User reviews

After seeing the movie "V/H/S/2" I loved the episode called "Safe Haven". Reading up about the two directors I happened to see these previous horror films called "Dara" and "Macabre". Apparently Dara is a short and I can't seem to get my hands on it at the moment. But I got to see the blue ray version of "Macabre" and man was I blown away! I may seem to over blow it but if you find yourself watching it and saying it's OK but not all that" just keep watching because the horror and the action just keep amping up up up until you think there can be no more and then there is still more! It's one of the goriest movies I have seen but it's done so well and used effectively to shock and disturb/scare you that it really works. Not just gore for gore sake and not like some of the zombie type genre that show so much it gets mundane or even comical. This stuff is intense!!! Best horror movie I have seen in years. It's not in English and you'll have to read the subtitles but it's well worth it for those who have a problem with that. The only thing that bothers me about it is I am spoiled and wan't more. Now I'll go through that phase where I have to watch 20 more junk horror flicks before I find another diamond like this. Hope not. Great movie. 9 out of 10 for me!

The first film to be released under the Singapore label Gorylah Pictures set up by Eric Khoo and Mike Wiluan, Darah (or Macabre as it is known internationally) is a one of a kind slasher film from this part of the region, written and directed by the Indonesian duo Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto, collectively known as The Mo Brothers, who actually had a short film version of this made back in 2007 which was simply called Dara, also starring actress Shareefa Daanish as the Mother of all Evil.

As a horror film, it did take its time to set up the premise, rather than to jump headlong into flat out boo-tactics. For about 20 minutes, we're introduced to a group of 4 guys and 2 girls, and their relationship with one another, some by blood, some estranged. They meet in a pub in Bandung and are supposed to go on a road trip to Jakarta, until they are stopped by the beautiful yet mysterious Maya (Imelda Therinne), and in playing the Good Samaritan, decided to drop her off along the way.

So there you have it, a nice handful r of people, some of whom you'll grow to dislike, a road trip, a mysterious lady, and a house in the middle of nowhere. Soon we're introduced to the cool and emotionless Dara (Daanish), and the entourage will soon find themselves in a horrific situation where survival is of the highest order. As I mentioned, it does take a while to build up the premise, and you can feel the calm before the storm with the incessant ticking clock in the audio background, as if counting down the moments where first blood gets drawn.

The eager beaver in me though found it a tad excruciating in the wait, especially when you don't really get to learn much of Dara and her family's background apart from some rapid shots. The directors went straight for the action, and Kimo in an interactive session after the film, had revealed that more of the background of Dara, could be explained in the next film, which they hadn't decided whether to set it forward, or backward in time.

Alas the rating of the film at M18, meant that the editing was a tad choppy, where enough scenes were jarring just because they had lingered on far too longer than the comfort zone afforded. This has a slight impact on the narrative flow, as one minute you see the death blow being applied, and the next you're faced with a jump cut that shows the few seconds after. Thick, crimson blood was also the order of the day from set design to makeup, where everyone gets drenched thoroughly in coagulating plasma no thanks to the insanely violent bloodbath. Genre fans should take delight in watching how

Character-wise, the creators went for the rather contemporary female-superiority style, where guys are made to look really bumbling, and sheer tenacity comes from the females instead, such as Ladya (Julie Estelle) who demonstrates extreme spunk and quick thinking to ensure she comes out of each ordeal as best as she can. You're likely to cheer her on as she takes on the villains, and her solo battle with Dara is a highlight in the film. Dara herself too gives you the creeps especially since Shareefa Daanish put in a measured performance balancing composure, and that mad frenzy baying for blood. It's no wonder she was handed the Best Actress award at the genre Puchon International Film Festival not too long ago.

It's not all blood and gore however, as there were ample time devoted to some slight comedy, especially when the cops come knocking. Serving two purposes in providing light entertainment before the going gets heavy, and also to add to the body count, this episode was perhaps the most fun of the lot, and became a catalyst for the bloodbath to follow in a relatively quickened pace, with dismemberment, slashes, stabs, and strangulation being the norm, with The Mo Brothers keeping things tight.

