USA
98 MINUTES COLOR
HORROR
ENGLISH LANG.
NOT
RATED
Directed
by Djinn
Cast:
Hiep
Thi Le .... Charity
Fadali .... Eye
Fadzlinda.... Mysterious Girl
Eleanor Lee .... Uzi
Steve Banks .... Luke
Victor Khong .... Raymond
Vanguard
Cinema and Pathfinder Pictures 2002
DVD
available from Amazon
Voodoo Nightmare - Return to Pontianak
Review
by Allen Lee
An interesting look at the horrors of snooping around in South
East Asia. This is a very indie film made on a limited budget
by a Writer and Director simply known as Djinn. The film is
shot on DV and was done in what is known as The Blair Witch
Project style of filmaking aka somewhat a mocumentary. It
has the typical crew of teens set out to an excursion for
an ancestor that Charity has been having premonitions about.
The ancestor is her biological mother. The crew sets out into
the jungle and immediately gets into trouble and are warned
by a local shaman that the place they are in is "Dirty"
as Eye, the guide, translates it to them. Luke also kicks
over a burial marker that of course causes him some problems
that I will not give away yet but he gets what he deserves
for burial disrespect a real no-no in Asia. The films idea
is interesting in the fact that few films deal with Malay
spirits and horrors like the Pontianak. There are a few effective
chills in the film. Once the Pontianak starts to follow the
cast thru the jungle, now in swift retreat after discovering
a murder the film becomes even more bizarre. Voodoo Nightmare
has little information for the viewer about the Pontianak.
Like the BWP gave us little to work with as far as the Witch
goes. The story does in a few visions give some of the story
of why the uncanny events are unfolding. I have a knowledge
of Malay folklore so I was able to understand the events somewhat.
The films quality is soft yet grainy perhaps due to the digital
video that adds some surrealism. The film maker portrays the
Pontianak as a creature that walks by day and does not perch
in trees, I found that different from the legends I have read
perhaps this was intentional.
The
film offers some cool shapeshifting effects, bug vomiting,
and some creatively horrific murders. I look forward to more
from Djinn and his crew at Vacant Films in the future as this
is an early but impressive outing into indie Malaysian horror.
Voodoo
Nightmare (Return to Pontianak) 
