The wonderfully named Gorylah Pictures was established in 2009 in Singapore by Zhao Wei Films & Infinite Frameworks, with the intention of creating an independent action/fantastical/horror label that would produce films that feature unique South East Asian stories and myths and introduce them to the rest of the world.
It’s first production, Macabre, could be described as an Indonesian take on Psycho meets Hostel; Forces of Geek’s Man from Hong Kong Big Mike Leeder brings us the following review.
Macabre tells the story of a horrifying night involving six friends; a night that will change their lives forever, and in some cases, end their lives entirely. The recently married Adjie & Astrid, along with 3 of their closest friends and Adjie’s estranged sister Ladya are getting ready to head home before the newlyweds fly out to begin a new life overseas.
Their plans change when they cross pathes with Maya, a girl who appears out of nowhere claiming to have been robbed. The friends agree to give her a lift home to her house located deep within the woods.
Maya introduces Adjie and her friends to her mother Dara, who insists that the ‘Good Samaritans’ should be rewarded with a feast to thank them for bringing her daughter home safely.
But this is when the night becomes a nightmare for the six friends, as Dara and her three deadly protégés reveal their true intentions. They have been luring innocent passersby to their home for many years with the sole purpose of killing them. One by one they are brutally murdered, and the house runs red with blood…
The Family
Dara is memorably played by Shareefa Daanish, whose exotic look comes from her Chinese, Arabic and Malayan heritage. She began her career as a catwalk model before making the move into film & TV, and she makes a great villain.
She has a seemingly timeless quality about her, she could be in her late 20’s, her 30’s or her 40’s it’s hard to place, which works perfectly for a character that’s revealed to have been walking the Earth for more than a hundred years.
Maya as played by Imelda Therinne is the bait, sensual, seductive and deceitful she lures unsuspecting men to the house and a gruesome end.
Therinne also began her career as a model before making the move through music videos, TV and more recently, into film. She brings a disturbing menace to her role as her character is revealed and begins taking an active part in the murders and mayhem.
Adam is played by Arin Putra, a former child actor. Adam who portrays himself as a sophisticated charming young man is one of the most dangerous of the 3 siblings; he’s an agile and seemingly unstoppable killer.
Armand played by casting director turned actor Ray Lubis, is a sexual sadist who is responsible for cleaning up after his family, and preparing the bodies for consumption and distribution.
The Victims
Ladya played by actress Julie Estelle is the black sheep of her family, she’s lived her life in the shadow of her brother, with a thick rebellious streak and a hell of an attitude she’s everything her brother isn’t. And the events of this night will force her to become a reluctant hero and fight for her and her brother’s survival.
Adjie is played by one of Indonesia’s newest talents Ario Bayu. Since the death of his parents Adjie has struggled to overcome various difficulties to raise his sister and become a successful businessman. With a new wife and a baby on the way, he’s trying to make a final attempt at reconciling with his sister before he leaves the country but tonight’s events will change his life forever.
Astrid is Adjie’s wife played by Sigi Wimala who makes her return to acting after a lengthy absence from the screen.
Jimi is played by MTV Indonesia VJ Daniel Mananta in his film debut. He tries to be the peacemaker when trouble arises but even he was never prepared for this.
Eko played by Dendy Subangil who has played everything from brutish thugs to comedic sidekicks has a thing for the ladies, and it’s his offer of a lift to the mysterious Maya that sets off the chain of events that follow.
Alam played by another MTV Indonesia VJ Mike Muliadro, is the fight first, think later member of the group, and his long time crush for Ladya leads to his painful demise.
Gorylah Pictures Executive Producers Eric Khoo & James Toh from Zhao Wei Films & Mike Wiluan from Infinite Frameworks chose The Mo Brothers (Timo Tjahjanto & Kimo Stamboel) to helm the first film from Gorylah.
Macabre marks their first feature length project and their 3rd collaboration after the slasher short, Dara and the psychological horror short Alone. For Macabre (Ruma Dara), the Mo Brothers decided to expand upon ideas they first explored in their acclaimed short Dara, (which featured Shareefa Dannish as another incarnation of the Dara character dealing with three suitors in her own unique way, and expanded upon the character and situations for the feature.)
The pair met in Australia where both were studying at the Sydney School of Visual Arts, while Timo furthered his studies at the New York Film Academy. The Mo Brothers are based out of Jakarta, Indonesia and as true blooded fans of American genre classics from Psycho thru Texas Chainsaw Massacre and beyond, the pair want to combine the best elements of both Eastern and Western horror film making to introduce a new wave of terror film to the world.
Macabre certainly does a great job of doing just that, there’s a strong western influence from such films as Hostel and Psycho, as unsuspecting innocents are lured into a deadly trap while maintaining a very Eastern almost mystical feel in the way that Ms. Dara and her serpent sect are depicted.
They partake in gruesome rituals believing that consuming human flesh will grant them an array of supernatural powers including immortality. The Mo Brothers also make great use of very effective and gory special effects work, including some almost imperceptible CGI enhancement for some of the killings and brutal sequences. The only tell of the impressive digital trickery is that the actors and stuntmen involved would have been actually killed while filming.
The film has a very atmospheric feel to it, with Rony Arnold’s cinematography giving the film a great look. The Mo Brothers make great use of what is primarily a single location, the old colonial style house in the woods where Dara and her family lurk. The house almost becomes a character as its various rooms and their functions are revealed. The soundtrack by Zeke Khaseli & Yudhi Arfani is also very effective.
As mentioned previously, the film makes use of some incredible SFX work featuring some very impressive prosthetic makeup and physical effects. Augmented by some superb and subtle CGI enhancement makes the good, superb. The film is heavy on the gore hound, but most importantly the horrific elements are very much part of the story and they work so well because of that. From the first few moments of violence, where subtle slashes and strikes are made, the sequences build becoming more elaborate and gory as various implements, weapons, and individuals are bought into the mix, treating the audience to an array of guns, knives, crossbows, fire stunts, and neck breaks.
I look forward to seeing the film get a good DVD/Blu-ray release ideally featuring plenty of behind the scenes and before and after SFX comparison stuff, it’d be a good film school for future horror film-makers!
What also makes the film work so well are the performances from the cast. Shareefa Daanish delivers an otherworldly turn as Dara, who from the moment she’s introduced you know there’s something not quite right about her, but she works so well as the villain of the piece. Imelda Therinne also delivers with a startling transformation from seemingly bewildered and lost girl to a sadistic killer who seems to enjoy everything she’s involved in and, Julie Estelle’s performance as Ladya who goes from the embittered girl with nothing to lose to the woman who has everything to fight for. The strong supporting cast also shine, even as many of them take a darker turn.
Forces of Geek would give the thumbs up but we’re worried that someone might cut or bite it off after watching this! Macabre is a very worthy debut from Gorylah Pictures and just as Gareth Evans’ Merantu and The Raid: Redemption have shown that Indonesia had a lot to offer in terms of a new take on martial arts cinema, the Mo Brothers prove that Indonesia can hold its head high in the world of horror too. And that Gorylah is a company to watch out for, and we look forward to seeing just what else they have in store for us in the near future.
