Jasmine, a village girl who moves to Jakarta to be a singer, dies before she gives birth to her child. Ghosts of both mother and child roam the city, terrorizing everyone. A group of medical students runs in panic, as they realise that one of them has to die as a sacrifice in order to put Jasmine at peace.
It's been awhile since good Indonesian horror made it's way to the big screen here in Malaysia. For the past five years, local horror fans were disappointed time and again by mediocre horrors from Indonesian filmmakers.
The opening of their latest offering "Beranak Dalam Kubur", literally translated as "Birth In The Tomb", can be touted as a better piece of art from the region owing to the more realistic and acceptable presentation that was absent in most of the horror crap previously. Ironically, the title itself is not new to the horror film world. Some might be familiar with it as a film of the same name was released in 1972. Despite the same title, however, they are both two completely different stories.
Viewing the latest "Beranak Dalam Kubur" brings back vivid memories of some of Hollywood's horror such as "Unrest". "BDK" more or less follows the storyline and scriptwriter Ery Sofid deserves praise for making a good copycat piece with a treat of local flavour.
"BDK" it is presented with an interesting and thrilling flow throughout, and perhaps the most interesting part is that the narration is delivered well. Plus, all the hot babes and hunks - Jovan (Revand T. Narya), Jessy (Adytia Putri), Titaz (Dinda Kanya Dewi), Brian (Siran) and Kaila (Shalvynne) - that play the medical students pull the audience in right until the end, waiting to find out which among the hotties would survive eventually.
Character wise, the five fresh actors have done quite a good job to lead the audience to feel the story effectively. The facial expressions and performance displayed by them was entertaining and fitted the story. Perhaps the co-directors Adji Saputra and Freddy Lingga have done quite a good job in moving the flow of the story to such a fine presentation. Moreover, the camera work was first-rate, contributing to intensity and thrills. With some witty dialogue in a few scenes, the audience was allowed a breather once in a while.
Though typical elements symbolising a raunchy nightlife such as cigarettes and sex appeal were exploited in this flick, the presentation of such elements were incorporated nicely into the narrative. Thus, it only makes it more rational and forgivable. With the combination of a bunch of beauties and hunks, excellent narration, simple presentation, a justified ending and an all-round creepy experience, what more can one expect from a horror flicks? This one is surely a good show to catch to breakaway from previous Indonesian horror flops.
