When you think international horror hotspots, places like Italy, Korea, Japan and France come to mind. Probably not Indonesia, but with movies like “Impetigore,” “The Doll,” “Qorin” and now “May The Devil Take You,” Indonesia is seeming like a filmmaking culture that is unexpectedly embracing horror in a more serious way.
I don’t know shit about Indonesia. Is that the place with the butterflies? No, that’s New Guinea. Wait, is that the place where they lynch drug dealers? No I’m thinking of the Philippines. Indon… Oh! That’s the one with Komodo Dragons! Komodo Dragons are badass! Alright I’ve got my footing here (unless you expected I have broader culture than your average middle schooler). Let’s check this archipelagic horror piece!
(Dumb comedy aside, Indonesia also has storybook-gorgeous beaches, a GDP greater than Saudi Arabia, and they cook up super good food. Try Beef Rendang if you ever get the opportunity!)
A previously-rich dude comes down with a mysterious (and gross) illness, and his children return home to see him before he dies. The rebel iconoclast daughter with self-harm scars (obviously gonna be the protagonist of the movie) goes back to the house and notices a door nailed shut and covered with those calligraphy magic spell paper things. Naturally, now I wanna see that room, but Alfie (the daughter with the cigarettes and the leather jacket) has a sudden need for nostalgia that takes her upstairs, and then the rest of the family shows up to see how they can shake some money out if dead dad’s stuff.
Step-brother Ruben (pretty cool brother but seems like an unlikely name for a Indonesian kid) goes to work on opening the magic door while Alfie stumbles upon the voodoo room. Ope! Dad was into some messed-up stuff! What did Ruben find? An invisible wrinkle monster, and now he’s on the loose. Slick job, Ruben!
Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Dad’s not even fucking dead yet!
…oh, nev’mind. Now he is. A haunted ponytail got ‘im. Alright so back to going through his stuff for loose change and Pokemon cards. “Hey Ruben, what’s down in the basement?” (scratches chin) “Not sure, but it hates mom.” “Not a surprise, everybody hates mom. Mom sucks.” “Well she’s tropical evil dead now, aren’t you glad we opened the magic door?”
The house is all evil dead possessed. What’s worse, it is now worth LESS on the real estate market than it was an hour ago! We’re definitely not getting rich off of dead dad! Sialan!!
Fun movie, lotsa big screamy monster faces, lotsa devil worship pact with evil stuff, bit o’ gore here and there, bit of hairy blood puke, bit of face-ripping, you’ll be able to forgive the overall sloppiness of the filmmaking and story writing. It’s fine, no one cares, it’s a horror movie.