May the Devil Take You

May the Devil Take You (Sebelum Iblis Menjemput) (2018)

Runtime: An overlong 110 minutes

Directed by: Timo Tjahjanto

Starring: Chelsea Islan, Pevita Pearce, Karina Suwandi, Ray Sahetapy, Ruth Marini

From: Netflix

More than a few Letterboxd mutuals are from Indonesia; about time I see another film from that country. Indeed, for the first time in awhile, I’m subscribed to Netflix for at least another month. The lineup still is rather “meh” to me in general but there are some titles I’m interested in. As I haven’t watched much horror in 2024 so far and I was intrigued by “Director: Timo Tjahjanto,” that determined my selecting this last night.

The Evil Dead (1981 and unfortunately, the 2013 version also) was for certain an inspiration. The setup is completely different… it involves a father who engages in a Faustian bargain, his daughter and her step-siblings. Dad has “a mysterious illness” and the end result is that the kids and the stepmom are at his old house. This is where the Deadite version of Asian Ghosts appear, long black hair included. Enough is different where it can’t be deemed a total rip-off; presumably, the movie was also inspired by Indonesian folklore.

The film is too long at almost two hours. There also was less gore and gross-out moments than you’d expect from the director. Be that as it may, I was still entertained by the scares and the black goo that was vomited up. The back 2/3 of the movie is set at the house where plenty of carnage & shocks happen, w/ the effects typically looking fine as family trauma & curses are blended together. There is a sequel, appropriately titled May the Devil Take You Too; far in the future I’ll have to check that out.