Indonesian horror films continue to evolve over time. Lately, we often encounter horror films adapted from viral threads on X. It all started with SimpleMan’s phenomenal work titled KKN di Desa Penari. His figure became a pioneer for other horror writers on social media. Here is a list of horror movies based on thread horror SimpleMan that are showing in theaters.
The figure of SimpleMan remains mysterious to this day. He has never shown his face to the public. When appearing on Raditya Dika’s podcast, SimpleMan spoke with his back to the camera.
He admitted to being a former factory worker and chose to hide his identity to protect his loved ones. Because, after his work went viral, he often received strange threats from strangers on social media.
“I might always think about others. Because if I receive the threat, I don’t mind, but if someone else gets affected, especially because of me, that becomes a problem for me,” he said to Radit.
SimpleMan started to gain attention after the story he shared on X went viral and was adapted into a feature film by MD Pictures. The title was not changed: KKN di Desa Penari. Following the popularity of its thread, the film also exploded in the market, becoming the highest-grossing Indonesian film of all time.
Here are three SimpleMan threads that have been adapted for the big screen.
KKN di Desa Penari (Dancing Village)
SimpleMan wrote a thread about the complete storyline of KKN di Desa Penari in 2019. Then, MD Pictures and Manoj Punjabi adapted it into a film directed by Awi Suryadi, which premiered in theaters on April 30, 2022.
KKN di Desa Penari tells the story of six students who conduct community service in a remote village, namely Nur (Tissa Biani), Widya (Adinda Thomas), Ayu (Aghniny Haque), Bima (Achmad Megantara), Anton (Calvin Jeremy), and Wahyu (M. Fajar Nugraha). However, they never expected that the chosen village held a number of mysteries.
Pak Prabu (Kiki Narendra), the village chief, warned them not to cross the forbidden gate leading to a place called Tapak Tilas. Over time, Nur and Widya began to be disturbed by the figure of a beautiful mysterious dancer who would later be known as Badarawuhi (Aulia Sarah).
Then, one by one, the KKN members began to sense the strangeness of the village, and Bima also started to change his attitude. Their KKN work program became chaotic, it seemed that the ghostly inhabitants of the village hated them.
Nur finally discovered the shocking fact that one of them had violated the most fatal taboo in the village.
The terror of the Badarawuhi figure became increasingly frightening, they tried to seek help from Mbah Buyut (Diding Boneng), the local shaman, but it was too late. In the end, they are threatened with not being able to return safely from the village known as Desa Penari.
This film was a huge success at the box office with over 10 million viewers. Due to the high public interest, MD Pictures eventually re-released a longer version, titled KKN di Desa Penari: Luwih Dowo, Luwih Medeni, with an additional 40 minutes of new scenes.
In addition, MD Pictures also released a spinoff of KKN di Desa Penari that specifically tells the story of Badaruwuhi, titled Badarawuhi di Desa Penari (Dancing Village: The Curse Begins). This spinoff explains the origin of Badaruwuhi, who possessed a dancer until she was banished from the Southern Coast.
Sewu Dino
After the story of KKN di Desa Penari, SimpleMan shook the public again with another horror story titled Sewu Dino. The Sewu Dino thread was released in 2019, two weeks after the KKN di Desa Penari story was published. SimpleMan also turned it into the novel Sewu Dino.
MD Pictures then collaborated with director Kimo Stamboel to work on the film Sewu Dino from the SimpleMan thread.
Sewu dino in Javanese means ‘a thousand days’. It is said that this is the most terrifying type of witchcraft used to annihilate an entire family by sacrificing the last descendant of the targeted family.
The film Sewu Dino begins with Sri (Mikha Tambayong), a village woman who wants to work in the city to cover her father’s medical expenses. The opportunity came when the Atmodjo family offered Sri a job as a domestic worker (PRT) with a high salary.
Sri was recruited to work with two other women, Erna (Givina Lukita) and Dini (Agla Artalidia). After meeting their employer, Mbah Karsa (Karina Suwandi), the three of them were taken to the middle of the forest and lived in a hut. Their task is to bathe Dela Atmodjo (Gisellma Firmansyah), Mbah Karsa’s granddaughter, for 1,000 days.
They were then introduced to Mbah Tamin (Pritt Timothy), the person in charge of the hut. Sri was shocked to see Dela, who looked like a living corpse: thin, pale, and her body covered in festering wounds. It turns out, Dela had been unconscious for a long time because she was cursed by the sewu dino.
Sri then realized that the Atmodjo family had trapped them because the three of them were involved in a mystical pact. The lives of the three people are at risk if they dare to escape before the agreement ends, which is on the 1,000th day.
They were late to realize that the ritual of bathing Dela for 1,000 days aimed to calm the spirits of Sengarturih and Banarogo that were attached to Dela’s body.
Sewu Dino premiered in theaters on April 19, 2023, and successfully attracted more than 4.8 million viewers.
Sorop
The latest SimpleMan thread that will be released in theaters is Sorop. This film will be released in theaters starting December 19, 2024, and is directed by Upi.
Actually, the thread about Sorop has not been completed by SimpleMan. However, MD Pictures still brought this story to the big screen. If you read the thread, this film will tell the story of two siblings, Hanif and Isti, who live in a haunted house.
Every night, the spirit of their deceased uncle haunts them. Various terrifying events made Hanif and Isti investigate what was causing their uncle’s spirit to keep haunting them.
In the film Sorop, Hanif is played by Hana Malasan and Isti by Yasamin Jasem. Their story begins when their aunt asks them to return to their hometown to fulfill the request of their uncle who is seriously ill.
After they returned home, the uncle died. Next, the mystical terror began to occur and haunt the house. Hanif and Isti could even see their deceased uncle come back to life. On the other hand, they also discovered their aunt’s strange habit of often eating graveyard soil.
Various abnormal events they experienced made the siblings remember what happened in their childhood. Finally, Hanif and Isti must unravel the mystery related to their past.
What’s happening in that house? What did their uncle do during his lifetime? All the answers are revealed in the film Sorop.
MD Pictures is also collaborating with Barunson E&A, the production company behind the Oscar-winning film Parasite, for the international sales of the film Sorop, which will be launched at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) in Busan.
Don’t forget to follow MD Pictures’ social media accounts to stay updated on the latest news about MD films!
MD Pictures (Production House)
Instagram: @mdpictures_official
TikTok: @mdentertainmentofficial
Facebook: MD Pictures
X: @MDPictures
YouTube: MD Pictures
Sorop (Movie)
Instagram: @soropfilm
