Indonesian/Malaysian horror movies have been making a big splash recently, and one of the premier producers, Joko Anwar, have released another one in 2024 called Grave Torture. Having watched a different Indonesian horror film just recently, I thought it was a cool coincidence that an Economist article caught my attention talking just about this very producer.

Original article: Why Indonesia’s horror films are booming (economist.com)

Bypass paywall: Why Indonesia’s horror films are booming (archive.ph)

If there’s one thing I learned about Indonesian horror films, there’s a very high chance that it will either deal with topics of faith/religion, vengeful spirits, superstitious folktales, or, wait for it…….flying heads! Grave Torture deals more with the religious afterlife and what happens to our souls and bodies for those who are pure and those who have committed sins. It’s obviously not a new concept, but I was curious to see how the producer would go about it.

It started out alright, but it kind of lost me towards the middle. At almost a 2-hour run time, it just felt too long. Some parts felt unnecessary, as it felt like the producer was just throwing too many things on the screen. The main topic and question of “grave torture” got away at times. Having watched a lot of horror movies, that one scene literally felt like it was straight from a Mortal Kombat fatality finishing move. I wasn’t supposed to laugh, but I had to.

Grave Torture is a better-than-average horror film. It highlights how obsessive some can get to prove and capture what happens to us after death. Was the ending a cheap cop-out in regard to Sita? At first, I thought it kind of was until I started processing it some more. The problem with these long movies is that a lot of times, an explanation to an ending that may seem confusing at first can actually be explained, or at least with hints that can guide you to an acceptable answer, somewhere in the beginning of the movie. This was exactly the case for me with Grave Torture to help me process what happened at the end. It did hurt my brain, as I had to dig deep and try to remember what was said. Hint: Pay attention to the talk of the two angels when one is greeted after death.

Oh, and if that death scene earlier felt Mortal Kombat’ish, it was nothing compared to what happened in the end! Literally, it could be some character’s fatality move in the game! 🤣 🤣