Reviews
Kuntilanak 2 (2007)
Indonesian Horror at Another Level
I have to say, director Rizal Mantovani has brought Indonesian horror to another level in this sequel to "Kuntilanak" / "The Chanting". I find it impossible to compare "Kuntilanak 2" / "The Chanting 2" with other recent Indonesian horror flicks as it has positioned itself in a different class.
Production value is great. The music score, the production design, and the sound effect have created the true movie magic which is rarely found in any other Indonesian movies of any genre. Never have I seen modern Indonesian movies that can take me far far away from reality, getting lost in another world, yet still able to relate myself to the story. Actually, Mantovani once did the same kind of magic in "Kuldesak", but minus a nice story to follow.
The tag line of the movie has said it all. "Everybody has a dark side." The movie continues the story of Samantha, who is now already possessed with her own dark power. She is struggling to regain her own self control, and stop the evil that she does. What's pulling her to the dark side is an evil sect called Mangkoedjiwo. Then, her ex-boyfriend Agung (Evan Sanders) is helping her to stay true. Of course, the dark power seems to be much more powerful.
This simple story is told in series of captivating scenes - whether to make me jump off my seats, or thrilled with the actions. Some scenes really hit the right note, while some others are sadly flawed. Music score is good, but sometimes overused.
Julie Estelle performs out of her skin, especially when she's in "bad" mode. In "good" mode, she's a damsel in distress who's rather tiring to see. Her slow movements make this movie slow-paced. I think being a confused girl doesn't mean being slow-moving.
Mantovani's fatal weakness is in directing his actors and actresses. Evan Sanders acts so so so bad. The three kids in the opening scene also do not deliver proper acting skill. The villains showcase good theatrical act, but Mantovani needs to tone it down, especially when they start to laugh dramatically - which is really annoying! Moreover, Mantovani tries to really tell the story - both verbally and visually - but, at points, forgets that what a horror movie needs are cheap thrills, screamers, chilling sensation from detail shots, real gores, and not just flashes of sightings. Dialogs should be shortened and made effective. All those verbal scenes should be made more fast-paced, so that scary, creepy and jumpy scenes can be executed in a better way. I really find those flashes of sightings are just visually good, but not scary at all.
If only the movie delivers more frights, shock therapies, cheap thrills, detail shots, and tone down the music score, then it's a ten out of ten. I hope that will happen in the third installment.
However, technically speaking, I believe Mantovani has made a big achievement in film making. He maintains his standard by not doing what his fellow Indonesian directors are doing nowadays: shooting instant movie in seven days, thus harassing and abusing the art of film making!
Kuntilanak (2006)
A Stand Out
It's an effort to watch this movie, mainly because of the long queues, even when I caught it in Kuala Lumpur. I'm glad I endured the queue.
This is a very fresh and creative take on what's deemed as more than just an urban legend - Kuntilanak is a make-believe ghost that has shaped the society and culture of Indonesia for generations. Grandmothers talk about her to their naughty grandchildren to scare them. Definitely, Kuntilanak is an icon very close to everybody who grew up in Indonesia. This fact could be a burden for the filmmakers. If they made the easiest way - that is merely visualizing all the old ladies's tale - "Kuntilanak" could have easily fallen to the "predictable" or "rotten" category.
Yet, both the director and writer did not chose the easy way.
"Kuntilanak" follows a chapter in a young girl's life. With her, the audience is brought to a lot of revelations of what or who "actually" is Kuntilanak. It connects with an ancient Javanese chant. It also connects with the girl's identity. Moreover, Kuntilanak here does not kidnap little kids as what our grandmothers always say. Kuntilanak kills her victims horribly.
The captivating story is then packaged in a very stunning art direction, and brought to life by great talents such as Julie Estelle (the lead actress), and Alice Iskak.
"Kuntilanak" does not stand out only among other new Indonesian horror flicks. Due to its faithfulness to the genre, and delightful storytelling, "Kuntilanak" is among the best new Indonesian movies. It should be considered another milestone.
I believe "Kuntilanak" has set a new standard for upcoming Indonesian horrors.