Hitam Film Review, Scary Not Necessarily Satan

JAKARTA - So far, Indonesian horror films have always been identified with the appearance of demons as antagonists to create terror and fear in the audience. The film series Hitam tries to offer a different concept by showing zombies.

This film is shown on Klik Film with a total of four continuous series. It opens with the stiff relationship between Mr. Anak, Dibyo (Donny Damara) and Tika (Sara Fajira) who have just returned from London. As the village head, Dibyo often leaves Tika at home. Tika is more comfortable with Retno (Eka Nusa Pertiwi), her best friend since childhood.

Slowly the drama of this film began to be improved by the conflict in market development. Investment issues, bribery, and thuggery are other problems that Dibyo has to deal with as the village head. Pak Bambang (Seteng A Yuniawan) tries to take advantage of the market revitalization, appearing as a disguised antagonist.

The tension of the drama begins to rise when Dibyo finds out that his citizens have died from being eaten by man-eating zombies. In addition, the village's pet goat was also mysteriously killed.

The police and other residents tried to solve this case, but the village head stopped them, even though the number of victims continued to grow. Dibyo began to question his leadership. His discipline in meeting potential market investors also made people suspicious.

Slowly, this film displays terror after terror mysterious. We are invited to enjoy the serenity of the village in the middle of the forest with makeshift lighting. Suspicion of each other, as well as gossip from residents is a new terror that arises after the mysterious deaths of residents and their pet goats.

What is scary is not necessarily the devil. Sometimes evil and greedy lust is also very scary if exposed. Sometimes the fear of losing a loved one is terror in itself. So much is offered in this Black film that allows us to get lost in the story.

This strong scenario from Fajar Martha Santosa and Sandi Papuntungan looks neat in building the emotions of the audience. Director Sidharta Tata seems confident in realizing the zombie adaptation story but can blend with regional elements. Also the socio-cultural values that are imprinted on the ways of interaction between the players in this film are very Indonesian. Thumbs up!

Although Sara and Eka had difficulty keeping up with Donny's acting at the beginning of the series, in the end they were able to finish this film nicely. Donny as a story builder is able to make a sweet duet with Seteng who is a regional theater actor.

Donny is able to position himself as a father, village head, as well as a protector of the community. His body language can move dynamically to compensate for any changes in the roles and tasks he plays. He is a big magnet in this film.

The question that needs to be answered while watching this film is, can you accept the truth? Because reality may be scarier than demonic apparitions.