Kuntilanak (2018)

A group of kids agree to explore an abandoned house in order to win a reality show contest, which requires them to prove that the stories of the evil Kuntilanak are real. They soon discover... See full summary »

Director:

Rizal Mantovani

Writer:

Alim Sudio

Stars:

Sandrinna Michelle, Aurélie Moeremans, Fero Walandouw

Cast

Credited cast:
Sandrinna Michelle	...	Dinda (as Sandrinna M. Skornicki)
Aurélie Moeremans	...	Lydia
Fero Walandouw	...	Glenn
Nena Rosier	...	Tante Donna
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andryan Bima	...	Kresna
Ciara Nadine Brosnan	...	Ambar
Adlu Fahrezi	...	Panji
Ali Fikry	...	Miko
Naufal Ho	...	Anjas
Wina Marrino	...	Miranda
Aditya Rino	...	Cameraman
Aqi Singgih	...	Lukman
Ady Sky	...	Creative

Storyline

A group of kids agree to explore an abandoned house in order to win a reality show contest, which requires them to prove that the stories of the evil Kuntilanak are real. They soon discover that the ghost is very much real when it appears from an old mirror and starts haunting them.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Horror

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

Indonesia

Language:

Indonesian

Release Date:

15 June 2018 (Indonesia)

Also Known As:

Kuntilanak: Ghost in the Mirror

Company Credits

Production Co:

MVP Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the door to Miko's room creeps open, he puts on his glasses to see better who would be coming through. In the next scene, when he is getting out of the top bed, his glasses are clearly still on the mattress. In the next scene, on the floor, he is wearing the glasses again.

---

Crazy Credits

After the first part of the credits, there is a short scene that shows the mirror for sale at some sort of flea market or bazaar.

User Reviews

Good enough to be good, not enough to be great

This has been my first experience with Indonesian horror, and while Kuntilanak is far from a masterpiece it made for quite an enjoyable watch. This is the sort of film for which one would have to lower their expectations and take the cultural differences into account. While obviously made for younger viewers (and yet containing certain features and scenes I personally wouldn't want my young ones to watch before their tweens) Kuntilanak has some pretty great qualities:

First, it feels like a nightmare, but an actual authentic one, "realistic", unlike many Hollywood attempts of portraying scenarios allegedly originating from nightmares that simply break immersion and suspense of disbelief.

Second, it takes normal everyday things from children's lives like a mischievous laughter and twists them, deforms them into a cacophony that combined with the dark eerie mood becomes truly terrifying.

Third, one would think the exaggerated comic reliefs presented by the children's infantile interactions with each other and with the other characters (made all the more apparent and dominant by changes in soundtrack and sound effects) would damage (if not completely ruin) the dark mood and fear factor, as well it should! But it somehow doesn't. On the contrary, it makes the following scary scenes that much more terrifying.

All in all, while I can't ignore the film's shortcomings (for instance, I went to sleep before the final 30 minutes and continues the next night, which isn't a very flattering thing to say about a film from the horror genre which is supposed to be suspenseful and compelling) I must admit that I enjoyed it quite a bit. Far from great, but definitely good (in my opinion) for anyone willing to momentarily change their standards and open their minds.