Looking at the uniqueness of this belief, it inspired D’Ayu Pictures to produce a film titled Waruga – The Curse of Black Magic.

Its director, Azaromi Ghozali or Romi, said the idea to produce the film began with a story by a writer named Gawar Sawba’yah about the ancient belief.

“At the same time, I also had an idea for a horror story related to black magic and the worship of corpses, indirectly related to the beliefs of the Mihanasa people.

“So I combined these two ideas and the film Waruga was created. This film tells the story of black magic and the cult of resurrecting the bodies of the dead.”

“I chose the title Waruga as symbolic and inspiring for the rebirth ceremony according to Minahasa beliefs,” he said.

Romi said that several scenes shown in the film were not shown in an extreme way because they were bound by the guidelines set by the Film Censorship Board to protect the sensitivity of society.

However, it did not affect the storyline and the scenes that were deemed inappropriate were toned down to make them suitable for watching and the Waruga film 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 the bone at the base of his thigh to break.

“The same is true of the incident experienced by the two main actors, Zahiril and Elvina, who also saw a creepy ‘thing’ right before their eyes.

“Regardless, I’m relieved that filming can continue until it’s 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 by horror elements.

“Untuk filem ini, saya menggunakan konsep ‘open ending’ supaya penonton boleh membayangkan sendiri apa kisah yang berlaku seterusnya.

“Whatever it is, I want those who watch this film to see the message conveyed from a positive perspective.”

“For example, there are still a few people who are still deceived by the devil’s tricks and commit acts that are deviant and wrong in terms of religion,” he said.

Meanwhile, D’Ayu Pictures’ producer, Dato Rosmarayu Mokhtar, said that his party was interested in producing horror films 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 was received as a production of RM1.8 million, showed an interesting storyline inspired by ancient beliefs.

“Of course, as a producer, I hope this film will receive a warm reception from the audience, especially horror film fans.”

“I was even approached by three distribution companies from Indonesia to hold simultaneous screenings there.”

“The Waruga film will also be shown in other ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines.

“At least with the encouraging box office, maybe this film will have a sequel or I will continue to produce other horror films,” he said.

SYNOPSIS

The story of a student of traditional medicine, Rewan, who cannot accept the death of his wife.

Rewan began to appeal to Mbah Usu Lijah, who was also his medical teacher, because he knew that Mbah Usu Lijah had the knowledge of resurrecting bodies without souls through the books of the Mihanasa lineage.

However, Mbah Usu Lijah did not allow it to happen because Rewan was not from the lineage in question and if he wanted to, he would have to go through several phases or periods of time.

Rewan’s impatience reached such a high point that he was willing to steal the book and kill Mbah Usu Lijah.

Before all these incidents happened, Rewan had ordered his only son Yamin to leave the village so that nothing untoward would happen to Yamin because of his behavior.

After 10 years, Yamin married a girl named Ardila and lived a peaceful life with her.

However, Yamin kept his family a secret, stating that his father and mother had long since passed away.

Credit: Max-Info- Waruga, a horror story inspired by custom & the ancient beliefs of the Minahasa people