“Arwah Kuntilanak Duyung” (2011) – Indonesian Mermaid Horror/ Comedy

“Splish, splash!!” Our Mermaid fun continues here at the Litterbox with another of those odd little Indonesian Horror goodies that your Favorite Catgirl Princess just can’t seem to live without. Up this time out for our “Frolicking Under The Sea: Mermaid Fantasy Film Festival” we have 2011’s “Arwah Kuntilanak Duyung” or… if my Indonesian translating skills are improving “Demon Mermaid Spirit”. 😉

Our synopsis is as follows: “Linda and Ardo meet and fall in love on a beach. Ardo was so happy to have Linda, so he purchased a beach villa for his beloved wife. But the beach was haunted by the spirit of a murdered woman Ayshah who has become a mermaid demon who causes much mischief as she seeks out her killer to get revenge for her untimely death.”

Yep… it’s our old friend Dewi Perssik, Indonesian dangdut singer and wannabee actress donning the “Fins & Tail”still trying her darnedest to be Indonesia’s Top “Scream Queen” and horror movie star. Persistent lil’ lady isn’t she? Here’s hoping she’s managed to elevate this one above the usual “craptastic” standards that most low budget Indonesian horror seems to revel in. But… hey… Your Favorite Catgirl Princess isn’t holding her breath with anticipation, Hehehe!!!

“Pendekar Tongkat Emas” aka “The Golden Cane Warrior” (2014) Indonesian Martial Arts/ Action – “Martial Arts Mayhem: Fighting Femmes Festival – 2016”

February is here at last and with it the first featured Review of this month’s “Martial Arts Mayhem: Fighting Femmes Festival – 2016”. First up? Well how about some “old school” Shaw Brothers style period piece Martial Arts storytelling by way of Indonesia with a look at 2014″s “Pendekar Tongkat Emas” aka “The Golden Cane Warrior”?

Our synopsis is as follows: “The Golden Cane: a relic of incomparable force, coveted by all. And with it, the training of a technique so unrivaled, it vanquishes all who dare oppose its power. As Master Cempaka and her four disciples – orphans of her enemies, now heirs to the Cane – prepare for the new warrior guardian to ascend, an act of villainous betrayal from within threatens to destroy the clan and destabilize the realm. Their only hope to restore order lies in finding the elusive White Dragon, the only remaining pupil still equipped to unlock the mysteries of the Golden Cane.”

Let’s see… we’ve got a nifty mystical weapon… a devastatingly deadly unstoppable “secret technique”… the classic old “aging Master passing the torch to his most worthy successor” plot idea… along with some good old fashioned jealous skulduggery by the stereotypical evil disciples trying to steal away the glory from the worthy one and give us the excuse for some serious “chop-socky” action. Yep, certainly sounds like all the classic old bits are in place.

Ooooohhh!!! Did Neko forget to mention that our movie’s modest, shy, brave, and truly worthy potential successor is a girl? But of course… that’s just how we gonna roll this month, Hehehehe!! 😉

So watcha’ all waitin’ for? Grab your popcorn, prepare for some Kung-Fu the way they used to make em’ back in the good ol’ days… and, of course, by all means “Read On” for all the details. 😉

“The Raid 2: Berandal” (2014) – Indonesian Martial Art/ Action

So… are you ready for some no-holds-barred hand-to-hand in your face Martial Arts action? This wee Catgirl most certainly is, and luckily for me Indonesia is ready to answer my needs with “The Raid 2: Berandal”, the sequel to the surprisingly brutal and well-made original film by director Gareth Evans and again starring the absolutely amazing Iko Uwais in the role of young undercover policeman Rama. More bone-crunching pain… more wild and crazy fight scenes… oodles and oodles of brutal martial art mayhem… yep this lady is ready…. Are you?

