Badlands Woman Breaks Horror Movie Stereotypes With Oscars 2021

Still cut Perempuan Tanah Jahanam (Instagram @ base.id)

JAKARTA - Tuesday, November 12, the Oscar Selection Committee in Indonesia announced Joko Anwar's film Perempuan Tanah Jahanam or Impetigore will represent Indonesia at the 2021 Oscars for the Best International Feature Film category.

An interesting choice in which Perempuan Tanah Jahanam is the first horror film represented by Indonesia to advance to this prestigious award event.

Since 1987, Indonesia has tried to send representative films to participate in the Oscars. However, none of the films made it to the nomination stage, including Kucumbu Body Indahku and Soekarno.

Jahanam women destroy stereotypes of horror films that are thick with vulgar scenes. This film is able to raise a fairy tale that blends with the mystical side that is close to Indonesian society. You don't need a lot of jump scare, this film surprises the audience with its unique story and neat production layout.

Critic site RogerEbert calls the film Perempuan Tanah Abahanam an unusual but clever and provocative film to all things terrible.

Previously, the Indonesian people were shocked by the claims of Livi Zheng who received an Oscar nomination for his film entitled Brush With Danger. However, when looking at Margaret Herrick Library's Oscar archive site, the new Brush With Danger film was considered eligible for nomination.

Back to the Women of the Land of Hell. Before becoming the representative of Indonesia, this film has won various national and international achievements. Watched by more than 1.5 million viewers in Indonesia, this film was also shown in the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Malaysia and Japan.

Tanah Jahanam women also received appreciation from world-class film festivals such as Sundance, Rotterdam and Goteborg. Through social media, Tanah Jahanam Women received positive reviews from various communities.

Most recently, this film became the film with the most nominations at the 2020 Indonesian Film Festival, namely 17 nominations including Best Film.

Tanah Jahanam women tell of Maya (Tara Basro) and Dini (Marissa Anita) who travel to Harjosari Village to seek inheritance from Maya's parents to sell. The presence of Maya and Dini in Harjosari Village was not welcomed. The residents of Harjosari Village want to release the curse that happened and it involves Maya and Dini.

The film Perempuan Tanah Jahanam can be watched through the GoPlay streaming service.