Keramat is a strange little horror movie that actually has an identity.
Synopsis
A group of filmmakers travels to Bantul to prepare for shooting. After several supernatural occurrences, the main talent gets possessed and is taken to another dimension. The crew enlists help from a paranormal and embarks to find her.
Good Points
- The cast are and characters are really good – everyone has their own personality, and it doesn’t feel like they’re just waiting for the next ghost to appear.
- I really liked how patient the movie is, as it doesn’t have that annoying horror habit of throwing something creepy at you every five minutes because it thinks you’ll get bored – it lets things build up, so when something does happen, it works better.
- The lack of music was a great choice, and Keramat just lets the sounds do the job – random noises, silence, people talking in the background, all that stuff ends up making things feel much more uncomfortable.
- The Indonesian setting gives it something different, with the folklore and local beliefs make it feel more like its own thing.
- Some of the creepy moments are really well done simply because they aren’t dragged out forever, where something strange happens, you get that “wait, did I just see that?” feeling, and then the movie just moves on.
- I did not expect the humor, but there are actually some funny moments.
- It does a lot with very little – no huge effects, no over-the-top nonsense, just a creepy idea and a good atmosphere.
- It feels like a movie made by people who actually wanted to create something creepy rather than just throw a bunch of horror clichés together and hope for the best, like a lot of low budget found footage movies seem to be.
Bad Points
- The ending is probably where the movie lost me a bit, as the build-up is so strong, then the final part doesn’t quite give you the same feeling.
- There are definitely some moments where I wanted a few more answers.
- The pacing won’t be for everyone, and while I liked the slow build, but I can see some people getting impatient because it takes its time before things really kick off.
- The camera work is mostly good, but there are moments where I was basically watching shaky footage and hoping my eyes would catch up.
- Some of the scares don’t have the same punch now as they probably did back when it came out, as found footage has been done so much since then that a few things feel a bit familiar.
- A couple of the characters can be annoying, but at the same time, I guess that’s better than everyone acting like a perfectly written horror character who makes the exact right decision every time.
- There are a few parts where I thought the movie had something really interesting going on, then it doesn’t fully explore it.
- It isn’t the scariest movie ever made, and I think some people oversell it a bit – it’s creepy, it’s effective, but it if you want a scarefest, this isn’t really it.
Final Verdict on Keramat
Keramat is a little rough around the edges, but that’s also part of why I liked it, and it feels like a strange little horror movie that actually has an identity, so while it doesn’t always get everything right, but when it works, it works really well.
Leave a Reply