Short Film: Vampire {2014}

With the description as an ‘Indonesia Comedy Short Film’, this is just over 12-minutes in length and was released in 2014. It was directed by Fitro Dizianto and whether it is actually a comedy is debatable – there is banter between the two main characters but little in comedic strokes, as it were.

Cap and Pli

It begins with Pli (Aryudha Fasha) watching a horror movie with headphones on. His friend Cap (Eka Wahyu Primadani) sneaks up behind him and grabs his sides making him jump. Cap is hungry but it is late at night and the only place open is the Cak Iwan food hall. Pli isn’t too sure as the place is by the graveyard and, as he points out, it is Friday night (which I assume is a cultural/religious observation). He suggests that the foodhall (which is literally a street vendor under canvas) has a Toyol – the subs explaining that it is a ghost that brings wealth.

heading for food

Pli has a motorbike but suggests he is low on petrol. Cap insists that they use it and it conks out in front of the graveyard. There is movement through the graves and talk of kuntilanak and the Sundel Bolong (which is Javanese ghost similar to the kuntilanak). Suzanna is mentioned, which I assume was a reference to Indonesian horror movie icon Suzzanna. As they push the bike they see an orb flying over the street – Cap mentions UFOs but Pli suggests it is witchcraft.

other customers

As it is they reach the foodhall safely and order food. When it arrives a man (Rizky Ades) and woman (Senja Karisma) come in. The lads’ banter moves to her being attractive and then Pli jokingly suggesting she might be a vampire – in a hijab, retorts Cap. This leads to discussion about a Muslim version of Twilight and the thought of Bella Swan wearing a hijab. Then the conversation steers to her biting a neck and cap states that he’d put a talisman to her forehead – a reference to the Chinese kyonsi, and (what I assume to be) a disparaging joke about the Javanese and their form of vampire apotropaic.

fangs

What I will have to do, however, is spoil the ending. The lads simply leave but then the foodhall cook (Mirza) turns to see the fanged woman feeding off her companion. It cuts to silhouette through the canvas and we see her long tongue shoot out and take the man’s head off. It is quite an amusing piece because the two lads seem to be having genuine fun. We get a broad swath of Indonesian lore mentioned as well as touching on some Chinese and Javanese things and, of course, we see the pervasiveness of the Twilight franchise.

At the time of posting there is no IMDb page.