What Can We Expect From the Upcoming 'Suzzanna' Movie?
Jakarta. Horror movie "Suzzanna: Bernapas Dalam Kubur" ("Suzzanna: Buried Alive"), due for release next Thursday, is set to give fans of the "Queen of Indonesian Horror" a new story that feels nostalgic, according to its cast.
The movie tells the story of a married couple – Suzzanna (Luna Maya) and Satria (Herjunot Ali) – who are finally expecting a baby after five years of trying. When Satria, who runs a factory, is out of town, his staff members who hate him – Dudun (Alex Abbad), Jonal (Verdi Solaiman), Gino (Kiki Narendra) and Umar (Teuku Rifnu Wikana) – decide to burglarize his house. Their encounter with Suzzanna leads to her death.
Local myth says a pregnant woman who is murdered will return as "Sundel Bolong," or ghostly apparition with a hole where her abdomen should be. Thus, Suzzanna returns as a vengeful spirit to haunt her killers.
Though the real Suzzanna (Martha Frederika van Osch) – who passed away in 2008 – had already made a movie called "Sundelbolong" ("Holey Whore") in 1981, the new movie will feature a new story written by Bene Rajagukguk, Sunil Soraya and Ferry Lesmana. It is set in the 1980s – Suzzanna's heyday.
"The feel, story, clothing and dialogue were made to look and sound like the late '70s and early '80s, when the real Suzzanna was still alive," Alex Abbad said during a media visit to the Jakarta Globe's offices on Thursday.
He added that the purpose of this movie was to imagine "what kind of movie Suzzanna would make, were she still alive [today]."
Luna, who plays the title role, said the film does not rely on jump scares but that it "is character- and story-driven," into which the audience can delve deep.
One unique aspect of the movie is that Suzzanna is both the protagonist and antagonist, according to Luna. She added that even the robbers were not necessarily "bad people," because they had their own reasons for committing crime.
As fellow cast member Rifnu put it, the film is about "Suzzanna’s version of what is right versus our [the burglars'] version."
"This film has everything. There's the comedy, tragedy and horror. The comedy is delivered through Asri Welas, Opie Kumis and Ence Bagus [who play Suzzanna's housekeepers]. We [the burglars] make the tragedy happen," Rifnu said.
Luna said she does not want to predict how many viewers this movie will attract, but expressed hope that "people who don't really like watching Indonesian films would do so because of Suzzanna," and that the movie could draw 200,000 to 300,000 viewers on the opening day.
"I hope that on Nov. 15, the audience will be satisfied with the film. Those who are familiar with, who grew up with Suzzanna's movies, will have a wave of nostalgia. Maybe the younger viewers who haven't seen much of her, can see what she was like back in the day," Luna said.
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