Ivanna

A standard Indonesian ghost flick with nothing to set it apart from many similar interchangeable films. Plus, it's kind of a bummer that the headless phantom looks so ridiculous. It is watchable, but if you have seen a few exotic horror movies from this part of the world, it will blend in with the rest within a week at the latest. (07.01.2023)

A new slasher/ghost story by Kimo Stamboel. Stamboel is unfortunately not as good as Joko Anwar or his former colleague Timo Tjahjanto, both of whom have better directorial skills, on the other hand Stamboel is trying hard and sometimes he can surprise (The Queen of Black Magic is even excellent), but Ivanna unfortunately seems to me as a better average. The film takes place in a small house with a larger family, where a girl named Ambar has the ability to see visions and sees a Dutch girl named Ivanna being abused by Japanese soldiers, which led to her decapitation. They find a headless statue in the basement and soon everyone's lives are on the line as Ivanna is out for revenge and wants her head back. The premise is quite interesting as well as original, but unfortunately nothing much happens for an hour, and at times the film drags a lot, certainly more than is healthy. It's not until the final half hour, which turns into a bloody slasher, that things start to get interesting, but the problem is that Ivanna only uses one method of execution (ripping her victims head off). It looks good, but when after seeing it four times in a row, it just doesn't entertain or shock anymore. I didn't find the atmosphere too scary and the jump-scares didn’t work either. Stamboel is behind his colleagues in that department and visually I found it mediocre too. It's watchable and the concept has something to it, unfortunately Stamboel couldn't get enough potential out of it. 55% (05.12.2022)