Just two weeks after Halloween, horror fans will be reveling in the abundance of scary flicks at the 3rd Indonesia International Fantastic Film Festival (INAFFF).
Also getting a treat during the 10-day festival are genre film junkies, thanks to screenings of anime, sci-fi and thrillers.
With award-winning titles, box office champs, a highly anticipated Indonesian horror flick and plenty of blood and gore everywhere, this year's lineup is a killer.
So go get yourself slayed from Friday the 13th (of November)!
Indonesia's first real horror flick in recent years (we don't count the ones with hantu, pocong or kuntilanak in their titles), Rumah Dara (Macabre) is about a woman named Dara who goes on a killing spree. The film has already been stirring up a lot of heated discussion in local online forums.
Is it going to be as gory as the short version Dara, which inspired the feature film? Is this really the Indonesian horror film we need to bring the genre back to life? Will it live up to the hype? Does Shareefa Daanish deserve the Puchon Film Festival best actress honor?
Questions aside, be sure to get your hands on the much-coveted opening invitation that gives invitees the privilege of seeing the film before it opens nationwide next January. Invites aren't for sale, but if you follow the festival on twitter - @inafff09 - you might be lucky enough to win a free invitation or two.
A few titles in the festival lineup have appeared in critics' lists of 2009's best horror films.
Dead Snow and I Sell the Dead both made it into this year's top 10 best-reviewed horror films, according to metacritic.com.
Hollywood Reporter calls I Sell the Dead "smart, gruesome and inventive enough to more than please niche genre fans" while the horror-comedy with zombie Nazis Dead Snow gets a nod from Variety who compares it to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead with its "amusing twists of fate and over-the-top gore".
Last Halloween, Entertainment Weekly listed classic remake It's Alive as one of its 16 Little Horror Gems of all time among other titles such as Drag Me to Hell, Orphan and Children of the Corn. Note that this film about an evil baby, starring Bijou Philips, will only be shown once at Blitzmegaplex Grand Indonesia. Don't miss it.
The collaborative offspring of six of the world's most celebrated graphic artists, the French animation-slash-horror anthology Fear(s) of the Dark has left critics in awe. Los Angeles Times touted it as "a most frightful Halloween aperitif" while Film Threat proclaimed it "a visually exhilarating trip".
The always-popular surprise film scheduled on the festival's first Saturday is both critically acclaimed and a box office winner. We won't spill the title, but be assured that horror buffs won't be disappointed with this year's pick. Our insider says tickets are selling fast, so get bundles for you and friends and prepare to be spooked.
Really spooked.
Japanese Fusion
Each year, anime/manga fans flock to INAFFF for a high dose of Japanese imports. First up is Musashi: The Dream of Last Samurai, a visually stunning animated-documentary that mixes 2D, 3D CG and live action to tell the life of 17th-century master swordsman Musashi Miyamoto.
Catch it back to back on Sunday with M.W. Based on the popular manga by Astroboy creator, Osamu Tezuka, it's a live-action suspense about a serial killer whose body is affected by a chemical spillover.
Then finish off with Yatterman, helmed by Japanese auteur Takashi Miike. Adapted from a classic 70s television show, the film stays true to its predecessor's comedic approach. Cult followers made the movie a number one box office hit in Japan and a hot ticket at INAFFF's ticket counters.
Flesh & Blood
What's a horror festival without blood and gore? INAFFF 2009 has plenty of titles that are guaranteed to wrench your gut. Meat Grinder, for instance, is a story about a noodle seller who counts human flesh as a secret ingredient for her signature dish.
Have your lunch before this Thai horror screening, as in-the-kitchen activities of chopping, cutting and slicing take place during the entire film. You've been warned.
Finnish production Skeleton Crew is a movie within a movie set in a mental institution with torture scenes that would make fans of the Hostel and Saw series leap out their seats with glee. Also include Singapore's bloody Blood Ties, Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl and George A. Romero's Deadtime Stories in your agenda if scenes featuring human body parts as co-stars are essential to your viewing pleasure.
Crowd Pleasers
On movie site imdb.com, The Fourth Kind, Pandorum and *Rec* 2 have the biggest audience votes. With a score of 8.0, the festival's closing movie The Fourth Kind rated best among spectators.
In this sci-fi horror starring Milla Jovovich, the audience is brought closer to chilling facts about alien abduction with the clever use of real footage throughout the film. INAFFF festival director Rusli Eddy strongly recommends this film. "Not all sci-fi films scare me, but this one is truly spooky," he says. "Some of the scenes are pretty disturbing. I can say this is one of the scariest films to come out this year."
Still in the sci-fi field, Pandorum had genre fans cheering during its release stateside. One audience member called it "a roller-coaster ride from start to finish. The twists and turns keep coming."
The story, about two of the crew in a spacecraft realizing they're not alone, is Event Horizon, Aliens and Resident Evil all put together. Save the date for this nightmare in space.
INAFFF 2009 is on at Blitzmegaplex in Jakarta Nov. 13-22 and in Bandung Nov. 27-29. Ticket pre-sales are now open. For info click www.inafff.com or follow them on twitter@inafff09
