The Draft! - FrightFest Halloween UK Premiere Review
Director: Yusron Fuadi
Starring: Adhin Abdul Hakim, Winner Wijaya, Ibrahim Alhami, Putri Anggie
Written by: Yusron Fuadi, Richard James Halstead, B.W. Purba Negara, Anindita Suryarasmi
Produced by: Fani Pramiditya
Cinematography by: Mandella Majid
Original Score by: Clemens Felix Setiyawan, Ketut Sumerjana
Synopsis:
A small group of college students spend their weekend in a typical old villa only to find that they have to survive in a battle of wits against an absolute all-mighty all-powerful terror that is seemingly undefeated.
Thoughts:
When it comes to horror films, tropes and cliches are part and parcel with a lot of the films in the genre. From a broad perspective slashers tend to involve a group of promiscuous teens being picked off one by one by a psychotic killer. Zombie movies involve a group of people making all the wrong decisions due to internal conflicts while being besieged by the undead and even ghost stories are usually about an avenging spirit who terrorises a household because they can't move on. They can become very tired, very quickly but what helps them be unique is the spin placed on them and that is exactly what 'The Draft' attempts to do.
The film follows a group of five young people who travel to a secluded villa for a getaway but soon realise that they aren't alone. At first they feel that some sort of evil entity is haunting the place. Their fears are realised when one of them is murdered. From there the situation escalates when they realise that they aren't in control of what is happening to them.
Meta horrors are nothing new to the horror genre. They've been popularised by the likes of 'Scream' and 'Cabin in the Woods' and 'The Draft' shares the same DNA as these films but it is presented in an obvious manner by design. Whilst it is a commentary on the laziness behind leaning into the cliches of the genre it is ultimately more about the writing process in terms of trying to find something unique and original. From the opening shot we are given a "god's eye view" with the typical drone shot of a car travelling to the villa which tells you how the film is going to lean into tropes whilst having a meta narrative about the challenges of writing a script.
In the opening half of the film it works quite well as each of the five characters are introduced. They are all basically a checklist for these kinds of films with the likes of the jock, the nerd, the eye candy, etc but knowing how obvious this is makes you curious as to where the film is going. The cast lean into these caricatures but some of the performances lack the charisma to make them stand out or be truly memorable as they come across as being quite flat. Once they discover the situation that they are in, their manner doesn't really change and they seem resigned to their fate more than anything which saps the energy of the film. Having said that, the director (and co-writer) Yusron Fuadi does his best at developing a sense of tension and mystery in and around the characters in the early parts of the film as they try to make sense of the situation they are in but some of the cast don't match his ambition.
Whilst the film does explore the tropes of the horror genre (especially in Indonesian horror), you can tell that Fuadi is having a lot of fun leaning into this aspect of the film, especially in the latter half of it. Be it possession forcing a person to tear their jaw apart or the group gunning down a horde of zombies, he is in his element making for some very entertaining sequences but they almost detract from the meta nature of the film as the focus starts to blur. The other issue with this is the sudden change in tone and subgenre between these sequences as they lack rhythm and don't flow well making the film a jolting experience at times. Whether that is to reflect the idea of a writer crumpling up a scene and throwing it away it doesn't translate well on the screen.
One of the aspects of the film that doesn't quite work is the use of the score throughout it. It is loud and bombastic to the point it becomes really jarring. Whether or not that is a commentary from Fuadi over how horror films over rely on a score, it doesn't really work in this instance as it overwhelms what is happening on screen. What it lacks in score it almost makes up for it in the camerawork as the sudden change in lighting to reflect a writer's change in time for a scene is an aspect to the film that works well. The kinetic camera work in the action sequences do a great job at giving the film some propulsion.
As a concept 'The Draft' is a fun idea for exploring the horror genre on paper but unfortunately that idea doesn't fully translate well onto the screen. What is apparent though is Yusron Fuadi's ambition and passion for the film which gives it quite a bit of charm but unfortunately this is not enough to sustain it.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️
'The Draft' received its UK Premiere at FrightFest Halloween '24 on November 2nd
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