some estranged. They meet in a pub in Bandung and are supposed to go on a road trip to Jakarta, until they are stopped by the beautiful yet mysterious Maya (Imelda Therinne), and in playing the Good Samaritan, decided to drop her off along the way.

So there you have it, a nice handful r of people, some of whom you'll grow to dislike, a road trip, a mysterious lady, and a house in the middle of nowhere. Soon we're introduced to the cool and emotionless Dara (Daanish), and the entourage will soon find themselves in a horrific situation where survival is of the highest order. As I mentioned, it does take a while to build up the premise, and you can feel the calm before the storm with the incessant ticking clock in the audio background, as if counting down the moments where first blood gets drawn.

The eager beaver in me though found it a tad excruciating in the wait, especially when you don't really get to learn much of Dara and her family's background apart from some rapid shots. The directors went straight for the action, and Kimo in an interactive session after the film, had revealed that more of the background of Dara, could be explained in the next film, which they hadn't decided whether to set it forward, or backward in time.

Alas the rating of the film at M18, meant that the editing was a tad choppy, where enough scenes were jarring just because they had lingered on far too longer than the comfort zone afforded. This has a slight impact on the narrative flow, as one minute you see the death blow being applied, and the next you're faced with a jump cut that shows the few seconds after. Thick, crimson blood was also the order of the day from set design to makeup, where everyone gets drenched thoroughly in coagulating plasma no thanks to the insanely violent bloodbath. Genre fans should take delight in watching how

Character-wise, the creators went for the rather contemporary female-superiority style, where guys are made to look really bumbling, and sheer tenacity comes from the females instead, such as Ladya (Julie Estelle) who demonstrates extreme spunk and quick thinking to ensure she comes out of each ordeal as best as she can. You're likely to cheer her on as she takes on the villains, and her solo battle with Dara is a highlight in the film. Dara herself too gives you the creeps especially since Shareefa Daanish put in a measured performance balancing composure, and that mad frenzy baying for blood. It's no wonder she was handed the Best Actress award at the genre Puchon International Film Festival not too long ago.

It's not all blood and gore however, as there were ample time devoted to some slight comedy, especially when the cops come knocking. Serving two purposes in providing light entertainment before the going gets heavy, and also to add to the body count, this episode was perhaps the most fun of the lot, and became a catalyst for the bloodbath to follow in a relatively quickened pace, with dismemberment, slashes, stabs, and strangulation being the norm, with The Mo Brothers keeping things tight.

Darah should appeal to the patient horror fan who can sit through a build up and celebrate when the madness start to descend on the poor victims. It's a little unfortunate though that the real horror was the way this rated version was edited.

MACABRE is one of those tasty blood-gushingly psychological tortures in three neat and tidy acts. Even the trailer is hard to watch without looking away. Act One has two newly weds, Adjie and Astrid, with three of their best friends. Chill out, relax in Bandung, Indonesia. Head for Jakarta, but give a lift home to a strange girl who says she's been robbed. In her mother's house, we enter the pristine, bourgeois world of Dara, who insists on repaying kindness with food and drink. And torture. Once drugged, our guests enter a blood-dripping, nightmarish world of no escape, their bodies neatly sliced one by one and professionally packaged. Astrid gives birth. Dara's calm, sophisticated composure never breaks its stride. She coolly empathises with Astrid's pain before pointing out that baby and hubby will experience even more. Viewing permitted. As the film is introduced at the end of a all-night film programme, we are told not to worry if we are already tired. The plot is simple and nothing to fret over. "Pink blobs are people, red buckets are blood, and whirring things are chainsaws." A classic story where the point isn't revealed till the end, and the suspense, sadistic pain, and surreal nastiness doesn't stop for a second. A satisfying if rather colourful conclusion to the long night at Edinburgh's Dead By Dawn horror film festival.

I came across this film when I was reading the message boards for ABC's of Death. One of the directors made this movie Macabre a few years ago and for some strange reason, it flew completely under my radar. It was difficult to find a copy with English hardcoded subtitles, but I eventually found one. In a gory scale of 1 to 10, this Indonesian film comes in around 15. We're talking seriously bizarre, gory violence. The film is basically about a group of friends that pick up a girl, stranded on the side of the road, and take her home where her unusually young looking mother invites them to stay for dinner. That's all you need to know because as you can imagine, after that point, things get nuts. If you've seen many horror movies from any of the Asian countries, the subject matter will be familiar. The story is nothing super original, it's still good, but it's definitely been done before. The gore, on the other hand, is pretty gnarly. Especially the last 20 minutes… If you have an appetite for gore and an iron stomach, you're gonna want to drop this one in your Netflix queue.

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One of the highlights of my Cannes 2010 festival, Macabre dishes up the deaths in very assured and bloodily violent form. In a nutshell: 6 young people end up trapped in a house with a very nasty matriarch and her equally nasty offspring. Yes, there is a reason why the baddies do what they do, but you need to see the film for that!

It's true, as has already been posted here, Macabre does not break any new ground and perhaps jaded palettes will find little here to their taste, but like a well engineered German car, the film delivers the goods in messy style. Breaking with, say, the US tradition, those whom you think would or deserve to survive, do not, nor does the order of their going follow typical genre rules. Unlike in British horror films there is also no humour to alleviate the situation, although local audiences will clearly get a laugh from the stupidly bumbling police - I found them overplayed and irritating - who fortunately also provide more fodder for the maniacs!

"Macabre" is a very entertaining horror movie that had managed to sneak under my radar until now. And I really have been missing out on something great here.

First of all, this is not your average Asian horror movie; so don't expect any ladies in white dresses with their hair covering their faces. It was really refreshing to see an Asian slasher horror movie of this caliber. Lots of blood here and a good amount of scenes that will make you squirm.

Secondly, then this movie is really intense, and the Mo Brothers (Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto) really stepped up and delivered a great movie here under their directorial skills. And it was a great breath of fresh air to the Asian horror genre.

The story is about six friends on their way from Bandung to Jakarta when they stop to help a distressed young woman named Maya. Inviting them back to her home to show her gratitude, the six friends are introduced to Maya's mother Dara, and they are in for a night that will abruptly change and end their lives forever.

The acting in "Macabre" was really good, and everyone were doing really great jobs. But one stood out more than the rest; Shareepa Daanish in the role of Dara. She was simply phenomenal.

"Macabre" is a well-worthy addition to any horror fan's movie collection. And it most definitely is worth watching because it is a very unique Asian horror movie. And with this movie, the Mo Brothers definitely put Indonesia on the horror movie map.