Dawning of the Dead is the latest horror film for writer and director Tony Jopia who’s previous films include Cute Little Buggers (2017), Crying Wolf (2015) and Deadtime (2012). I got a chance to talk with Tony about why he decided to make a zombie film, never giving up and bringing the gore to the screen.
Hi Tony, thank you for joining me again today I appreciate you taking the time out to talk to me again. You are following up the critical success of Cute Little Buggers with your new film Dawning of the Dead. Why did you decide to make a zombie film?
We were working out way through the horror genres. We always said that we would make these films with the attitude that we would have fun making them. So, after doing a slasher with Dead Time, we then wanted to do a creature feature which we did...
Hi Tony, thank you for joining me again today I appreciate you taking the time out to talk to me again. You are following up the critical success of Cute Little Buggers with your new film Dawning of the Dead. Why did you decide to make a zombie film?
We were working out way through the horror genres. We always said that we would make these films with the attitude that we would have fun making them. So, after doing a slasher with Dead Time, we then wanted to do a creature feature which we did...
- 12/1/2017
- by Philip Rogers
- Nerdly
In writer/director Joko Anwar's latest film Modus Anomali, a mysterious man is on a holiday in the woods with his wife and two kids when they are surprised by the arrival of an uninvited guest.
Suddenly, he experiences a time lapse and before he can understand what’s going on, he finds himself alone and separated from his family. As he comes across several alarm clocks that seem to have been planted throughout the woods, indicating something far sinister than just keeping time, he knows that the race is now on if he ever wants to see his family alive again.
As a filmmaker known for his strong visual style in previous films like The Forbidden Door and Dead Time: Kala, Dread Central had the opportunity to sit down and chat briefly with Anwar while in Austin last week for the 2012 SxSW Film Festival to hear more about...
Suddenly, he experiences a time lapse and before he can understand what’s going on, he finds himself alone and separated from his family. As he comes across several alarm clocks that seem to have been planted throughout the woods, indicating something far sinister than just keeping time, he knows that the race is now on if he ever wants to see his family alive again.
As a filmmaker known for his strong visual style in previous films like The Forbidden Door and Dead Time: Kala, Dread Central had the opportunity to sit down and chat briefly with Anwar while in Austin last week for the 2012 SxSW Film Festival to hear more about...
- 3/20/2012
- by thehorrorchick
- DreadCentral.com
Joko Anwar's newest film features a cabin in the woods, but otherwise bears no resemblance to anything coming out of Hollywood. Modus Anomali is a confounding, mystifying experience that initially feels like a minimalist exercise, an identity crisis both for the lead character and the filmmaker. And then it revolves into a true head-scratcher, a picture that definitely belongs in the 'Wtf' horror sub-genre. Though I have yet to catch up with Anwar's first feature, Janji Joni, I have seen Dead Time: Kala and The Forbidden Door, which are both heavily-stylized, wildly colorful, and "trippy" in the best sense of the word. Kala, especially, left me in the dark; I couldn't always figure out what was going on, story-wise, but I didn't especially care:...
- 3/12/2012
- Screen Anarchy
And the fine folks at the Toronto After Dark film festival have announced the first 8 films..
Trick 'R Treat? Check.
Paul Solet's "we make people faint" Grace? Check.
The visually stunning treat Franklyn (review)? Check.
Joko Anwar's incredible The Forbidden Door (review), one of my favorite films of the year? Check.
Check out all the films and the deets after the break!
Trick ‘R’ Treat
Michael Dougherty, USA, Toronto Premiere
“An Instant Cult Classic” – Bloody-Disgusting
Four creepy crowd-pleasing stories intersect in this hugely anticipated feature, set on the night of Halloween. From Producer Bryan Singer (X-men, The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and starring True Blood’s Anna Paquin and Brian Cox (Manhunter, Bourne Supremacy).
Winner, Audience Award – Los Angeles ScreamFest
Grace
Paul Solet, Canada, Toronto Premiere
“The movie you need to see to restore your faith in the horror genre” – Dread Central
From Producer Adam Green (Hatchet) comes this...
Trick 'R Treat? Check.
Paul Solet's "we make people faint" Grace? Check.
The visually stunning treat Franklyn (review)? Check.
Joko Anwar's incredible The Forbidden Door (review), one of my favorite films of the year? Check.
Check out all the films and the deets after the break!
