Romi said that several scenes featured in the film were not presented in an overly extreme manner because they were bound by the guidelines set by the Film Censorship Board (LPF) and to protect the sensitivities of the community.

However, he said, the storyline and scenes that were deemed inappropriate were toned down to make them suitable for watching and the film Waruga managed to get a P13.

Set to be released in cinemas on February 15, Waruga features a cast of popular actors such as Zahiril Adzim, Datin Elvina Mohamad, Eriza Allya, Sahronizam Noor, Ustaz Dinie, Along Eyzendy, Izzue Islam, Ruminah Sidek, Nizam Kama, Putri Amirah Maisara and Syed Irfan.

Sharing about the challenges during the making of the film Waruga, Romi revealed various things he had to go through, including several strange incidents that befell the cast and crew.

“It can be said that there were various incidents that we had to go through. Among them, one of the stuntmen fell from the ceiling to the floor of the room because he seemed to be pushed by something and caused his thigh bone to break. The same was true of the incidents experienced by the two main actors, Zahiril and Elvina, who also saw creepy ‘things’ before their eyes. Regardless, I was relieved when filming could continue until it was finished,” he said.

Filming around Lembang Klang in March 2021 for 20 days, Romi stated that Waruga is not just a horror script.

He said that the latest film he directed was different by creating many relationship conflicts that were further strengthened with horror elements. “For this film, I used the open ending concept so that the audience can imagine for themselves what happens next. Regardless, I want those who watch this film to see the message conveyed from a positive perspective. For example, there are still a few people in society who are still deceived by the devil’s tricks and thus commit deviant and wrong acts in terms of religion,” he said.

Meanwhile, the producer of D’ Ayu Pictures, Dato Rosmarayu Mokhtar, said that his party was interested in producing a horror film because the horror genre is one of the local audience’s favorites and often receives a good response. He said that after first producing the horror film Harum Malam, he felt that Waruga, which cost RM1.8 million to produce, featured an interesting storyline inspired by an ancient belief. “Of course, as a producer, I hope this film will be warmly received by the audience, especially horror film fans. In fact, I was approached by three distribution companies from Indonesia to hold simultaneous screenings there. The Waruga film will also be screened in other ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines. At least with encouraging collections, maybe this film will have a sequel or I will continue to produce other horror films,” he said. -Edisi 9

Kredit: Edisi9 – Waruga: A Horror Story Inspired by the Ancient Beliefs of the Minahasa People