More shows on TV have supernatural themes

More shows on TV have supernatural themes

By Tuti Gintini

JAKARTA (JP): The number of horror and mystery shows on TV has
grown frightfully recently. SCTV airs Gadis Kuntilanak (Girl
Ghost) five times a week at 7 p.m., while Indosiar has Misteri
Gunung Merapi (Mystery of Mount Merapi) every Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

These shows are only two examples of the increase in the
number of television programs which have taken as their theme the
mysterious, the occult and black magic. Beside these shows, old
Indonesian horror movies, including some starring former top
actress Suzanna, are also shown regularly on television.

Looking back 11 years at the film industry in Indonesia, some
might recall the horror film Pembalasan Ratu Laut Selatan (The
Revenge of the Queen of the South Sea), starring Yurike Prastica.
In response to public criticism of the sex and sadism in the
movie, the Film Censor Board withdrew the film for recensoring.

Critics say sex and violence are so dominant in Indonesian
films, that often the logic and esthetics of a work are ignored.
These critics say this is one reason behind the crash of the
country's film industry.

To be honest, there was no more violence and sex in Pembalasan
Ratu Laut Selatan than in the movie Ratu Laut Selatan starring
Suzanna, as well as dozens of other films that were produced
during the golden age of Indonesian films, in the 1970s and
1980s. At that time, a lot of successful films contained heavy
doses of sex and violence.

Among those horror movies were Beranak Dalam Kubur (Giving
Birth in the Grave), Guna-guna Istri Muda (Young Wife's Black
Magic), Ratu Ilmu Hitam (Queen of Black Magic), Kemasukan Setan
(Possessed by the Devil), Tengkorak Hitam (Black Skull) and Mayat
Hidup (The Living Corpse).

Suzanna, in her Nyi Blorong and Nyi Roro Kidul characters, was
known as the queen of the horror film in the 1970s and 1980s. All
of the films in which she starred as Nyi Blorong were box-office
successes

It is an interesting fact that black magic in the movies and
on TV sells.

That is exactly the case with Misteri Gunung Merapi, which
features the character Mak Lampir, or the Witch.

Indosiar's public relations officer, Gufron, said the series
was much beloved by the TV audience. He said the show was in its
second series, with the first series, consisting of 52 episodes,
having aired in 1998. This Sunday, the second series will have
entered its 17th episode.

The show is Indosiar's highest-rated program, despite
competing against Tersanjung (Praised), which is produced by
Multi Vision Plus. Misteri Gunung Berapi, which is produced by
Genta Buana Pitaloka, is an action story spiced with sex, sadism,
black magic and horror.

According to a source, the ad space of the show has sold out,
leaving many eager advertisers on the outside looking in.

Considering the profitability of the show, it will be no
surprise if similar TV series start popping up.

One show currently in the production process is Dendam Ni
Pelet (Ni Pelet's Revenge), directed by Nurhasdie Irawan. It is
costing billions of rupiah to produce and is being shot on a
specially designed and constructed set somewhere in Cikampek,
West Java.

It is not impossible, though, that this show will be only the
first in a long line of similar shows.

The chairman of the Film and TV Staff Association, Firman
Triyadi, said that with the airwaves being crowded with soap
operas, the appearance of horror shows brought a breath of fresh
air.

"I am not surprised to learn that TV series like Mak Lampir
are exactly what the public want, and to me this is an
interesting phenomena which proves that our society still likes
stories spiced with horror and black magic," he said.

Perhaps this is a "classic" problem faced by those in
Indonesia's movie and television industries. The tastes of the
public, particularly those in the middle and low-income brackets
in small towns and villages, remains static. The profit-oriented
producers respond to these tastes. Because wide-screen films have
died, television is now the media to reach the masses.

What makes these newer shows different, perhaps, is the skill
of the film crews who produce shows with better special effects
and pictures.