How Ghosts, Guts, and Grandma’s Stories Made Indonesia a Horror Powerhouse and Why Malaysian Filmmakers Should Be Terrified

By The Malketeer

Folklore is Having a Franchise Moment and Indonesia is Screaming All the Way to the Bank

Once dismissed as VHS-era schlock, Indonesia’s horror films are now rewriting the rules of Southeast Asian cinema — and in doing so, they’re offering one of the boldest brand case studies we’ve seen in years.

This isn’t just a comeback story. It’s a cultural exorcism that’s revived an entire industry.

Today, horror accounts for more than 70% of the nation’s ticket sales. Not Marvel. Not romance. Not crime capers.

Just good old-fashioned terror, straight from village legends and urban myths whispered through generations.

So what did Indonesia do right — and more importantly, what can Malaysia (and its marketers) learn from it?

Indonesia didn’t just make horror films — it made horror its brand.

By doubling down on culturally-rooted fear (think Pocong, Kuntilanak, and Tuyul), Indonesian filmmakers turned local folklore into national IP.

These aren’t just monsters — they’re now mascots of a cinematic movement.

Unlike generic jump-scare franchises, Indonesia’s horror hits different because it feels authentic.

It taps into faith, fear, and family.

It weaponises the known unknowns — that eerie overlap of superstition and belief that makes you turn on the lights after a story’s told.

Marianne Christianti Purnaawan of Avantgarde Productions said it best. “These legends were never meant to disappear. We just needed to modernise the medium, not the message.”

Malaysia, are you watching?

Malaysia has just as much cultural gold to mine — the Orang Minyak, Pontianak, Toyol, Bunians, and whole rainforests of spectral folklore.

Yet somehow, we’ve left those stories in the attic while Indonesia is streaming theirs globally.

This is more than film.

It’s a lesson in niche mastery, genre ownership, and cultural export.

It’s how horror became both industry and identity — a genre rebrand that now earns international festival spots, regional releases, and Netflix placements.

So what’s the playbook?

• Don’t dilute. Deepen. The stronger your cultural roots, the wider your global branches.
• Claim your genre. Don’t just dabble in horror, comedy, or heritage. Own it, frame it, and franchise it.
• Think myth-first, medium-second. Whether it’s a film, a TikTok short, or a branded campaign — people crave emotional resonance wrapped in cultural truth.

Ekky Imanjaya, a film lecturer in Jakarta, says it plainly, “Our parents used these stories to scare us. Now they’re scaring the box office.”

And that, dear readers, is the marketing mic drop.

So while Malaysia debates another tourism slogan, Indonesia is turning its ghosts into gold.

Maybe it’s time we stop fearing the dark – and start filming it.

Source: AFP