Macabre

"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.

Well, i love horror movie. I think the latest Chucky 2013 stupid. Sorry for my bad English but my review is the true color of my honesty.

Had my chances to watch this movie last night as i never heard about this movie until someone mention this movie in a forum, saying my country banned this movie. I watch with high expectation and God, its crazy and scary and i wont say fun but this movie definitely not for pregnant woman, for one who cant accept the reality of horror and for one with faint heart or heart disease.

Its not a ghost story but related to black magic, cannibalism and such. From a country such as Malaysia and knowing that one such killer ever existed in my country (a movie named Dukun tells the true horror about the incident), Darah is crazy and believable.

God. Horror fan should add this movie in their top list.

Newly-weds Adjie and Astrid, Adjie's sister Ladya and a few of their friends fall prey to the wicked cannibal family led by evil Dara in the Mo-Brothers directed 'Macabre'. While the scenario is inspired from various cult-slashers of the late 70s and early 80s, the treatment is what makes it stand its own ground.

'Macabre' is indeed a lot more violent and gory film than you'd expect. The first 30 minutes neatly sets up the premise and nastiness follows suit. There are some skilfully choreographed kills and the writing is campy enough to draw cheers from the viewer. Although one initially hesitates to root for the protagonists as they consistently seem to be making bad decisions, the latter half is executed with sufficient flair. There are quite a few edge-of- the-seat moments.

Julie Estelle as Ladya puts up a good effort while Shareefa Daanish who plays Dara is menacing. Shareefa's striking features add to the character: her wide eyes and stone-faced expression (until the climax), her unhurried movement and other-worldly tone of speech are intimidating. The rest of the ensemble do their best with what's handed out to them. The violence is gratuitous (easily on par with Rob Zombie's films); dialogues are sparsely used to convey the intentions and emotions of the antagonists. In fact a lot more is conveyed through expressions and actions than through excessive babbling. This helps 'Macabre' carve out a niche of its own in the slasher genre.

Recommended for the lovers of horror, gore and slasher films. This definitely ain't for the weak-hearted!

There were a few things that kept me from putting "Macabre" (2009) on my high priority list. This movie is a feature length spin-off of the "Darah" short film that was originally part of the horror anthology entitled "Takut: Faces of Fear" (2008). I wasn't particularly fond of the short film. It had some good violence but the protagonists irritated me a bit too much (especially their moronic decision-making). Obviously, I put off watching the spin-off for months. Another factor is that I'm still timid with regards to Indonesian horror films due to the scarce number of online reviews and ratings that make the selection process analogous to walking in a mine field. There's really no way to predict whether you're in for an instant classic like "The Forbidden Door" (2009), a cool flick like "Kuntilanak" (2006), or a total turd bomb like "Hantu Perawan Jeruk Purut" (2008).

I finally ended up watching "Macabre" tonight and I must say that it was more entertaining than I thought it would be. Within the opening five minutes I already felt at ease once I saw the lovely Julie Estelle grace the screen. Even when she's in a bad movie like "Kuntilanak 2" (2007) she still makes it somewhat watchable, so her unexpected presence automatically raises my rating of this film by 1 or 2 points. Now, fans of Julie's ghost movies are in for a shocking experience when watching "Macabre" because her role here demands a much more physical, emotional performance. She pulls it off very well and this is likely the best performance of her young career.

The plot is basic and involves a group of friends who help a young woman by giving her a ride to her home. Things get nasty when her family turns out to be homicidal maniacs. In this sense "Macabre" follows a similar route taken by films such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) and "House of 1000 Corpses" (2003). There's nothing new here, but in this genre it's the execution that counts and in this film there's a healthy dose of gritty, nasty, bloody violence and gore to keep most horror fans satisfied. It doesn't reach the glorious blood overload of "Inside" (2007) (one of my top 10 favorite horror films of the decade), but it holds its own. After the brief setup this is a non-stop mix of suspense and bloodshed. A few of the death scenes are certainly memorable and will help "Macabre" to carve out it's own little identity in the genre.

One major problem that I have with loony, murderous family movies is obnoxious antagonists. Just because you're a ruthless, sick family unit doesn't mean that you have to yap your mouths all the time and act like juvenile lunatics. (One of the reasons why I'm not a huge fan of Rob Zombie's movies.) I much prefer the quiet, intelligent, menacing killers who calculate and go about their business with a twisted calmness. You know, the seemingly normal folk that are serving you tea and biscuits one minute and then slicing you in half with a chainsaw the next minute. In "Macabre" that's exactly what they are, and in some ways those quieter qualities help to muffle the bad decision-making that frequently creeps its head in movies such as this. What I mean by this is that the intelligent antagonists quickly handicap the protagonists, which limits their options and creates an entirely realistic scenario. The filmmakers loosen the reigns later on though and eventually the sense of realism recedes until you're left with some unrealistic elements. There are a few bone-headed decisions, but not enough to significantly detract from the positives. In addition, some of these characters take an incredible amount of brutality without kicking the bucket. On the positive side this provides for some long-lasting showdowns as well as some sweet death scenes.

"Macabre" is definitely worth seeking out, and would make a great Indonesian horror triple feature with "The Forbidden Door" (2009) and "Kuntilanak" (2006). Actually, you can add "The Raid" (2011) and "The Raid 2" (2014) as well to mix up the evening with some fantastic martial arts action.

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!