Macabre (2009)

Load of rubbish!!

A Major Disappointment

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

"Macabre" is a very entertaining horror movie that had managed to sneak under my radar until now. And I really have been missing out on something great here.First of all, this is not your average Asian horror movie; so don't expect any ladies in white dresses with their hair covering their faces. It was really refreshing to see an Asian slasher horror movie of this caliber. Lots of blood here and a good amount of scenes that will make you squirm.Secondly, then this movie is really intense, and the Mo Brothers (Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto) really stepped up and delivered a great movie here under their directorial skills. And it was a great breath of fresh air to the Asian horror genre.The story is about six friends on their way from Bandung to Jakarta when they stop to help a distressed young woman named Maya. Inviting them back to her home to show her gratitude, the six friends are introduced to Maya's mother Dara, and they are in for a night that will abruptly change and end their lives forever.The acting in "Macabre" was really good, and everyone were doing really great jobs. But one stood out more than the rest; Shareepa Daanish in the role of Dara. She was simply phenomenal."Macabre" is a well-worthy addition to any horror fan's movie collection. And it most definitely is worth watching because it is a very unique Asian horror movie. And with this movie, the Mo Brothers definitely put Indonesia on the horror movie map.

I came across this film when I was reading the message boards for ABC's of Death. One of the directors made this movie Macabre a few years ago and for some strange reason, it flew completely under my radar. It was difficult to find a copy with English hardcoded subtitles, but I eventually found one. In a gory scale of 1 to 10, this Indonesian film comes in around 15. We're talking seriously bizarre, gory violence. The film is basically about a group of friends that pick up a girl, stranded on the side of the road, and take her home where her unusually young looking mother invites them to stay for dinner. That's all you need to know because as you can imagine, after that point, things get nuts. If you've seen many horror movies from any of the Asian countries, the subject matter will be familiar. The story is nothing super original, it's still good, but it's definitely been done before. The gore, on the other hand, is pretty gnarly. Especially the last 20 minutes… If you have an appetite for gore and an iron stomach, you're gonna want to drop this one in your Netflix queue.Please like me on Facebook! We love getting suggestions and warnings on everything horror: http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Heart-Horror/338327476286206

The whole story did remind me a bit of the ultra gore French flick AL'interieur (2007). It's all about capturing the baby. Made in Indonesia I knew already that they could come out with ultra gore flicks and this files perfectly under that category.You have to take your time before things go very wrong. The first 20 minutes I thought, what the hell, there's nothing to see here in this hyped flick but then slowly while eating things go wrong. It's from then, around 25 minutes that it slowly moves from torturing towards slashing and to end in a gory final.A bunch of friends are out on the road when suddenly a girl is on the road asking to have a ride with them. They agree and start to know Maya, being polite she asks them to come inside her house and have dinner. They agree. In comes Dara, the strange mother of Maya. Welcome to hell.One of those surprising movies that really start slow and you need some patience before the red stuff comes in. Excellent effects done old school and surely not all killings are for the fainted-hearted.Gore 5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 5/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5

MACABRE is one of those tasty blood-gushingly psychological tortures in three neat and tidy acts. Even the trailer is hard to watch without looking away. Act One has two newly weds, Adjie and Astrid, with three of their best friends. Chill out, relax in Bandung, Indonesia. Head for Jakarta, but give a lift home to a strange girl who says she's been robbed. In her mother's house, we enter the pristine, bourgeois world of Dara, who insists on repaying kindness with food and drink. And torture. Once drugged, our guests enter a blood-dripping, nightmarish world of no escape, their bodies neatly sliced one by one and professionally packaged. Astrid gives birth. Dara's calm, sophisticated composure never breaks its stride. She coolly empathises with Astrid's pain before pointing out that baby and hubby will experience even more. Viewing permitted. As the film is introduced at the end of a all-night film programme, we are told not to worry if we are already tired. The plot is simple and nothing to fret over. "Pink blobs are people, red buckets are blood, and whirring things are chainsaws." A classic story where the point isn't revealed till the end, and the suspense, sadistic pain, and surreal nastiness doesn't stop for a second. A satisfying if rather colourful conclusion to the long night at Edinburgh's Dead By Dawn horror film festival.