The Draft! (2023) (Indonesia)

aka Setan Alas!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

College friends shack up in a secluded old villa belonging to one of the group’s parents for a weekend of fun but that never works out no matter what part of the world you call home. One of their number is spooked and warns that ghosts are attracted to the kind of place they’re in but he’s dismissed by his more modern-thinking friends. A lack of network connection has them extra secluded and a dead generator adds to the horror flick conventions already rattling around the back of everyone’s minds. Add a locked room, an abandoned well and a nearby Dutch cemetery to cement the gloom. Ani begins to see the ghost of her dead sister, Ani’s delightful caretaker uncle creeps around and the group banter back and forth with each other while getting slightly spooked. The next morning the group wakes up to find Ani’s boyfriend murdered and Ani unable to give any explanation as to how. She’s not saying much just that the bedroom window was opened sometime during the night. They soon find Uncle Dadang hanging from the ceiling in his shack. The remaining four decide to leave but can’t flee as fast as they’d like to thanks to someone slicing the car’s tires. Their slow getaway is halted completely when they discover a cliff where no cliff was before completely cutting them off from any form of escape. They go back to the villa, unsettlingly closer than it should be, waiting outside and trying to come up with an answer as to what the hell is happening. Well, we get the answer pretty quick and it’s pretty damn fun. An atmospheric setting that feels well lived in adds to the novel idea running through the bones of the film. It’s been done before but not often enough to be expected and even necessitates familiarity when it comes to the horrific threats coming after the heroes and giving an excuse for the inevitable silliness. Drama is purposefully fumbled, humor actually works and low-rent gore is in the cards. Admittedly, the whole thing could definitely use a shot of adrenaline which has it coming off as awkwardly paced which is a shame but it’s still worth a watch.