Darah should appeal to the patient horror fan who can sit through a build up and celebrate when the madness start to descend on the poor victims. It's a little unfortunate though that the real horror was the way this rated version was edited.

Newly-weds Adjie and Astrid, Adjie's sister Ladya and a few of their friends fall prey to the wicked cannibal family led by evil Dara in the Mo-Brothers directed 'Macabre'. While the scenario is inspired from various cult-slashers of the late 70s and early 80s, the treatment is what makes it stand its own ground.

'Macabre' is indeed a lot more violent and gory film than you'd expect. The first 30 minutes neatly sets up the premise and nastiness follows suit. There are some skilfully choreographed kills and the writing is campy enough to draw cheers from the viewer. Although one initially hesitates to root for the protagonists as they consistently seem to be making bad decisions, the latter half is executed with sufficient flair. There are quite a few edge-of- the-seat moments.

Julie Estelle as Ladya puts up a good effort while Shareefa Daanish who plays Dara is menacing. Shareefa's striking features add to the character: her wide eyes and stone-faced expression (until the climax), her unhurried movement and other-worldly tone of speech are intimidating. The rest of the ensemble do their best with what's handed out to them. The violence is gratuitous (easily on par with Rob Zombie's films); dialogues are sparsely used to convey the intentions and emotions of the antagonists. In fact a lot more is conveyed through expressions and actions than through excessive babbling. This helps 'Macabre' carve out a niche of its own in the slasher genre.

Recommended for the lovers of horror, gore and slasher films. This definitely ain't for the weak-hearted!

Have you seen a recent french movie called "Inside" (International title)? If you have and enjoyed it, you will also enjoy this one. A "fun" and very bloody movie, that definitely is not for the faint-hearted.

But it takes it's time to get started. If you can "wait" for 20 minutes or so, the "ride" will start and you can lean back and enjoy. It's not overly plotted or has any real good acting in it, but then again, do you really need those things, in a movie like this? Of course it has quite some flaws, but again, if you let yourself go with the flow on this one, you can enjoy it. Just know what you watch, if you like those kinda things and you will have a good time.

"Macabre" is a rather customary and derivative horror movie, the type of which there are thirteen in a dozen, but with the notable exception of two little characteristics. First of all this is an Indonesian movie (honestly, how many of those do you encounter per year?) and secondly it's an excruciatingly cruel and sadistic viewing experience with a nihilistic tone and relentless bloodshed. Speaking in terms of cruelty, this sick puppy easily lives up to the French flicks "Martyrs" and "Inside" and thus leaves the vast majority of nowadays American produced slasher/horror movies miles and miles behind. It's actually regrettable that the plot is so clichéd, predictable and commonplace; otherwise "Macabre" might have become an instant cult classic and groundbreaking new genre films, like the aforementioned French titles perhaps. Now this is sadly just a gem that will probably score big in the festival circuit and amongst obscure cult purchasers, but remain largely unknown and unloved.

Six friends, including an eight months pregnant woman and a couple of continuously arguing siblings, are on a long road trip to Jakarta when they stop to pick up a seemingly disorientated girl who – according to her own confusing story – got carjacked and left behind in the middle of the road. They reluctantly decide to do the right thing and bring her home, but obviously this is just the girl's routine to lure unsuspecting people to her remote backwoods house and meet up with the rest of the deranged homicidal family. The head of the family, Mother Darah, seemingly found the secret to eternal youth but petrifies with her sinister stare and asocial behavior. The guests are brutally tortured and slaughtered one by one and for no apparent reason, except maybe mother Darah's unusual interest in Astrid's unborn baby…

The roughest thing about "Macabre" is the film's stoic and agonizing ambiance. Some of the characters honestly didn't deserve to die, or at least not as barbaric as displayed on the screen. But that's genuine horror, I acknowledge. Together with the ambiance, the biggest quality of the film is Shareefa Daanish's downright terrifying performance as Mother Darah. The poster of the film is simply a portrait of Darah, wearing a blood red dress and staring straight into the camera with a fork in her hand, but it's one of the most effectively unsettling horror movie posters I've seen in a long time. Well, together with the poster for "Orphan", which pretty much looks exactly the same. "Macabre" is unoriginal, occasionally a bit slow (especially in the beginning) and leaves an overall unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth, but in case you're looking for an old-fashioned Grand-Guignol accomplishment that truly repels and shocks, this is it!

