Sacred

Monty Tiwa's 2009 Indonesian film is a horror picture shot in the found footage manner. A young film crew from Jakarta is preparing a shoot in Bantul near Yogyakarta, and the camera is their own recording device from the start. On the second day one of the actors begins behaving strangely and the crew cannot work out whether this is an illness or a state described in local belief. The film uses Javanese beliefs about spirit possession directly and makes no attempt to explain events. The found footage technique was new in Indonesian cinema at the time and effective tension is built on a small budget, with the shaking camera and the darkness sustained at length. The ending is left uncertain. Who it's for: viewers curious about found footage horror and Southeast Asian folklore. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a steady camera and an explanation; the film provides neither.