Indonesians
LOVE anything about horror. Movies, stories, podcasts, you name it. It started
as a child when we had the experience of sitting together with some friends and
each telling some scary stories on a random Tuesday. Then we grew up to love
watching horror movies. Hanging out with some friends? Stream some horror
movies. Going on a date? Horror movies in the cinema. When we were with the
whole family, we would watch horror movies. Even TV Channels know that people
would watch horror movies together in holidays. I know it’s fun, but do you
ever realize lately the theme of horror movies is not as exciting as it was?
Most of
the horror movies in cinema currently have a similar theme. Cult, dark magic,
meeting the wrong “person”, and even tragedy. Even a highly criticized movie
like “Vina: Sebelum 7 Hari” is thriving right now. It is not an appropriate
topic to bring up in a horror movie, yet a lot of people still watch it. In
conclusion, Indonesian people just yearn for horror movies.
Filmmakers
are eager to get more money from horror movie enjoyers. These filmmakers saw
the opportunity to get money from the way Indonesians are attracted to horror
movies, regardless of the theme. They took that opportunity by giving out tons
of horror movies each year. In just a week there could be two or three
Indonesian horror movies playing back-to-back. Now, the horror genre is the
money-making movies.
Knowing
the opportunity to make a profit from it, filmmakers are pushing film crews to
produce more movies. Why? Because more movies equals more money. This prevents
pressured film crew from working optimally. They are mandated to produce movies
fast, resulting in not-so-good quality movies.
Filmmakers
should acknowledge that there is a market for movies other than horror in
Indonesia. For example, the current top 2 and 3 movies are comedy, which is
“Agak Laen” and “Warkop DKI Reborn!”. There are still a lot of people who watch
comedy. Or romance, as long as it is good enough there will be no big problems.
Even drama and action are rising lately. My personal favorites are “Jalan yang
Jauh Jangan Lupa Pulang”, a sequel to “Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini” and
“Mencuri Raden Saleh”, a heist action movie.
To
bring things to a close, Indonesian horror movies should be upgraded. Expanding
the spectrum of themes and giving consumers options to choose from is one of
the ways to do it. Avoiding sensitive topics is also a way. Being experimental
is okay, just don’t be ignorant. Trust me, consumers would still watch horror
movies even if it is not a popular theme.
Content Writer: Laetitia Razaa Mahestian
Editor: Sabrina Rahmah Izzati
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