Mina (Nur Fazura) is the pontianak |
In the decades to come, Pontianak would spawn a cascade of sequels, remakes, and retellings. It has since become synonymous with cinema in the region. Even after 60 years, the spirit of the pontianak horror genre continues to live on. This year, the spirit returns to the silver screen in Glen Goei and Gavin Yaps' new feature, Revenge of the Pontianak.
Glen Goei |
Gavin Yap |
Besides spawning a genre, the Pontianak films seem equally responsible for spawning an early interest in filmmaking for many directors in the region. This could not be more true for Goei and Yap. In an email interview with SINdie, Goei and Yap revealed how this project was their ode to a horror genre so dear to them and the region. Even the title itself alludes to Rao's 1957 Pontianak sequel, Dendam Pontianak, which literally translates to "revenge of the pontianak" in Malay.
Khalid (Remy Ishak) |
Siti (Shenty Felizaina) |
The pontianak |
The interview with Glen Goei and Gavin Yap is appended below.
SINdie: Glen, Revenge of the Pontianak marks the first time you’re co-directing a feature. Why did you choose to co-direct, and what’s different about the creative process?
Goei: I chose to co-direct because the nature of the film is very demanding. First of all, we set the film in the 60s so art direction is a very important key component of the film since the film is a tribute to the golden era of Malay cinema in the 50s and 60s. Secondly, because a lot of the film is shot in a tropical rainforest, it meant that physically it would be demanding; and because it is a horror film, a lot of the scenes are overnight shoots. From all those angles, I felt that it would be better to have a co-director to share out the responsibilities.
Glen, as a theatre practitioner, what draws you to film as a medium? What does film offer you as opposed to theatre?
Goei: As a storyteller I want to have as many canvases to tell my stories. Theatre is one of the canvas and film being another one. So really, it is about having a different canvas to tell my stories. Film allows me to potentially reach out to a larger audience and to an audience which is beyond the shores of Singapore.
Goei: I grew up on horror films especially the Pontianak films of the 50s and 60s because they were shown on repeat in the 70s on television. I really enjoy them and I wanted to pay tribute to that Pontianak genre and the golden age of Malay cinema. I felt that this very important folklore which is so integral in Southeast Asian culture is slowly disappearing and the younger generation have not been exposed to Pontianak films. So I wanted to make a film which would celebrate this folklore and make it accessible to the younger generation.
Gavin, what
do you think makes the Pontianak horror genre so unique, as compared to other
horror sub-genres?
SINdie: Glen, Revenge of the Pontianak marks the first time you’re co-directing a feature. Why did you choose to co-direct, and what’s different about the creative process?
Goei: I chose to co-direct because the nature of the film is very demanding. First of all, we set the film in the 60s so art direction is a very important key component of the film since the film is a tribute to the golden era of Malay cinema in the 50s and 60s. Secondly, because a lot of the film is shot in a tropical rainforest, it meant that physically it would be demanding; and because it is a horror film, a lot of the scenes are overnight shoots. From all those angles, I felt that it would be better to have a co-director to share out the responsibilities.
Glen, as a theatre practitioner, what draws you to film as a medium? What does film offer you as opposed to theatre?
Goei: As a storyteller I want to have as many canvases to tell my stories. Theatre is one of the canvas and film being another one. So really, it is about having a different canvas to tell my stories. Film allows me to potentially reach out to a larger audience and to an audience which is beyond the shores of Singapore.
Also, Revenge of the Pontianak appears to be a departure from your more comedic films and theatrical works in the past. What motivated your venture into the horror genre?
Goei: I grew up on horror films especially the Pontianak films of the 50s and 60s because they were shown on repeat in the 70s on television. I really enjoy them and I wanted to pay tribute to that Pontianak genre and the golden age of Malay cinema. I felt that this very important folklore which is so integral in Southeast Asian culture is slowly disappearing and the younger generation have not been exposed to Pontianak films. So I wanted to make a film which would celebrate this folklore and make it accessible to the younger generation.
Yap: Probably because it’s ingrained in our own Southeast Asian culture. Most of us have either met someone who’s had an encounter or have spoken to someone who knows someone who’s seen one, etc. And so because of that, there’s a familiarity to it that kinda makes it more scary 'cause we feel close to it. I mean, when I’m driving down a dark road late at night and there are no other cars to be seen, in the back of my mind, I’m always expecting to see one, or hoping not to.
What
makes Revenge of the Pontianak different from previous film
adaptations of the Pontianak folklore?
Yap: With this film, we wanted to go deeper into her
backstory. There’s a great sense of tragedy and sadness to the Pontianak
folklore that’s rarely explored, so we really wanted to bring that out with
this film. To see things from her perspective and to humanise her.
Mina and Khalid dancing |
What do you think makes horror so alluring?
Yap: Horror
provides the kind of visceral experience that most other genres can’t come
close to. Plus there’s something strangely fun about getting the crap scared
out of you, particularly when it’s a shared experience with other horror fans
in a packed cinema. It allows us to dip our toes into a darker world for a
couple of hours.
Ultimately,
what do you want viewers to get out of Revenge of the Pontianak?
Yap: First and foremost, I hope that they’ll be
entertained and moved by the film. But I also hope that this will reintroduce
the Pontianak to a new generation of movie-goers and perhaps make them
re-evaluate their perception of who and what a Pontianak is.
Revenge of the Pontianak premiered in Singapore on 29 August 2019.
Written by Charlie Chua
Revenge of the Pontianak premiered in Singapore on 29 August 2019.
Written by Charlie Chua