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.