Our synopsis goes like this: “Following immediately after the events of “The Raid: Redemption”, Rama (Iko Uwais) is forced to reinvent himself as an undercover cop in order to provide protection for his wife and child. Working for the anti-corruption task-force led by the one person he can trust, Bunawar, he is given a mission to engage himself as an enforcer for a local mob boss, Bangun. Finding a way in through Bangun’s son Uco, Rama must hunt for information linking Bangun with police force corruption. All the while, he harbors a dangerous and personal vendetta for revenge and justice that threatens to consume him- and bring both this mission and the organized crime syndicates crashing down.”

Hands down, “The Raid” is probably one of the best Action films ever filmed… and definitely one of Indonesia’s most impressive movies ever released, so when a sequel was announced, your Favorite Catgirl put it right to the top of her list of “Must Have” DVD’s… and now it’s here. Wanna know if it’s a winner as well? Then what the heck are you waiting for? 😉

“Belenggu” aka “Shackled” (2013) – Indonesian Horror/ Suspence

Time for another creepy movie Review from your Favorite horror obsessed Catgirl… this time a look at the recently released Indonesian psychological suspense thriller by director Upi Avianto , “Belenggu” aka “Shackled”.

Our synopsis for it reads like so: “Seemingly tortured loner Elang is haunted by dreams and hallucinatory images of bizarre murders involving a psycho killer in a bunny costume. His seemingly futile efforts to solve the mystery and save the lives of the sweet neighbor woman and her little girl he thinks are in danger have trapped him in a downward spiral and soon he himself becomes a suspect. In trying to prove his innocence and still save them, he will be forced to unveil a horrible and long-buried secret from his own forgotten past.”

A psycho killer… in Bunny costume? A hero who may… or may not have… a couple of screws loose in the mental department. All living together in a story that has more weird avant-garde imagery than a David Lynch film. Yep. Sounds like a crazy sort of movie that will have this wee lady going “Huh?” more than a couple of times…. (and my long suffering sweetie going “WTF??” a whole lot of times, Hehehe!!)

So… OK… sign me up, I’ll give it a look see…. And that means you, o’ Gentle Visitor, need only “Read On” to see if an Indonesian Killer Bunny movie might just be something you just absolutely need to see too…. 😉

“Rumah Kentang” aka “House of the Potato” (2012) – Indonesian Ghost/ Horror

Your Favorite Catgirl has another odd one to start off this year’s Halloween Movie Review festival… and in keeping with our “Haunted House theme” for this month, I’ll start off by giving you my quirky impressions of the 2012 Indonesian horror goodie “Rumah Kentang” aka “House of the Potato”. Yep… that’s right… haunted potato horror. Just when you think the Indonesians might just run out of crazy things to haunt people they always manage to surprise you. Hehehehe!! 😉

Our synopsis goes: “When her mother passes away, Farah is forced to return from Melbourne to Jakarta in order to care for her sister Rika. However, things are more complicated than they seemed for Farah soon discovers that there are two problems that she has to resolve: caring and providing for her and her sister and finding a new place to stay as their current home is rented after her mother sold their old home in order to allow Farah to study in Melbourne, which is now too expensive for her to pay by herself. A silver lining comes in the form of her mother’s will that informs her that they are still in possession of her mother’s first house, which she deemed was a good investment due to its strategic location among the upper class, but has failed to be sold due to the fact that the place is haunted. The two sisters move in, but strange things start to happen… “

Killer ghostly potatoes? Nope it’s not a joke, but is in fact a very real movie.With a silly basic idea like this, you just know your Favorite Catgirl’s gotta quench her obsessive need to see it…. and you, o’ lucky Gentle Visitors can let me tell you all about it so that you won’t necessarily have to. Sounds like a winning idea to me… So watch ya waiting for? Grab your crucifix, your Holy Water, a sharp mystic potato peeler, and some sour cream & chives and let’s get on with it, shall we? Goofy scares await!!