I stumbled across Macabre literally by accident. Bored and scanning Netflix relentlessly for something refreshing to watch, I came across this Mo Brother/ Indonesian film that caught my attention with its 4-star approval rating. I had not heard of the film prior and after reading a few user reviews, I was hoping for a The Lovely Ones or a Dream House – namely, a film that flew under my radar then impressed me to no end at the conclusion of its screening.

Directed by Kim Stamboel and Tim Tjahjanto (as The Mo Brothers), Macabre is the story of a group of five friends (one eight months pregnant) that pick up a young girl who claims to have been robbed and is looking for a ride home. When the group arrive at secluded house of their picked-up stranger, they are met by a Lucy Liu looking mother figure that looks as creepy as she will prove deadly as the story progresses.

Unsuspecting that their hosts (which also includes two male figures) are murdering cannibals, the five guests enjoy a meal with the seemingly thankful clan before they are drugged, bound and tortured resulting in plenty of the red stuff being sprayed liberally in almost every room in the house. All put up a fight, but few survive in what becomes a very bloody evening with a body count that reaches the double digits.

Horror films which circle around a group of friends ending up in a remote house where a sadistic and murdering family reside are nothing new. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tourist Trap, Silent Scream, House of 1000 Corpses…there have been countless horror titles that could be summed up with the same synopsis.

So what separates Macabre from the rest of them? Nothing really. When stripped to the bone, Macabre is just another stupid horror movie where stupid people do stupid things which eventually get them killed. In fact, I don't remember a movie in recent memory where people did as many stupid things. Worse still, it is all the stereotypical horror movie stupid things. People drop weapons after inflicting non-fatal wounds; people stay when they should run and fall when they do decide to high-tail it (a drinking game of taking a shot every time someone falls down or slips in Macabre would lead to alcohol poisoning); and why would anyone go back to a house of death if they had a chance to continue running through the woods until they find safety? These elements are all too present in Macabre and take away from some pretty good scenes of blood soaked gore. It is sometimes hard to judge the acting when you are busy reading the subtitles, but everyone involved seemed to be doing their part with the elements of the predictable script.

As you can likely ascertain, Macabre will not get a recommendation from this post. It was never boring but it wasn't anything revolutionary or different that would constitute a positive word-of-mouth event.

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One of the highlights of my Cannes 2010 festival, Macabre dishes up the deaths in very assured and bloodily violent form. In a nutshell: 6 young people end up trapped in a house with a very nasty matriarch and her equally nasty offspring. Yes, there is a reason why the baddies do what they do, but you need to see the film for that!

It's true, as has already been posted here, Macabre does not break any new ground and perhaps jaded palettes will find little here to their taste, but like a well engineered German car, the film delivers the goods in messy style. Breaking with, say, the US tradition, those whom you think would or deserve to survive, do not, nor does the order of their going follow typical genre rules. Unlike in British horror films there is also no humour to alleviate the situation, although local audiences will clearly get a laugh from the stupidly bumbling police - I found them overplayed and irritating - who fortunately also provide more fodder for the maniacs!

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.

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I've never seen an Indonesian film before, and the last film I'd expect from there is some gory horror film as I know they're a very conservative country who even reject Lady Gaga! Macabre is much more sickening than Gaga. The formula has been used many times before but to me it's far from tired. I love horror films that take place in a house run by a demented, murdering family. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Frontiers come to mind (both are favourites of mine) and Macabre offers quite an impressive and thrilling spin! We've all heard the story before, but a lot of films tend to get it very wrong, focusing on way too much exposition before getting down to the horror. Macabre gets down to it quite quickly, giving us an interesting half hour build up before all hell breaks loose! The great thing about Macabre is that it is never boring, there is always something going on very much like the remake of Mother's Day. One big problem with Macabre is that it's over-populated with way too many characters who all look very similar, or don't really have much character to them. Macabre lacks the character development that is needed in the slasher department, however that's not to say that aren't some character's to root for.

