Generations of Horror Films Made in Gen Z Style

Through Sinemaku Pictures, Gen Z filmmakers are creative even though they haven't yet produced a new style of horror genre like their generation.

KOMPAS/ WISNU DEWABRATA

Launch of the trailer for the horror film Temurun.

Jakarta, Kompas-Film Temurun was done creatively and with a typical Generation (Gen) Z approach. This film is also the first horror genre film, both by the director and production houses,

This is at least as explained by Inarah Syarafina, who was asked to direct her first horror film, at a press conference to launch the trailer and poster for the film, Wednesday (1/5/2024). In a press conference, Inarah said that she felt very comfortable working with many talents of her generation and age.

With such an environment, Inarah admits that she can work and collaborate more freely, as well as remain flexible yet creative. In addition to working with the main players, Brian Domani and Yasamine Jasem, Inarah also claims to be the same age as her producers, Prilly Latuconsina and Umay (Shahab), as well as the scriptwriter, Vontian Suwandi.

Also read: Emotion, Sensuality, and Director Guadagnino's Old Formula

Prilly and Umay are the founders of Sinemaku Pictures, established five years ago. Not only are they professionally related, Inarah herself, when answering numerous questions from journalists, also admitted to having a close relationship with Umay.

"At Sinemaku Pictures, I am very comfortable and everything. I am no longer afraid as a new director. I have discussions with fellow actors who are around the same age as me, and it feels like there are no boundaries," said Inarah.

Even in the first stage of reading the script (reading), he, Brian and Yasamine held it at Inarah's house. Initially, when inviting them to gather at her house, Inarah admitted that she was worried that she would be seen as unprofessional.

“It turns out they actually want to. Finally we were reading in my room, with my cats, while eating snacks. So it's really exciting. "From there, throughout the project, I didn't hesitate to convey my thoughts and ideas to them," said Inarah, laughing.

Not only during the production phase, Prilly as the producer also implemented an unconventional promotional method for her film. One of them is by organizing a "Temu Fun Run" event, which is named after the title of this horror film.

“The initial idea (Meeting Fun Run) emerged on the first day of shooting. When we, the producers, gather at the (filming) location, we all discuss the forms of marketing and promotion. When we read the title of the film, Umay and I thought about making a running event. Coincidentally, I also like sports. In the film there is also a running scene. Ha-ha-ha," said Prilly.

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Launch of the trailer for the horror film Temurun.

The running event is planned to be held in two cities, Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) in Jakarta and in Bali, on May 11 and May 18, 2024 respectively, at night. According to Prilly, along the running route, participants will also encounter something creepy in accordance with the theme of the horror film.

Try new horror

In a press conference, Umay claimed that the horror film they would present this time had a different approach to other horror films that had existed in the country. Apart from combining drama elements, in Temurun the party will not display certain religious or cultural elements as a background.

"So It's a fictional, really fictional, and we want to try new ways. "If you say we want to join the hype, that's actually not true, considering that in the third film we just made a horror film," said Umay.

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Launch of the trailer for the horror film Temurun.

However, even though he claims that it was made differently and involved many children his age, Inarah admits that he does not dare to call his work a horror genre film resulting from a representation or version of Gen Z. Umay also said the same thing, who said that even though they are known as a production house synonymous with Gen Z, they do not pretend to show it in certain works.

"We never try to be pretentious, try to find out, wow, what is it that's currently popular and viral on Tiktok. We will only talk according to what we are concerned about. Maybe we have concerns about horror films nowadays. That's all we're going to put in. "We will look for other options than those currently available in Temurun," said Umay.

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Meanwhile, Prilly said that even if there is something new and identical to Gen Z, it is more in the context of the conflict between characters in the film, which is more contemporary. Apart from that, from several scary scenes in the film, Prilly said that a contemporary term, aka new, emerged, Curtain Phobia.

"So there are some scary scenes that emerge from behind the curtain, which actually introduces a new term. As for the film itself, creatively we only focus on the story and what can be offered. Maybe from the packaging, certain terms emerge that are very Gen Z," said Prilly.