“Modus Anomali” (2012) – Indonesian Suspense / Horror

Whoo-hoo!! This wee lady has scored herself a nifty new copy of Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar’s  latest effort, 2012’s suspense/ chiller “Modus Anomali”!! Now your Favorite Catgirl’s been a fan of Mr. Anwar’s work for several years now, and once word came out waaaay back in 2011, that his latest film was going to be done completely in English language…. well… naturally I began my dogged pursuit of a copy of any DVD release available without further adieu. Three years later… and it’s mine. Obsessed? Nawwww… I prefer to think of myself as a dedicated fangirl… 😉

The synopsis for it goes like this: “A man, without memory, awakens buried in a shallow grave alone in the forest with no idea of how he got there. Soon he comes to suspect that not only has an eerie inexplicable fate overcome him, but also a pretty wife and children whom he no longer even remembers. With only a wedding band and a photo of his family to guide him, he must risk it all to save them from whatever horrors lurk within the seemingly empty forest before it is too late… too late for them all.”

Oh yeah… now this one sounds pretty darn good. Joko Anwar has proven his talent to me before with such films as “Kala: Dead Time” and “The Forbidden Door” and so this wee Catgirl had no doubt he’d hit another home run with this effort. My only problem was scoring a copy of the film for my lil’ self. Indonesian DVD’s aren’t all that easy for me to get these days but… thankfully… it seems he’s a really big deal in Germany (where this one has the impressively “Teutonic” sounding title “Modus Anomali – Gefangen im Wahnsinn”) as well as at home in Indonesia, so with the recent Region 2 PAL release of this one I was all set for an evening’s movie watchin’ thrills and chills. 😉

So watcha waitin’ for Gentle Visitors? Let’s “Read On” and find out all about this one…!!

“The Raid: Redemption” (2012) – Indonesian Martial Art/ Action

Time for another in this month’s “Martial Arts Mayhem” review series, this time a look at the runaway Indonesian Blockbuster “The Raid: Redemption”. Plenty of cops and crooks and some serious “close quarters combat”… this one sounds like you had to cross Jason Bourne with some Bruce Lee, throw in a lil’ Tony Jaa and then stand back and let the bullets and fists fly. Yep… that certainly oughtta work… 😉

Our synopsis? Try this: “Deep in the heart of Jakarta’s slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world’s most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the rundown apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the bravest of police. Cloaked under the cover of predawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, the building’s lights are cut and all the exits blocked. Stranded on the 6th floor with no way out, the unit must fight their way through the city’s worst scum to survive their mission.”

Now I’ve been itching to see this one for quite some time now, but my hope to catch the original Indonesian release has been frustrating. I’m not even certain that it’s been released there yet, but it’s certainly gone global with both US and Hong Kong versions popping up this week alone. Waaaaaahhhh!!! But…but…. I just can’t wait! So, I snagged the unrated version of the US Region 1 for me, Carolyn, and Sam to do a proper Martial Art Action “movie nite” this weekend. Wanna hear all about it? Then let’s just get down to business and “Read On”.….

“Jenglot Pantai Selatan” aka “Virgin Beach Creature” (2011) – Indonesian Horror

Yay!! My perseverance has scored me another few of those wacky Indonesian horror films that your Favorite Catgirl just seems to thrive on like salty snack foods…. soooo darn bad for you, but sooo darn tasty too!! Are they good movies? Ummmm… not all the time, but they are usually pretty fun lil’ bits of movie silliness… and that’s what counts.

Our synopsis is a bit sketchy but here goes: “Randy, Tammy, Denisa and Josh are going on holiday to a resort at “Virgin Beach”, recently developed as a seaside tourist attraction. But nobody knows that in the ocean near these beaches lurks the Jenglot, a horrible water spirit responsible for maintaining the purity of the southern beaches. Angered by the behavior of the visitors to the resort, the Jenglot creeps forth from the sea and hunts down anyone who desecrates the sanctity of his beach.”