At one point the film becomes so over-populated it's nay on impossible to tell what's going on! However, part of Macabre's entertainment value lies in its chaos. Make no mistake, Macabre is an extremely solid and very re-watchable horror film that would be perfect for those nights where you have a little party! It's a non-stop roller-coaster ride which serves up some extremely nasty treats. The character of Dara is memorably creepy and she's certainly a person you would not like to mess with. Her wide eyes, scraped-back hair and slow mechanical voice makes her a fantastic villain and one that you're not likely to forget.

Another great thing about Macabre is that it has a very similar idea to blood and gore as French horror. That means it doesn't hold back! I think every scene features some pretty horrific gore which all adds to the entertainment and thrills. There are some really great practical effects, and inventive kills that should have horror fans drooling at the mouth. Macabre has been likened to Inside but I personally don't see that, other than there being a pregnant character in both films, and both showing a liberal idea to the use of blood, Macabre is much more Frontiers-esque. However, I don't think that Macabre is up to Frontiers' perfection.

Frontiers exceeds in every way possible. Through the directing, writing, character development, music and editing. Whilst Macabre is pretty solid on the writing front some of the directing is slightly off-key, although most of the time it's pretty impressive with the Mo Brothers being sure not to film the action too shaky or too close so we can't see what the hell is going on! Macabre is quite choppy on the editing front and some of the lighting is also quite amateurish. However, I don't want to dwell too much on the negatives because this is actually a really good film and one which I enjoyed very much.

Whilst Macabre may not be the horror masterpiece the trailer would suggest it still serves up some hardcore horror thrills that makes a good substitute for French horror. It's way better than most American stuff to come out and is never boring. In fact, I would've liked to have seen even more! The ending is creepy and the supernatural ideas also add an original and quite disturbing quality to the film. My only real gripe is that I bought the UK version and it might just be my DVD but it seemed incredibly blotchy to me, making the blacks appear more greyish-blue than black, which is a shame with the film spending the majority of the time in the dark! It kind of spoilt the experience for me. Hopefully the film will get a well deserved wider release with a better transfer. Highly recommend to all you horror lovers!

Felt like a reboot version of inside 2009, but a more violent and gory version...inside felt more spine chilling bcoz of realistic stabbing and cutting, when it comes to macabre a lot of scenes felt artificial but towards the end it was awesome..the killers sometimes couldn't be killed for some unknown reasons and i didn't like it..i thought she was a witch or somethin but won't justify those illogical scenes..other than than i didn't expect this much gore from a 2009 indo film..i love Indonesia when it comes to gore films ..love from india..

Six friends give a lift to a young girl on her own out in the rain; she insists on inviting them into her home to meet her mother Dara (Shareefa Daanish) who is instantly so creepy (but so aesthetically perfect she is almost inhuman), you really wouldn't accept any invitation to stay - which the friends do, of course.

The characters are likeable but non-descript, except Astrid (Sigi Wimala), who is eight months pregnant, her delicate condition rendering her almost completely docile until the inevitable happens.

Pretty soon, 'Macabre' developes into a shriek-along bloodbath with many of the characters succumbing to a fatal and gory injury, only to come back to life on a number of occasions - so much so that things become farcical. There's no point in trying to kill anyone off, because they'll be back, bloodied and swollen, but able to inflict 'one more fatality.'

With a more tongue-in-cheek approach, this might have rivalled Peter Jackson's 'Brain Dead' in terms of blood and gore, but I suspect we're meant to take it seriously. That the lickle newborn survives unscathed until the end underlines how silly this all is. My score is 5 out of 10. Indonesian, with English subtitles.

Darah, or known internationally by Macabre, is arguably the best Indonesian gore/slasher film genre to date. It exceeds expectations, and delivers on what it promises; great scenes, and tensions that will keep you awake until the end credits.

The film starts rather slowly, but it soon picks up tempo at around the 20-minute mark.

