Five average college students spend their weekend in an old villa, where they must solve the mystery of their friend’s death.
Asia does horror so well. It’s far more ingrained into the culture with superstitions, ghosts, and demons, simply being facts of life. Indonesia in particular, is heavily influenced spiritually by the blended mysticisms of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, black magic, and fortune tellers. It is a culture of blended beliefs that permeate into everyday worship.
The Draft! uses these elements well at the start of the film, building our expectations and laying the groundwork for what seems like a typical, well-crafted Indonesian folk horror. And then Deadpool arrives, and everything is thrown into a blender, and things stop making sense for a hot minute. And then you understand the title.
The Draft fools us into thinking we’re getting something and then does the whole bait-and-switch, and suddenly that cool aeroplane that was flying towards our mouth is filled with carrot puree. The film is a masterclass in meta, and I am pretty sure that there are going to be a lot of directors and writers who were sitting on a similar idea and are kicking themselves for not doing it first.
The pacing slows between the second and third acts after the big reveal. The film returns to some semblance of being a more conventional horror, but remains playful, especially with the score. While our protagonists try to figure out how to deal with their new fate, relationships change, dynamics rearrange, and the script takes darker and darker turns. It was only after we started heading into the final act that the film’s themes really hit for me.
There’s a social commentary not too hidden within the coded media aspect of the film that speaks to our inability to choose our own paths in life. It speaks to not accepting fate but to making an effort even in the face of impossible odds. While the themes of the films are most definitely dark, there’s a silver lining that even if you are born to a pre-determined life, enough belief, faith, or sheer determination can change what fate has in store for you, even if only for a short time.
I do have a few gripes that I need to be addressed, though. While the score was clever, poignant and fun for most of the film, at points, the soundtrack overshadowed the dialogue, making the film noisy over nuanced. This happened several times during the runtime and could easily have been fixed before international releases. And here I never thought I’d find myself complaining about Asian folk metal being played over the slaughter of zombies—I guess we all get old.
Conclusion:
Regardless, that was probably one of the most satisfying, intelligent, and cheeky endings to a horror film that I have seen. One that will be remembered for a long time. It’s also charming that while it is most definitely a nod to filmmakers and a critique of the industry, it’s clear enough to still be entertaining to the non-industry folk. Thanks for reading and as always, stay sordid. The Draft! released yesterday, February 16th, on Shudder. Give it a watch. Trailer and OG artwork below.
