Oh Hell Yeah!

Just when the horror genre appears somewhat stale and stagnant a film like this is what's required. I'm not saying this is a brilliant movie, far from it, but it's a leap in the right direction.

So you get the obligatory horror opening sequence, which lets you know what happened in the apartment block. Though, I think this would have been better revealed slowly through the film and story. But hey, we're a now, Now, NOW, society as this movie actually illustrates. So we are witnesses to a kind of exorcism. Though, as we progress you become more unsure of what they were trying to exorcise. In the present day, a group of school kids decide to enter the rundown and abandoned building. They want to "live-stream" their spooky adventures and boost their likes. Though once in the building things start to go wrong when they find some ancient papers. One of which contains the spell to open the portal to the other realm.

Now here's the thing, the writer-director, Kimo Stamboel is a little too vague as to where the portal opens too. For me, it looks like the land of the dead. Where some form of witches or daemons resides. Clarifying these points would have made for a stronger story and film. All the daemon or witch requires is her Kriss back. Why? What's so important about the dagger? Again, unanswered. I like mysteries though a few suggestions towards the answers would have made for a stronger story.

Another drawback is the characters. They are quite stereotypical. The perfect girl and her friend. The hunk. The fool or joker of the pack. The quiet nerdy one. And the shy girl heroine who finds the strength to become their saviour. Each of these is portrayed well by the actors and actresses. However, more activity between them to build relationships wouldn't have gone amiss. At times, they feel like they're standing still waiting for somebody to say their lines before they can move. This adds a stiltedness to the film.

Well, that reads like I don't want you to watch this film. Nothing could be further from the truth. You're just forearmed.

What Stamboel gives you is a great romp through this darker realm. I liked the way one of the Daemons or Witches uses the Perfect girl like a doll. She hovers her in midair as she brushes her hair and changes her clothes. To these beings, we are little more than playthings. It's an eerie sight but progresses into a nice action sequence. Then there's the escape sequence towards the end of the film where everybody gets thrown about... and, boy, do they get thrown.

The best part of this for me though is the girls. No matter what happens the phones never stop filming. These women know how to make a movie - not like the snot-sniveller in Blair Witch.

One of the better ideas within the story was the use of the camera's flash. I will have to ask, however, what phone does she have because that battery life is freaking awesome. Not only is it recording most of the time it also uses the flash over a hundred times. Though the scenes are exciting and keep you from noticing this until later in the story. Another idea would have been to have the nerd-guy carry a couple or three power-banks.

This is a breath of fresh air in a stagnating pool of horror. If you would like something different in your horror sandwich then I would highly recommend this slice film. Though it could have been stronger and better scripted what you have is a decent and enjoyable movie. And being totally honest, I will probably watch this film again... it may even make it onto my Guilty Pleasures list.

I just hope that in the next film by Stamboel the subject matter is rendered a bit fuller and the directing shows the imagination his writing does.

I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to sit down to watch the 2019 Indonesian horror movie "DreadOut". And I must admit that I was looking forward to watching it, as the movie's cover/poster definitely looked interesting. Sure, I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to sitting down to watch it. But it being a horror movie was all I needed.

And well, the term horror is one that you should casually glance at here, because "DreadOut" wasn't a scary movie. Maybe if you are a teenager in Indonesia, then "DreadOut" is scary. But for a seasoned horror veteran such as myself, then this was a mere stroll in the park. In fact, "DreadOut" was a rather mundane and boring movie actually.

Why is that you might wonder? Well, first of all, the storyline was just laughably simplistic and downright stupid. In fact, there were so many things in the storyline - or whatever atrocious thing this was supposed to resemble a storyline. Most of the events in the movie just felt random and put into the movie at the whim of a whimsical director. It felt like writer and director Kimo Stamboel didn't really have a script to work from and just made things up as the filming progressed. The movie lacked a red thread and had little to no continuity.

Then there was the acting performances. Well, let's just say bless the actors and actresses for participating in this heap of a movie, and trying to make something work out of the rubbish they had to work with.

Visually, then this is where "DreadOut" worked. The visual effects and CGI in the movie were actually really great. I liked that quite a lot, but special effects can only do so much for a movie that has virtually no script or storyline. But I will say that if you do get the opportunity to watch "DreadOut", do it for the special effects.

My rating of the 2019 movie "DreadOut" settles on a mere three out of ten stars. This is by no means a horror movie that I will be returning to watch for a second time. And it is not even remotely close to being near the top of the shelf when it comes to horror movies made in Indonesia. I found out that there is a sequel to this 2019 movie, and I can't really say that I am in a particular rush to go out there and find a copy to watch.

Attempting to attract more followers, a group of friends decides to break into a supposedly haunted local apartment to live stream them searching a haunted building, but when they realize they've inadvertently opened a doorway to guardians from another dimension they try to fight the deadly beings.

This one ended up being a spectacular overall effort. One of the film's best aspects is the strong storyline setup that's in play here. The idea of the game that's played here and the rules that are featured here in regards to what they have to play with. The scene in the room where they initially come into contact with it that generates the rules of what they've unleashed where they've accessed the spirit world without their intent. Following up their return trip where they learn they've unleashed the portal and brought them into the world, this being combated by their social media provides a solid twist that keeps this one quite enjoyable. On top of that, the film's focus on the teens who are obsessed with such social media, constantly worrying about followers and being at the top of the class in terms of popularity with their feeds strikes a fine topical cord. That their need to be perceived as popular or even just using their devices to stay up-to-date on the news around them is a great touch and manages to make it believable that they would eventually feel the need to get involved with the game in the first place. As well as the supernatural action, the film manages a lot to like with the stellar supernatural work at play. This starts with a vengeance featuring the group in their apartment trying to use the game to help their possessed friend that gets this one started strongly. Likewise, the film works with the few modernized touches that integrate the ghostly action into that setting, from the freaky occurrences during the live stream before it turns sideways or their attempts to investigate the building that results in some jump-scares by being shown through the camera of their phones. Once they leave the building, the various battles with the supernatural creatures that have been unleashed offer up some gripping sequences featuring the team coming into contact with the various spirits in both the real world and the spiritual dimension. From there, the film scores so well with the unleashed supernatural beings coming for them. The scenes in the abandoned building where they investigate the history of the artifacts in the room, from the designs on the floor to the mystical parchment that no one else can read but the one who finds it. The mysteriousness of their surroundings, the supernatural influence on the actions of the group and the terrifying actions that arise that signal the group has unleashed something in the scene is a fantastic viewpoint of their ordeal to come and showcases that something's going on. Their trip to the supernatural world and being tormented by the otherworldly beings is exceptionally chilling and the eventual escape is a stellar sequence while the one loner left in the spiritual dimension confronts the murderous spirit in one of the creepiest scenes in the film as she walks through the various trinkets and objects left around where she finally sees the creature. Combined with the stellar make-up work on the possessed individuals and some shocking gore, there's quite a lot to like here. There's not much to dislike here, which mainly stems from the overall lack of explanation for anything going on which makes it seems pretty confusing and troubled overall. However, that's all that holds this one back.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.