"Macabre" is a rather customary and derivative horror movie, the type of which there are thirteen in a dozen, but with the notable exception of two little characteristics. First of all this is an Indonesian movie (honestly, how many of those do you encounter per year?) and secondly it's an excruciatingly cruel and sadistic viewing experience with a nihilistic tone and relentless bloodshed. Speaking in terms of cruelty, this sick puppy easily lives up to the French flicks "Martyrs" and "Inside" and thus leaves the vast majority of nowadays American produced slasher/horror movies miles and miles behind. It's actually regrettable that the plot is so clichéd, predictable and commonplace; otherwise "Macabre" might have become an instant cult classic and groundbreaking new genre films, like the aforementioned French titles perhaps. Now this is sadly just a gem that will probably score big in the festival circuit and amongst obscure cult purchasers, but remain largely unknown and unloved.
Six friends, including an eight months pregnant woman and a couple of continuously arguing siblings, are on a long road trip to Jakarta when they stop to pick up a seemingly disorientated girl who – according to her own confusing story – got carjacked and left behind in the middle of the road. They reluctantly decide to do the right thing and bring her home, but obviously this is just the girl's routine to lure unsuspecting people to her remote backwoods house and meet up with the rest of the deranged homicidal family. The head of the family, Mother Darah, seemingly found the secret to eternal youth but petrifies with her sinister stare and asocial behavior. The guests are brutally tortured and slaughtered one by one and for no apparent reason, except maybe mother Darah's unusual interest in Astrid's unborn baby
The roughest thing about "Macabre" is the film's stoic and agonizing ambiance. Some of the characters honestly didn't deserve to die, or at least not as barbaric as displayed on the screen. But that's genuine horror, I acknowledge. Together with the ambiance, the biggest quality of the film is Shareefa Daanish's downright terrifying performance as Mother Darah. The poster of the film is simply a portrait of Darah, wearing a blood red dress and staring straight into the camera with a fork in her hand, but it's one of the most effectively unsettling horror movie posters I've seen in a long time. Well, together with the poster for "Orphan", which pretty much looks exactly the same. "Macabre" is unoriginal, occasionally a bit slow (especially in the beginning) and leaves an overall unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth, but in case you're looking for an old-fashioned Grand-Guignol accomplishment that truly repels and shocks, this is it!
Six friends, including an eight months pregnant woman and a couple of continuously arguing siblings, are on a long road trip to Jakarta when they stop to pick up a seemingly disorientated girl who – according to her own confusing story – got carjacked and left behind in the middle of the road. They reluctantly decide to do the right thing and bring her home, but obviously this is just the girl's routine to lure unsuspecting people to her remote backwoods house and meet up with the rest of the deranged homicidal family. The head of the family, Mother Darah, seemingly found the secret to eternal youth but petrifies with her sinister stare and asocial behavior. The guests are brutally tortured and slaughtered one by one and for no apparent reason, except maybe mother Darah's unusual interest in Astrid's unborn baby
The roughest thing about "Macabre" is the film's stoic and agonizing ambiance. Some of the characters honestly didn't deserve to die, or at least not as barbaric as displayed on the screen. But that's genuine horror, I acknowledge. Together with the ambiance, the biggest quality of the film is Shareefa Daanish's downright terrifying performance as Mother Darah. The poster of the film is simply a portrait of Darah, wearing a blood red dress and staring straight into the camera with a fork in her hand, but it's one of the most effectively unsettling horror movie posters I've seen in a long time. Well, together with the poster for "Orphan", which pretty much looks exactly the same. "Macabre" is unoriginal, occasionally a bit slow (especially in the beginning) and leaves an overall unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth, but in case you're looking for an old-fashioned Grand-Guignol accomplishment that truly repels and shocks, this is it!