There is a lack of substance in the plots, but the scenes made up for it. The graphics are cruel, crude, and certainly not for the faint-hearted.

The slashing and the blood spilling continues right until the end. The wide-eyed Maya (the woman who eats human flesh to stay immortal) is downright creepy. But the person who takes the credit for being brutal is the baby-adult, an adult which dresses like a child, bespectacled and looks retarded. He is brutal, chopping heads from the body, and looking creepy without even trying.

I commend the effort of the directors which takes the road less traveled. Nowadays, Indonesians film are littered with sex-oriented themes, and this film tries to run from the perceptions.

A cool 10/10 for its effort, and the punches it delivers!

There are tons of movies based on gore genre and tons made before this movie was released. To name a couple, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hostel. And believe me, these two were scary. Yes, they did frighten me to core.

Now after so many years, i got a chance to watch this one after reading many positive reviews. I expected it something beyond but it came out dull. The center antagonist had a scary face and nothing more. The cliches were repetitive, blood didn't scare me and in between it seemed dragged than crushing beats.

And, the known and predictable story made it worse. Like at the end, Dara flickers her hand... Known...

However, it was a good attempt and an Indonesian stuff so i found it compelling to score above average.

I had the opportunity to watch the screening last night and wasn't expecting much.

The plot review I had read on Yahoo Movies wasn't really anything new, the lead actress looked like a drag queen in need of a chin on the poster (even folks who passed by the poster was overheard asking if it was a man in drag) and you know it's not good when you have a movie marketed as a horror film yet find audiences laughing when folks get mutilated, or terrorized.

I found myself annoyed when the victims writhe in horror when confronted with the killer. In reality, would anyone scream and writhe in apparent agony when the killer has done nothing to you but just stand there? This movie has a lot of the cliché stuff abundance in horror movies of the 80's where someone sees her friend being killed in front of her eyes and she does nothing but whimper and slow mo her way to the nearest door.

The victims are portrayed as dimwits who when given an opportunity to escape, simply returns back for more; or with so much abundance of weaponry in the house, only walks through it (blood and all) yelling out to their compadres, hoping that their friends will hear them, as well as the killers.

The portrayal of Darah would be so much creepier if she had not had that wig and perfect make-up on. The directors were hoping that Darah's signature cocking of head to one side while speaking in a monotonous voice would stick with audience. It sure stuck but for the wrong reasons because after the movie I found many people mimicking her to great hilarity. Basically every villain in this movie is too coiffed and good looking, even the fat guy! If they were living in a wooded area away from civilization, would they actually look like models? The movie also does not seem to know what it wants to be. Coming into the cinema, I was expecting a supernatural horror - it went from supernatural to natural to comedy and then to downright Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The mix in genre may be welcomed but it has to be smooth, not pop an overweight cop in the middle of the show and have him juggle.

That being said, the director's eye was impressive and some of the cinematography were unusual. It is just the script and make-up that needs to be thought through more thoroughly than just "let's have her do this so we can end up doing that". Think international but more precisely think how YOU would be scared before making a movie that is supposed to scare others.

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.

Essentially if you've watched the far superior Frontier(s), Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or really any slashes film that revolves around a family of cannibalistic nutcases butchering their hopeless victims you've seen Macabre.

It's not necessarily bad, i found myself feeling underwhelmed a lot of the time. I feel it's because i didn't really care about any of the characters , they're just coffin fodder, which is fine but it doesn't make for a particularly interesting horror film.

If you're just looking for something that has a fair amount of blood and some entertaining gore then sure it's a way to pass a few hours, but really why watch this when you can watch the films mentioned above.

Aside from the plot, the characters make incredibly stupid decisions throughout which doesn't help you feel invested in their story at all, essentially i'd say this, i own it in my collection, it's not bad enough to sell but it's not good enough to rush to watch again anytime soon.

It's fun, It's stupid, It's average....and a little Macabre i suppose.

1/10.

The film is very stupid, predictable and all the scenes are very unreal. This is just pure butchering without work and point. The whole movie just blood and screaming. The acting is as desperate as the ending.

"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.