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Faith and bold moves intertwine in Catholic horror 'Kuasa Gelap'
Director Bobby Prasetyo and his lead actors, Jerome Kurnia and Lukman Sardi, discuss how their latest film is a fresh breakthrough in the Indonesian horror pantheon and why they chose to approach it as a drama.
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Divine fury: Citra Award-winning actors Jerome Kurnia (left) and Lukman Sardi are seen in the official poster of Kuasa Gelap (official English title: Dominion of Darkness). (Courtesy of Paragon Pictures/@armangraphy)
Bobby Prasetyo has had a pretty interesting year (so far).
His previous film, Kiblat, received a backlash from Indonesian Ulema Council back in March due to how the title was considered inappropriate for a horror pic, resulting in an apology from the film's producers. The controversial film was later retitled Thaghut, as well as a revamped poster, and premiered in Indonesian theaters in August.
Now, Bobby is back with another horror pic, Kuasa Gelap (official English title: Dominion of Darkness) a return to form that might also reflect the director's steely determination. In a conversation with The Jakarta Post on Sept. 25, he acknowledged that, when all was said and done, it remains difficult for him to see how "fair" the past controversy was.
"The word 'fair' is subjective," Bobby said. "Nonetheless, I can understand how [the controversy] could trigger anger from certain people. For me, that has never been my intention."
In many ways, there was, perhaps, a bigger and more delicate risk in making Kuasa Gelap than there was with Thaghut.
Marketed as the first Indonesian horror film that depicts Catholic exorcism, Kuasa Gelap tells the story of a young Catholic priest-cum-school teacher (portrayed by Citra Award winner Jerome Kurnia) who must work alongside a veteran priest (portrayed by Citra Award winner Lukman Sardi) to expel a demon possessing one of the former's students.
Servants of God
