LOCAL horror movie 'Waruga: Kutukan Ilmu Hitam' is inspired by the ancient funerary practise of the Minahasa people. To the Minahasa — who hail from Sulawesi in Indonesia — 'waruga' refers to a burial place or tomb.
In the past, following the death of a Minahasa person, the body is not buried but placed inside a waruga — an above-ground stone sarcophagus. The remains are laid in a fetal position as the Minahasa believed that their deceased will be reincarnated.
This old funerary practise is featured in a new movie by D'Ayu Pictures, which is currently screening in cinemas nationwide.
However, the producers took into consideration the sensitivities of the Minahasa people and did not feature anything excessive or provocative, besides crafting a suitable presentation for local audiences following the guidelines of the Censorship Board (LPF).
Movie director Azaromi Ghozali said the idea for the film was based on a story by Indonesian writer Gawar Sawba'yah, which focused on the ancient beliefs of the Minahasa people dating back to the 16th century. Together, Azaromi and Ghawar came up with the script for the movie.
"At that time, I also had the idea of a horror story relating to black magic, rituals involving corpses and resurrection.
"The two were indirectly related, so I combined the two ideas which resulted in 'Waruga: Kutukan Ilmu Hitam'," he said.
The horror flick stars Zahiril Adzim, Datin Elvina Mohamad, Sahronizam Noor, Eriza Allya, Ustaz Dinie, Along Eyzendy, Izzue Islam, Ruminah Sidek, Nizam Kama, Adik Putri Amirah Maisara and Syed Irfan.
Azaromi said the production managed to conduct 20 days of filming around the Klang Valley during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period of the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2021.
D'Ayu Pictures founder Datuk Rosmarayu Mokhtar, who made the horror movie with a budget of RM1.8 million, added that she is fairly confident that it will be a success since the horror genre is always a crowd favourite.
"I was approached by three distribution companies from Indonesia to organise screenings in the republic.
"This film will also be shown in other countries, such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines.
"With potentially encouraging box office collections, this film might have a sequel or it may enable me to produce other horror features," said Rosmarayu, who is also responsible for last year's horror release entitled 'Harum Malam'.
In a nutshell, 'Waruga: Kutukan Ilmu Hitam' revolves around Rewan, a student of a traditional healer, who cannot accept the death of his wife.
When his pleas for his teacher, Mbah Usu Lijah, to utilise an ancient book of the Minahasa people to resurrect his beloved wife is denied, Rewan resorts to drastic measures and black magic to bring back his spouse from the netherworld — with horrifying results.
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