Teluh Darah

Two families find they are being targeted by black magic. Why? Who is doing it? And what is the connection to the Massacre Of 1998?

While I will admit this is the first Indonesian production that I have watched, and I am an atheist, I prefer Islam to Christianity(percentage wise, I've encountered way more sweet, loving Muslims) so any criticism that I make in this is not based on Western chauvinism, it is something that I call out regardless of the culture. Something I noticed in this is that it felt like they might have been trying to make something that would also appeal to Americans. It takes about half the show before we see stuff like Quran study, women covering their hair when around men they are not related to, etc.

In a lot of ways this is very progressive. It does not judge calling off a wedding, women are not treated as inherently inferior, it has criticisms of capitalism and exploration of social issues. No one in this appears to have been born evil, rather, one has the power to choose to do right or wrong, and this is made much easier by financial security. Some of the biggest problems we see are due to economic inequality.

This is incredible in its production. The photography and editing are cinematic. Most of the time, the SFX are completely convincing. The only real exception is the very fake looking CG (not stage, when they use that it's great) blood, and when they need more bugs than the wrangler can get to behave on camera. I absolutely understand how they ended up in this situation. They conceived some really cool bits that it was simply not feasible to handle without animation. Most of the time, they're using bladders, makeup and other practical effects, and it looks amazing.

The acting is convincing for everyone other than the literal children, and I'm of the opinion that we should not be too hard on them - of course they're not yet as talented as actual adults. It does help that they don't have a huge amount of screen time. There's great chemistry, and everyone has distinct interpersonal relationships with other characters. It creates a world that feels lived in, and populated with real people. This currently has one season, and I haven't found any information online that suggests that there will be more. So I'm very relieved to share that they do not end on a cliffhanger. If no more of this is made, then the plot has still been completely resolved by the end of the run.

My single biggest issue here is definitely the fact that there is not quite enough material for all 10 episodes. It feels like a studio mandated number. At times, maybe a third of the entire run, it is merely spinning its wheels. The slow drip feed of information necessary to keep something like this going is at times too slow. And it's not one of those situations where I could just tell you certain scenes to skip, because usually there is at least a little bit of progression - it's just that, sometimes, it's really not very much. If you find yourself losing interest, though you like the pilot, try to stick with it until you reach the halfway point. If you then simply aren't that into it, you may as well stop.

This is one of those things that are so jam-packed with gore, and where it's so intense, that if you at all wonder if it might be too much for you, the answer is almost definitely yes. This was not made for anyone that that's true of. And that's neither a diss on them nor on this. There are a lot of visceral jolts. People will have centipedes crawling right under the skin, coming out their mouths, flies and wasps out their eyes, there are stabbings, bones bend the wrong way, and people cough up nails. Near the end, there gets to be a bit more variety, which is very welcome, though I would definitely say that it always works, you always get that shock, it doesn't end up leaving you numb. There is some sexuality, albeit no nudity. It tends to be minimal and really just there to show when two people have reached that stage. Never just there to titillate, unlike many a stateside show.

Our protagonist is Wulan, a young woman who works at an investment firm and has a very happy life. She's single and lives with her wealthy parents and brother, all of whom clearly love each other. Sure, there is sometimes disagreement - seemingly never anything that could ruin their relationship. Once strange things start happening, she too gradually goes from being sceptical to accepting that what's going on is not explained by science, it is supernatural. This is something that everyone in the audience knows before the first frame plays. That's why we sat down to watch it at all. And I realise this is a trope. I think it's less annoying when it's a feature film instead of 450 minutes or so.

I do greatly appreciate that they are very careful to make her appealing without her ending up just being bland. It comes across as them being well aware that there will be a lot of misogynists desperate to grasp onto anything she says and does, and try to vilify her, as if men are automatically superior. The creatives don't leave any bait for them. Dialogue feels natural to the way people talk, and makes exposition not be a chore to sit through, at least as best as I can tell reading the English subtitles, since I don't speak Indonesian. If you live in the US this is on Hulu, in other parts of the world, like here in Denmark, it is on Disney Plus, provided that the age lock is disengaged, since it's purely for grown-ups.

I recommend this to every fan of Horror. 8/10.