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Film: The Draft! (Setan Alas!)
Year: 2023
Director: Yusron Fuadi
Writers: Yusron Fuadi, Richard James Halstead, B.W. Purba Negara and Anindita Suryarasmi
Starring: Adhin Abdul Hakim, Winner Wijaya and Anggi Waluyo
Review:
This was a film that I learned about thanks to Alex from Simply Legendary Publicity, which reached out that there was a screener available. This was one that intrigued me to see that it is coming to Screambox, a streaming service that I’m subscribed to. Once I figured out that this was from Indonesia, which helps with my movie challenge and my end of year list. Other than knowing this information, I came into seeing this blind.
Synopsis: 5 typical college students spend their weekend in a typical old villa only to find that they have to survive in a battle of wits against an absolute all-mighty, all-powerful terror that is seemingly undefeated. Fight your fate!
We start this by seeing the side of an old bridge. There is voice-over narration about blood being on someone’s hand and where it came from. It then shifts into a car with our group headed out to this villa. The driver is Budi Murah (Haydar Salishz). I believe this is his uncle’s place they’re going to. Up front with him is Wati (Anatasia Herzigova). In the back is Ani (Putri Anggie), who is Budi’s girlfriend. In the middle recording everyone on camera is Amir (Winner Wijaya) and there’s also the bearded Iwan (Adhin Abdul Hakim).
They arrive at the house and it seems to be empty. It is remote. I believe they refer to it as a Dutch villa. They go inside, start to settle in and meet back in the living room. That’s when they’re spooked by Mang Dadang (Ernanta Kusuma). He greets them and tells them that his room is in the back near an old well.
There isn’t electricity in this house. They start to tell spooky stories and that is stopped, not wanting them to get scared. Despite their attempts, something happens overnight. Ani is screaming. They have to break into the room to find that Budi has been stabbed in the eye. Ani claims she didn’t do it. They go to the car to flee, to find that the tires are flat. They try to go into Mang’s room, but it is locked. It is here that Amir gets blood on his hand. They try to drive the car on the flats. They stop abruptly when they come to a cliff. They were sure this was their way in.
Amir and Wati climb up a hill to get a better look, trying to find a way out. What they discover shocks them. Iwah and Ani wait in the car but she hears Budi’s voice so she goes back inside. Things aren’t as they seem and there is something going on that is truly unexplainable. This group is forced to consider the rules of an Indonesian horror film in order to survive, even then, it might be more than they’re capable of.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start would be that this has a premise that I’ve seen used, but how it is here was interesting. What I like about what they do with it is that we have a good set up. It is a classic to get your group of troupe characters out to an isolated location. How it is set up could go slasher or a variation on the cabin in the woods where something supernatural stalks them. It is after that the character of Amir thinks he’s figured it out. It was a bit of a leap in logic, but I was willing to go along with it.
I’m going to tread lightly to not spoil things. This feels inspired by New Nightmare, Scream and any other meta horror film. Amir is a horror film fan. He’s an aspiring director so he starts to point out different things that would go into Indonesian horror. That made me smile, thinking of films like The Queen of Black Magic or Satan’s Slaves. There is something more that is going on and I appreciate it. This brings in a commentary I picked up on. It is exploring fate vs. free will. In this world though, God isn’t who you’d expect. I’ll leave that there.
There are also shades here of The Cabin in the Woods, in that we are getting this group of college students who are troupes. Once again Amir points out how there is the odd outdoors person, the athletic guy who is good looking. There are also the popular girl and the nerdy guy. There’s something else from that movie that we get here as well. It goes back to what I said that it starts with a feel of a slasher film before completely shifting into other subgenres as things get figured out.
That should be enough for the story. I’ll then discuss filmmaking. I love how the cinematography and framing capture how isolated this villa is. Then going along with it, there is something that Amir brings up about their drive. None of the characters noticed and it isn’t until tensions rise that he figures it out. The atmosphere is good here. I’ll also say that the effects we got were mostly practical. If there is CGI, I didn’t notice it so it was seamlessly used. Other than that, there are good musical selections that help with the tone. Sound design adds to it as well.
All that is left then is the acting performances. We have a limited cast, but it completely makes sense in the end. Herzigova is solid along with Anggie. I like how they’re both involved with figuring things out. My two favorite performances though are Wijaya and Hakim. The former being the horror movie expert and figuring out what is happening is good. Hakim and him butt heads as they both try to find ways to survive. Kusuma and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
In conclusion, this is an intriguing Indonesian horror film that successfully blends familiar genre tropes with meta-commentary and a unique thematic exploration of fate versus free will. While starting as a seemingly straightforward cabin-in-the-woods scenario, the film cleverly evolves, thanks to Amir's horror expertise, into something reminiscent of meta-horror classics like Scream and The Cabin in the Woods. The strong filmmaking, including effective cinematography, practical effects, and atmospheric sound design, complements the well-executed performances of the limited cast, particularly Wijaya and Hakim. This makes The Draft! a compelling watch for horror fans looking for a fresh take on established conventions.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10