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'Perempuan Tanah Jahanam' is scarier than 'Pengabdi Setan' because it's more realistic: Joko Anwar
Joko Anwar shares the story behind the making of Perempuan Tanah Jahanam, the script for which he actually wrote in 2008.
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Asmara Abigail in 'Perempuan Tanah Jahanam'. (BASE Indonesia on YouTube/File)
I
t was 2008 when Joko Anwar began writing the script for what we now know as Perempuan Tanah Jahanam (Woman of the Cursed Land). The script was ready to be shot and the producer was available, but Joko had second thoughts.
When he reread the script, he discovered several parts that he thought would be better if they were made when he had more experience as a filmmaker -- which apparently meant 11 years later.
“[I felt that] after making a certain number of movies, I’d be brave enough to make a film that’s both tastefully and technically more difficult than the others,” Joko Anwar told The Jakarta Post on Friday, adding that he later took his time creating other films prior to returning his focus onto Perempuan Tanah Jahanam.
“When I'm done [shooting Perempuan Tanah Jahanam], it’s the best film I’ve ever made.”
The movie tells the story of two girls who travel to a remote village and later experience strange incidents there. It features Tara Basro as Maya, Marissa Anita as Dini, Ario Bayu as Ki Saptadi, Asmara Abigail as Ratih and Christine Hakim as Nyi Misni.
Tara, who also acted in Joko’s 2017 award-winning film Pengabdi Setan (Satan’s Slaves), said in a number of interviews that Perempuan Tanah Jahanam is scarier than Pengabdi Setan.
