Sewu Dino

Sri is a young girl who responds to a job advert from the Atmojo family, who owns a series of restaurants. By accident (literally) she gets to meet the head of the family, Karsa Atmojo. After a short and weird interview, Sri gets the job, but she soon regrets it. Karsa performs a ritual to bound Sri to her until she has completed her task.

Sri, Erna and Dini (who has been working for the family for a while) are taken to a secluded hut in a forest, where they are to care for Karso's granddaughter, Dela. Dela is a victim of black magic, and is locked in a room in a possessed state. Every day before sunset, the girls have to follow a ritual which includes bathing Dela in water that has been infused with seven flowers. This is said to calm the demon which possesses her. If the ritual is not performed every day for a thousand days, Dela will be lost forever. Sri, Erna and Dini only has to do the last four days.

The make-up effects are creepy and I enjoyed the setting in the woods, which gave it an 'Evil Dead' kind of feeling. The film follows the characters during these last four days. Sri is plagued by nightmares, but it is revealed her nightmares in fact take her to the alternate universe where Dela is kept prisoner, and Sri must try to bring her back.

All is not what it seems, though, and there are surprises and twists until the finale. This was an interesting take on a familiar genre.

Thanks to KKN Di Desa Penari as the highest-grossing Indonesian film of all time which opened up all possibilities for the Simpleman universe to be filmed, Sewu Dino was released with all the confidence it had. Kimo Stamboel can intelligently explore all aspects of the folk horror subgenre: mythology, witchcraft, possession, demons, the astral world, and the conflicts between powerful families. This film does not hesitate to show its full potential by raising the level of horror every minute and manages to maintain that atmosphere well and make it a gripping and satisfying spectacle. And if you have to choose, what are the best Indonesian horror films in 2023? Sewu Dino is an easy answer.

Sewu Dino is an Indonesian folk horror that sets up an intriguing premise: a desperate village girl named Sri gets hired to cleanse a corpse possessed by an evil spirit, trapped in a ritual that must be done for 1,000 nights. She's joined by two other women and a creepy driver in a remote Javanese village surrounded by forests and rice fields.

The opening scenes have potential - eerie atmosphere, traditional rituals, and a sense of old folklore horror that feels refreshing. The setting in 2003 makes sense, with cassette tapes guiding the ritual steps. But sadly, the good parts stop there for me.

The acting is where this film really collapses. Mikha Tambayong, who plays Sri, tries hard but her performance feels stiff and at times overacted. Rio Dewanto as Pak Sugik feels wasted, with barely any screentime or purpose. Supporting characters like Erna and Dini come off flat, and dramatic moments that should hit hard end up laughable - like the stabbing scene, which made me roll my eyes instead of gasp.

The cinematography starts strong but turns mediocre, especially during the dream sequences. The warm, yellowish filter is more annoying than haunting. The score is underwhelming too - I kept adjusting my volume just to catch the dialogues.

The film does try to deliver a lot of twists, but they don't land well because the performances feel so forced. The main antagonist isn't scary enough either. Jumpscares are cheap, the makeup looks fake, and the stakes never feel real.

Still, I appreciate Mikha's commitment - she really went all in, even crawling in fake blood in a grave scene. That dedication deserves respect. The folk horror vibe and SimpleMan's original story do have potential. Sadly, the execution ruins it.

In the end, Sewu Dino entertains a bit if you just want local horror folklore. But if you expect great acting, real scares, or strong direction, it might disappoint you.

Final Score: 1.5/5. 30/100.

Dated on 2023, Sewu Dino is revolutionary to Indonesia's movie industry, adapted from a true-story situation. Probably personally one of the scariest movie ever since Insidious (2010). Gave me insane chills and goosebumps!

The plot has a great build-up which created tension that had me at the edge of my seat nearly the entire time. The movie greatly portrays how Indonesia is such a mythical country, accompanied with Indonesian instrument background music and sound effects that was made very disturbing and discomforting (almost pissed myself at the cinema).

As an Indonesian myself, I am very proud of this movie as the entire plot was arranged nicely, leaving me confused, curious and scared, but eventually got a clear explanation for everything towards the end. Sewu Dino has a mild plot twist that horror movies rarely have. It also somehow made me a bit scared of living in Indonesia thinking about such possibilities involving the concept of black magic, which is fairly common in the country.

The reviews and ratings here are probably from friends and family.

My review after forcing myself to watch till the end:

Bad acting Bad CGI Bad effects- you can see the actor's real teeth behind the sharp teeth.

The movie relies on jump scares but not scary enough. The ghost scenes looked very composite. It had a lot of pauses between dialogue where the actor's would look at each other awkwardly.

The scenes were quite predictable.

Not a memorable movie. Quite forgettable. Just another low quality, dull and boring movie.

The only saving grace was the outdoors shots. Cinematography was not bad.

Hope Kimo Stamboel ups his ante.