Trick ‘R’ Treat
Michael Dougherty, USA, Toronto Premiere
“An Instant Cult Classic” – Bloody-Disgusting
Four creepy crowd-pleasing stories intersect in this hugely anticipated feature, set on the night of Halloween. From Producer Bryan Singer (X-men, The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and starring True Blood’s Anna Paquin and Brian Cox (Manhunter, Bourne Supremacy).
Winner, Audience Award – Los Angeles ScreamFest
Grace
Paul Solet, Canada, Toronto Premiere
“The movie you need to see to restore your faith in the horror genre” – Dread Central
From Producer Adam Green (Hatchet) comes this...
- 7/8/2009
- QuietEarth.us
I really hate the fact that I need a passport to get into Canada these days (stupid security precautions – I don’t want to be safe, I want to watch horror movies!) because the Toronto After Dark Festival has an incredibly badass lineup of flicks announced thus far!
Trick 'R Treat (review here)
Michael Dougherty, USA, Toronto Premiere
*“An instant cult classic” – Bloody-Disgusting*
Four creepy crowd-pleasing stories intersect in this hugely anticipated feature set on the night of Halloween from producer Bryan Singer (X-men, The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and starring True Blood’s Anna Paquin and Brian Cox (Manhunter, Bourne Supremacy).
/Winner, Audience Award – Los Angeles ScreamFest/
Grace (review here)
Paul Solet, Canada, Toronto Premiere
*“The movie you need to see to restore your faith in the horror genre” – Dread Central*
From producer Adam Green (Hatchet) comes this creepy and shocking tale of one very desperate woman as she tries...
Trick 'R Treat (review here)
Michael Dougherty, USA, Toronto Premiere
*“An instant cult classic” – Bloody-Disgusting*
Four creepy crowd-pleasing stories intersect in this hugely anticipated feature set on the night of Halloween from producer Bryan Singer (X-men, The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and starring True Blood’s Anna Paquin and Brian Cox (Manhunter, Bourne Supremacy).
/Winner, Audience Award – Los Angeles ScreamFest/
Grace (review here)
Paul Solet, Canada, Toronto Premiere
*“The movie you need to see to restore your faith in the horror genre” – Dread Central*
From producer Adam Green (Hatchet) comes this creepy and shocking tale of one very desperate woman as she tries...
- 7/8/2009
- by Masked Slasher
- DreadCentral.com
Puchon International Film Festival
BUCHEON, South Korea -- Kala, PiFan's closing film by writer-director Joko Anwar was financed by Jakarta-based Indian company MD Pictures to be a commercial schlock horror that's the staple of Indonesian audiences. Instead, Anwar delivered a sophisticated noir whodunit in homage to Fritz Lang's "M." The supernatural elements, which can be corny or camp depending on audience taste, only start to grate two-thirds into the film. By then, one is so carried away by the cool packaging as to grant some suspension of belief.
Since its presentation at Cannes market, Kala has already received invitations to several well-known Asian festivals, including Bangkok International Film Festival, Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema in New Delhi, and Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei. There is theatrical release potential in nearby Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore.
Joko Anwar has been rewriting the formulas of mainstream Indonesian cinema since his directorial debut "Joni's Promise" and through his screenplays for Nia Dinata's "Arisan!" and in a less conspicuous way for Lance's Jakarta Undercover. In Kala, he fuses contemporary political allegory with a Javanese myth, remolds it into a Messianic message with Apocalyptic overtones, and sets it in an unspecific time and place that could be Prague or Paris anytime from the 1930s. His two male leads are not the typical heroes that appear on Indonesian screen. Not only do they have wickedly evocative names like Janus and Eros, they are narcoleptic and gay respectively.
From the Continental sets (authentic Dutch colonial buildings shot in Java), to the sensuous cinematography; from the songs with a Brit-pop sound, to the mellow-as-mocha lighting, right down to the designer creases of the male leads' rolled up shirts, Kala is an impressive feat of mood and style. Kudos for D.O.P. Ipung Rahmat Syaiful, who worked with some of Indonesia's most-acclaimed directors (Riri Riza, Nia Dinata, Joko Anwar on "Joni's Promise"). He enhanced the hard-boiled sensibility by maintaining a consistent nocturnal tone even in indoor and daytime scenes.
Like in most noir films, an elaborate plot unfolds to reveal that nothing is what is seems. Reporter Janus (Fachri Albar) doing a follow-up on an incident where five men are torched by an angry mob, gets hold of some vital clue about a legendary treasure. Soon, people start dropping dead left, right and center wherever he goes. Also on the case is a police detective Eros (Ario Bayu), who is haunted by apparitions of a monster from Javanese mythology. The police, the politicians, and even the current president seem to have a hand in this. All leads point to the Temple of the Seven Steps ...