So…. take a big bunch of pretty Indonesian girls in bikinis… throw in a few hunky guys…. a little potty humor… and one goofy rubber sea monster and I’ll be darned if you haven’t got yourself a movie! Am I expecting a classic? Nawwwww… But, at least my sweetie says she game for all the pretty Asian girls in bikinis that want to cavort their way through a film for our entertainment… 😉 (Such a brazen tease!! I’ll be certain to get even with her later!!) As always, to catch a bit of the action yourself, you just have to “Read On” and let Neko tell you all about it!

“Toilet 105” (2010) – Indonesian Ghost/ Horror

Time for another review and so it’s off to Indonesia for some haunted high school hi-jinx in the Indonesian horror/ comedy “Toilet 105”….. Toilet!? Yes, you read it correctly… your favorite Catgirl actually managed to find herself a movie about a haunted toilet. Gotta admit… we don’t see many of those in this part of the world…. Must be an Asian thing. Hehehehe!!

Synopsis? Yep, I’ve got one… and it goes sorta like this: “Three friends, Okta (Ricky Harun), Ical (Lionil Tikoalu) and Rio (Rizky Putra), who are all students of SMU Bina Persada become infatuated with pretty Marsya (Coralie), a new transfer student to their school from France. Unfortunately, Okta already has a girlfriend, Viola (Navi Rizky) who is jealous of the attention he shows towards Marsya. Along with her fellow cheerleader friends, Viola also likes to bully new students.They soon turn their attentions towards poor Marsya.

Mrs. Endang (Suti Karno), the principal of the school repeatedly reminds the students to accept Marsya as one of the students, assisted by her husband, Mr Wahyu (Indra Birowo), who is a counseling teacher. But trouble always seems to happen anyway.

Marsya’s innocence often lands her in trouble but one thing that bothered her most is the appearance of a female ghost at the school toilet. Does this ghost have any connection with the disappearance of another pretty young student, Adelia, some time ago? What is the real hidden secret?”

I’ve had this one for a while now, but somehow it managed to hide itself away in my big ol’ backlog of DVD’s waiting to get watched. It managed to surface just in time for me to get a giggle remembering just how goofy it sounded when I bought it. Could I pass it up again? Nawwww…. I’m just that sort of silly lady. Plus… I couldn’t wait to see the look on Carolyn’s face when I sprung this one on her…..

"Taring" (2010) – Indonesian Horror

November has slipped by and December is finally here, but I’m still squeezing in the odd movie review here and there in this busy Holiday season. This time out, another Indonesian horror effort, “Taring” by director Rizal Mantovani of “Kuntilanak” fame.

So, have I got a synopsis? Yep… and it goes sorta like this: “Farah (Fahrani Empel) is a lingerie model and is working for an agency called Heaven’s Secret. One day she receives a work offer with the theme “Wild Fantasy” for photo session in Werenggini, a forest that is located in near a remote village. She gladly receives the offer as she desperately needs the money for medical treatment for her sick mother.

Together she heads to the forest with two friends and fellow models; Wiwid (Shinta Bachir) and Gabriella (Rebecca Reidjman) for the photo session. Following them are Alex (Meidian Maladi), the reprensentative from the agency, together with photographer, Iyan (Dallas Pratama) and his sister Inngrid (Reynavenska).

Upon their arrival at the entrance of Werenggini Forest, the local residents advise them not to enter as the mythical “forest keepers”, who are evil by nature, are seeking sacrifices in human lives. However, the stubborn Alex insists on proceeding with the photo session inside the dark forest despite the warnings.

When dusk falls each members of the group begin to disappear mysteriously from the remote forest, their lives being taken by the “forest keepers”. What is to be the ultimate fate for Farah and her friends? Will any of them survive the night and escape from Werenggini Forest alive in the end?”

Oooohh!! Forest Demons!! Neko’s all over this one! Hopefully Rizal will score well for me this time out, although he’s gonna have to work at it pretty hard to equal the creepy enjoyment “Kuntilanak” brought this lil’ Catgirl. So break out the wine coolers and settle in and your Favorite Catgirl Movie Princess is gonna tell you all the gory details!!