Refreshing Indonesian Horror Movie

Released about two weeks ago, Perempuan Bergaun Merah adds another list of recent Indonesian horror at the cinema along with the more popular one, Qodrat. I went to watch both of them at the same day and the seats were empty especially for this movie. It certainly adds more experience points because in such a massive room, there were only a few people surrounded with Dolby atmos that even small whisper were noticeable. It was definitely an immersive experience. Alright, let's get to the review of Perempuan Bergaun Merah, or can be loosely translated as " The Woman in The Red Dress".

The story centered around Dinda and her best friend, Kara, who died mysteriously after they spent the night drinking at Kara's house. Written, edited, and produced by William Chandra who is known for several of his fascinating horror, Perempuan Bergaun Merah attempted to bring Chinese ghosts and beliefs into the story. As a background, it is quite rare that Indonesian horror highlights Chinese ghosts and ethnically Chinese stories. Hence, this was a refreshing horror genre to watch at the cinema.

The story starts with 4 colleagues of Dinda (Tatjana Saphira) and Kara (Stella Cornelia), who were spending the night at Kara's house drinking and having fun. They are Wisnu, Gerry and Rosa who were a couple, and Marko. While they were all getting too drunk, Dinda tried to escape from attempted rape by her colleague, Wisnu (Jordy Rizkyanda), a perverted guy who was too drunk that night. Dinda barely escaped the place, went home in shock, until the next day, she couldn't find her best friend. Kara's mom who recently got back from her trip was shocked to find that Kara, her daughter went missing and her house was messy with scattered empty bottles of liquor. Dinda, Kara's boyfriend and her mom were reporting Kara's missing to the police but yielded no result. A month passed, and Kara's mom was hopeless and she eventually reached out to Grandma's Wong, a local Chinese shaman. From there, Kara's mom eventually discovered what happened to her daughter, who according to Grandma Wong believed to be passing away. With such revelation, she was shocked and in dismay. She lit up incense constantly and prayed until she went lunatic and decided to suicide. From that point, the terror started haunting Dinda and her colleagues. The ghost started haunting Dinda and Kara's colleague even Dinda's little brother. One by one, Dinda's colleague died in horrible circumstances.It starts from Wisnu, Gerry, then Rosa, who barely escaped the revenge after Dinda and Kara's boyfriend, Putra visited Grandma Wong to ask about Kara. During the ritual, Grandma Wong was possessed by the red ghost and tried to Kill Dinda, Rosa, and Putra. Amidst these terror, viewers were left to wonder, where is Kara and who killed kara?

Spoiler alert, the ghost is a spirit of Kara's mom who wanted revenge and justice for Kara. The mom was found in a red dress, hanging herself from the ceiling. It is believed that she turned into a powerful ghost who seeks revenge and will not stop until its goal is achieved as told by Grandma Wong in the film.

The Chinese cultural reference in the movie was supported with the majority of the characters who are ethnically Chinese. The setting itself is also located in a high rising suburban condominium which was also inhabited by mainly Chinese people as well from the scenes of the movie. Then, the shaman and the praying rituals, also the spirit calling ritual was also adhering to ethnically Chinese culture. There were also instances where the dead bodies were getting cremated. It is my first time watching Indonesian horror with such cultural references. Normally, Indonesian horror only includes local culture and the majority religion, just like what Qodrat was. That is why, personally, watching that movie was quite refreshing. However, there are some things to note that this movie is also riddled with illogical scenes. One of them was when Grandma Wong, who was old, fell from a 2nd storey building but still managed to survive and she only suffered from a hand injury that didn't seem like a big deal. There were some funny scenes that added more comedic elements into the movie. Additionally, when it comes to the filmography, it was good enough to create the perfect jump scares moment and the face of the ghost was scary enough that if you constantly watched it, it would linger around your mind for a while.

Overall, I would say 3 out of 5 with 3 being just good enough but left a little impression and not something I would be rewatching. The narrative that drives the film was good enough but I think some of the scenes were still lacking, especially the part that left plot holes that somehow needed more explanation. If you enjoy watching foreign horror films, I'd still suggest this on top of Pengabdi Setan 2 which should be on your numero uno from Indonesian Horror.