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SINGAPORE : As you may know, "darah" means "blood" in Bahasa Indonesia. And the more "darah" there is on screen, the happier the Mo Brothers are.
"Darah" is also the title of the debut feature from Indonesian directors Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto (no, they're not actually brothers) which sees six friends who, upon following a strange girl home, end up being tortured and slaughtered by her mother and brother. It is produced by local film-maker Eric Khoo and Infinite Frameworks' Mike Wiluan's new production company Gorylah Pictures.
The film is vastly different from the typical supernatural horror fare that is a genre staple of Indonesian and Asian cinema - which was the whole point for the Mo Brothers. The directors, who met while at film school in Australia, are big fans of Hollywood slasher flicks.
"Not meaning to be disrespectful, but the production values of the usual horror films produced in Indonesia are quite low. They produce them as quickly as they can and as many as they can," Kimo told TODAY at a press conference at Zouk's Velvet Underground.
"It's because they know these films are going to be successful."
"Our film is not meant to be an original original idea but more like a marriage of the Western slasher genre and local Asian superstition. And we always have been a fan of films like 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'."
Their vision to break away from the mould and deliver possibly the region's first slasher flick has paid off. "Darah" has entered the ranks of official selection at four horror and fantasy film festivals in the United States, and nabbed the Best Actress award for leading crazy lady Shareefa Daanish at the recent Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival.
When asked whether they are Indonesia's new big hopes in entering the Asian horror fray, and possibly being tapped by Hollywood, Kimo cheekily replied: "We're being fans of Asian horror, from Thai to J-horror, really appreciating the quality of films such as 'Shutter', 'The Eye' and 'The Ring'. And we found ourselves saying, 'Hey, if they can do it, so can we!' And now we have."
"Darah" is in cinemas now.
- TODAY/rs
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