Popular Indonesian horror video game DreadOut will be made into a movie that, unlike other game-inspired films, will highlight well-known Indonesian ghouls — a guarantee that audiences will suffer gross-out nightmares for days.

Originally released in 2014, the computer game’s specific brand of horror is in a similar vein to other “survival horror” titles such as the popular Resident Evil or Silent Hill series — both of which have, interestingly, also been turned into feature-length films of varying levels of critical and commercial success — as well as Fatal Frame, which is its closest comparison.

DreadOut is unique, however, as it features famous ghouls and ghosts from Indonesian mythology – from the perpetually shrouded and hopping Pocong and the money-stealing boy ghost Tuyul to the woman with a gaping hole in her torso Sundel Bolong and boar-demon Babi Ngepet.

Developed by Bandung-based studio Digital Happiness, the game is considered one of the country’s most successful video game titles — reportedly achieving popularity in Japan, the United States, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Perhaps its biggest source of publicity, however, has come from popular (and controversial) YouTube personality PewDiePie, whose praise of the game to his 64 million subscribers gave the game significant exposure.

The film adaptation of the game will be produced by production house GoodHouse.ID — headed by Kimo Stamboel, Wida Handoyo and Edwin Nazir. The film will be directed by Kimo, who is one-half of the directorial duo the Mo Brothers, who have helmed popular titles like horror-slasher Rumah Dara (Macabre), psychological thriller Headshot and action movie Killers.

“When I first played this game, I could immediately tell there was great potential here to turn it into a movie. As a horror fan, I saw how much room was available for me to play with cinematically,” Kimo explained during a recent press conference to announce the movie.

Kimo also appreciated the game’s contemporary feel, which he said gave it a sense of realness that added to the terror. “I like how the ways you beat the ghosts include using a cell phone, which is cool and also makes it relatable to audiences today.” The director also penned the script.

In a follow up interview, the director said with the help of a “glass of wine”, he saw how “the world of DreadOut itself is quite interesting. I guess this is a unique element that can play out throughout the film”.

He said because of the nature of adapting a game to screen, “the scale, storyline and some the characters will be interestingly different. I will try my best to give the full cinematic game experience to the audience.”

The producers and director feel that the high-school background of the heroine character will also make the story feel even more relatable.

Digital Happiness founder Rachmad Imron said that he and the people at his studio felt Kimo was the right guy for the job because they had always been fans of his. “And he has shown he is capable of directing movies that can compete at an international level,” Rachmad said.

The film’s script has taken four years to finalize, with a pre-production process that ran for six months.

“We are very serious about this movie,” said Wida Handoyo, one of the film’s producers, adding that the aim was to make sure everything was perfectly ready before going into the actual production.

“We know how big the gaming community and film community is in Indonesia; we feel very optimistic about the film’s market performance. To make sure of that and in order to capture the brand of the game and the production houses, we’ve secured sizable funds for the film, from both local and international studios.” She did not, however, disclose the film’s budget.

A virtual reality (VR) version of the game was released late last year under the title DreadEye VR, reintroducing the game to audiences who missed it the first time around. The game was nominated for Best VR Game at SXSW Gamer’s Voice in Austin, Texas, US, back in January.

The production team is keeping a sense of mystery around the film, and building hype from fans’ curiosity about the cast, with its publicist simply saying they were “young, rising stars who should be familiar to Indonesian film fans”. The film itself is expected to hit theaters sometime early next year.

The cast and release plan are scheduled to be officially announced at this year’s POPCON Asia 2018 festival at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in BSD City, Banten, to be held from Sept. 22 to 23.

Popular

Essay competition: ‘Rethinking work: Driving sustainable growth in the digital age’

Reform era draws to a close

A Fold in Time: Southeast Asia's women artists explore identity, history