308

One of the highlights from Screamfest 2013 was a film from Indonesia called "308." Cleverly Directed by Jose Poernomo and written by Riheam Junianti. The story is based on a real Indonesian urban legend of Nyi Roro Kidul; the spirit of the Queen of the South Seas that for some reason lives in room 308 at the Sumudra Hotel. Apparently in real life the first president of Indonesia, Sukamo, decided room 308 at the Sumudra Beach Hotel was a great place to honor this mythical Queen.

Initially the film appears to be a simple haunted hotel story in the style of Stephen King's "The Shinning" but as the plot turns it is clear that 308 is not just a ghost story but a tale of betrayal, power, black magic and horror.

The picture opens with the very attractive lead character named Naya (played by Shandy Aulia) who is down on her luck looking for a job; apparently a Bachelor's Degree does not get you far in Indonesia unless you want to work in a hotel haunted by an angry spirit. Naya is taking care of her younger sister and it is unclear yet implied that her parents are deceased. When a friend calls Naya about a job opportunity in a hotel, with a forgotten college crush as her new boss, she jumps at the opportunity.

On Naya's first day on the job she is told to stay out of room 308, under all circumstances. Even when water appears to be dripping from the ceiling from room below 208 or strange sounds are heard from behind the door- she is banned from the room. Her new boss Sena (played by Denny Sumargo) is very pleased to have Naya take the job at the hotel and seems to still be enamored with her. Slowly all the characters are introduced. We are told that there is an outbreak of malaria in the town and for safety reasons the hotel is closed with a minimum staff as the building is sprayed down for protection. Now, with an isolated small group of workers, the story begins to take shape. The first hour of the film has a deliberate slow pace to set up the tension that follows but eventually the pace picks up as someone goes into room 308 and things get spooky.

Without giving away any important plot twists, what differentiates this story from other similar stories, like the Shinning, is that 308 tells the tale of a female spirit or deity that needs to be kept happy- in the sense that you would need to throw a virgin into a volcano. The rules of the movie are strange and unique; for instance anyone wearing the color green makes the apparition mad because that is her favorite color and when she possesses a body the skin rots and is full of maggots. The film must have taken all of the rules of Nyi Roro Kidul into account when creating this movie but that is what makes it so unique and memorable.

I liked this film. In my opinion foreign horror films have an advantage over their domestic counterparts because they bring a different culture to the story telling that makes the picture different from the masses of scary stories in theaters today. However part of the charm of "308" is that the director permits the culture of Indonesia to resonate throughout the movie. The film was the highest grossing horror movie of 2013 in Indonesia and is getting positive feedback from anyone that has seen the movie. I don't know if people will get a chance to see this film but if you are a fan of horror with a slight twist I recommend it.

Struggling to find work after college, a woman agrees to take a position at a hotel managed by a friend of a friend while the area is being protected from a deadly plague, and as she works there she becomes convinced a curse involving a figure living in a specific room and must keep herself safe as a result.

There was quite a lot to like with this one. Among its better qualities is how the film keeps the central mystery of the room hidden for the most part throughout here. The way everyone keeps their distance regarding the cursed room in the hotel, from ensuring her daughter doesn't enter it accidentally to the quiet uttering of the curse placed on it by the witch from local legend and the strange incidents that take place in the hotel around the room while she's working there manage to build a solid and engrossing mystery about the area. Likewise, once it turns that build-up into unleashing the supernatural there's quite a lot to like here. With the slow-burn build starting with the employee getting sick exactly like she described in the legend involving the witch to the continuous noises and objects disappearing and moving around on her, there's an eerie tone working throughout here that is quite effective. Rather than going full bore with needless jump-scares of ghosts crawling all over the hotel, the fact that this one goes for the subtle route of obviously featuring a secret harbored by the crew but are unable to reveal it, which is a fine and far more enjoyable substitute with the atmospheric approach instead. The other enjoyable aspect here is the fun finale where it takes the build-up and offers some solid payoffs. The attack on the poisoned worker in her room is a chilling start, as are the later encounters down in the laundry room and the maid's confrontation with the possessed figure crawling through the main lobby which generates the best hints that something's wrong. As this spills into the other hotel members having their confrontations with the vengeful being, there's quite a lot to like here with the action picking up nicely and generating some thrilling scenes as the race to quell her fury results in some fun encounters as well with the rituals required to calm here alongside the fine action taking place in the hotel and the witches' realm. These here are what works overall as this one does have some slight problems. The main issue for some here will be the idea that the subtle, slow-burn buildup throughout the first hour will cause this one to be drawn-out far longer than necessary. Instead of taking the direct route of the occupant of the room and how it all ties together with the legend, the mysterious nature of it all means this one takes its time to build these events which can take its toll on some viewers. The other flaw here is some rather wonky and obvious effects-work that weakens some of the scenes they're in, from CGI flames to unnatural body distortions and other visual flares that are supposedly done for effect but look cheap as a result. With a finale that goes on a little too long but otherwise, there isn't a whole lot wrong with this one.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and children-in-jeopardy.