The ending is somewhat of a letdown, as a scene-by-scene re-enactment explains everything leaving no room to the imagination. The final climax looks as if it is a different film directed by someone else -- a parody of the TV series Xena or The Fellowship of the Ring -- perhaps an expedient attempt to placate the mass audience, the authorities or the investors?
KALA
MD Pictures
Sales Agent: MD Jakarta
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Joko Anwar
Producers: Manoj Punjabi, Dhamoo Punjabi
Executive producer: Shania Punjabi
Director of photography: Ipung Rahmat Syaiful
Production designer: Wencislaus
Music: Aghi Narottama, Zeke Khaselli
Co-producer: Karan Mahtani
Costume designer: Tania Soeprapto, Isabelle Patrice
Editor: Wawan I. Wibowo.
Cast:
Janus: Fachri Albar
Eros: Ario Bayu
Ranti: Farani
Sari: Shanty
Bandi: Tipi Jabrik
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
BUCHEON, South Korea -- Kala, PiFan's closing film by writer-director Joko Anwar was financed by Jakarta-based Indian company MD Pictures to be a commercial schlock horror that's the staple of Indonesian audiences. Instead, Anwar delivered a sophisticated noir whodunit in homage to Fritz Lang's "M." The supernatural elements, which can be corny or camp depending on audience taste, only start to grate two-thirds into the film. By then, one is so carried away by the cool packaging as to grant some suspension of belief.
Since its presentation at Cannes market, Kala has already received invitations to several well-known Asian festivals, including Bangkok International Film Festival, Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema in New Delhi, and Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei. There is theatrical release potential in nearby Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore.
Joko Anwar has been rewriting the formulas of mainstream Indonesian cinema since his directorial debut "Joni's Promise" and through his screenplays for Nia Dinata's "Arisan!" and in a less conspicuous way for Lance's Jakarta Undercover. In Kala, he fuses contemporary political allegory with a Javanese myth, remolds it into a Messianic message with Apocalyptic overtones, and sets it in an unspecific time and place that could be Prague or Paris anytime from the 1930s. His two male leads are not the typical heroes that appear on Indonesian screen. Not only do they have wickedly evocative names like Janus and Eros, they are narcoleptic and gay respectively.
From the Continental sets (authentic Dutch colonial buildings shot in Java), to the sensuous cinematography; from the songs with a Brit-pop sound, to the mellow-as-mocha lighting, right down to the designer creases of the male leads' rolled up shirts, Kala is an impressive feat of mood and style. Kudos for D.O.P. Ipung Rahmat Syaiful, who worked with some of Indonesia's most-acclaimed directors (Riri Riza, Nia Dinata, Joko Anwar on "Joni's Promise"). He enhanced the hard-boiled sensibility by maintaining a consistent nocturnal tone even in indoor and daytime scenes.
Like in most noir films, an elaborate plot unfolds to reveal that nothing is what is seems. Reporter Janus (Fachri Albar) doing a follow-up on an incident where five men are torched by an angry mob, gets hold of some vital clue about a legendary treasure. Soon, people start dropping dead left, right and center wherever he goes. Also on the case is a police detective Eros (Ario Bayu), who is haunted by apparitions of a monster from Javanese mythology. The police, the politicians, and even the current president seem to have a hand in this. All leads point to the Temple of the Seven Steps ...
The ending is somewhat of a letdown, as a scene-by-scene re-enactment explains everything leaving no room to the imagination. The final climax looks as if it is a different film directed by someone else -- a parody of the TV series Xena or The Fellowship of the Ring -- perhaps an expedient attempt to placate the mass audience, the authorities or the investors?
KALA
MD Pictures
Sales Agent: MD Jakarta
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Joko Anwar
Producers: Manoj Punjabi, Dhamoo Punjabi
Executive producer: Shania Punjabi
Director of photography: Ipung Rahmat Syaiful
Production designer: Wencislaus
Music: Aghi Narottama, Zeke Khaselli
Co-producer: Karan Mahtani
Costume designer: Tania Soeprapto, Isabelle Patrice
Editor: Wawan I. Wibowo.
Cast:
Janus: Fachri Albar
Eros: Ario Bayu
Ranti: Farani
Sari: Shanty
Bandi: Tipi Jabrik
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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