“JANGAN DENGERIN SENDIRIAN” (DON’T LISTEN TO THIS ALONE…)

Directed by: Dedy Syahputra

Cast by: Reza Levi, Adinda Rizkyana, Naomi Angelia Sea, Kama Bashkara

Production: Andromeda Picture, Himalaya Picture

I know there’s a book with the same title but I’ve never read it before, so that’s why I was wonder when I go to the cinema to watch it…hoping that it wouldn’t disappointed me like any Indonesian horror. Beside there are other movie that being screen in perfectly same time as this one, which is Avenger-2 and My Stupid Boss, that got high rating so it really hard decision to make when I bought the ticket.

There’s a bunch of guys of adventure team from Oz Radio that like to visit haunted places. The Team of Jangan Dengerin Sendiri (JDS) is Cahyo (The Producer), Daya, and Naomi (psychic) went to the place and makes live broadcasting to the radio listener with some warned not to listen to their show alone. Perhaps it's some kind of marketing gimmick to make their loyal listener bring their friends in order to listen to the program and grabs more listener.

But in some case there’s really occurred the supernatural appearance. It was when Alya’s sister really listening to the JDS alone and by sudden she realize that the woman who sleep beside her was not her mother. It really creepy when she read the text on the cell that said her mother will come home late…though I already guess that kind of thing.

While JDS team went to their new target at Dutch Cave at Bandung, Reno asked Alya and her best friend Hilda, to explore Mount. Sadahurip, the one that got pyramid in Indonesia, because he wants to helped his girlfriend, Alya, to ease the grief from the lost of her father who died recently. I found out it a little bit funny about the village old man who terrified when he sees Alya’s necklace and knocking hysterically on Reno’s window car.

As a script writer, I know it’s a bridging trick to let the audience knew that there’s some kind of mysterious thing about the necklace and Alya’s father who gave that to her…but seriously, I’d rather picked another trick that much more creative than these because until the final scene I didn’t get any connection for this old guy being there or the necessary of his existence beside the establishment of the mysterious necklace.   

The visit on the mountain brought many weird things such car that broke down three times and an encounter with a ghost in a woods until Alya, Reno, and Hilda realize that they were being followed by the spirit they’ve meet in that forest. While at the same time, Naomi got a vision about scary old lady which could bring bad luck after she and her friend finished exploring the Dutch Cave.

Hilda asked Alya and Reno then to see her cousin, Naomi and asked for help. Finally the six of them went to the Mount. Sadahurip to reveal all secret there, including the dark pass life of Alya’s father. What bothers me then, what the need of Alya’s father is to take the necklace if the result was just being chased by the ghost of the owner of the necklace because I don’t see its function to protect Alya other than from the ghost who owned the necklace itself.

Another thing, I know someone who got sixth sense could easily seeing the shape of the spirit or a person that already dead but see what’s on the past? Well, I don’t know if Naomi, who turned out to be the writer of the novel as well, really had such wonderful gift but I think it only for the sake of the story.

I don’t know about you but I think the plot is too long and rambling. I think the visit of Alya, Reno, and Hilda to Mount Sadahurip is no need to take many scenes. Almost 9 or 10 scenes if I’m not mistaken. It could be more simplified by the scene of a Reno’s car in the middle of the night to take Hilda’s home and continued to the terror that experienced by three of them, so the next day they came to Naomi and asked for help. It will be great if they take the focus on Mount.Sadahurip alone.

Otherwise, though the image of the movie is really hard to enjoy, especially in a time that filled with darkness, I guess the movie was fine. It's really a good idea to put the journey to Mount. Sadahurip as we know a mysterious place that caught global attention recently. So, even though this movie doesn't last long in theater, there's nothing to lose to seek the DVD and watched it on your player.

And...uhm...o,yeah...one more thing, The soundtrack of this movie indeed were completely irrelevant to the atmosphere of horror but one of them surprised me because it belongs to my friend's band. And I'm not making any promotion or get paid by the band to write this but I do really like the song...hope you get a lot of listeners as the JDS program, Ibong my man...