7. S.E.A. IT TO BELIEVE IT: See a thing from South East Asia. Have you perused our newly minted Indonesian Horror section yet?
According to Mythlok, “The Genderuwo is typically described as a large, hairy humanoid creature, towering over humans with a muscular and imposing frame. Its body is covered in thick, coarse hair, with long, sharp claws and a grotesque, fearsome face. Its eyes are particularly striking, glowing red or green and capable of piercing the darkest nights. Despite its frightening appearance, the Genderuwo is depicted with an almost human-like form, albeit exaggerated in size and wildness, which adds to its terrifying yet captivating allure. The creature’s reddish-black or dark brown skin complements its thick, coarse hair, which instills fear and disgust in those who encounter it.”
But this is a haunted house movie.
If there is one thing you can always rely on, it’s that moving into an old Dutch colonial house in Indonesia is never going to be a quiet weekend DIY project. Especially not when your house comes fully furnished with hidden treasures and angry. Directed by and starring Ratno Timoer, Gondoruwo takes the typical troubled-family move into a haunted-abode setup and filters it through a delightfully weird mix of folklore, domestic melodrama and classic 1980s psychotronic chaos.
Gunawan drags his deeply stressed household—complete with an adulterous wife—into a sprawling domicile that has clearly seen better days. But they aren’t just dealing with moving boxes; they’ve got ghosts, creepy-crawlies, wind gushing through rooms out of nowhere and the titular Gondoruwo. Also: In all Indonesian movies I’ve seen, ghosts sure love to laugh. And music is freely ripped off, this time with the theme from Dr. Zhivago showing up.
While Indonesian genre cinema is often celebrated for its full-tilt, blood-soaked, black-magic madness, Gondoruwo takes things at a much more leisurely pace.
You can watch this on YouTube.
