The Reel Review
A dysfunctional family in rural Indonesia is forced to work together for their survival when the patriarch’s drug company creates an experimental anti-aging serum that causes a deadly zombie outbreak in their village. Mikha Tambayong, Eva Celia Latjuba and Donny Damara star in this horror/thriller.
As zombie flicks go, Indonesian horror director Timo Stamboel spares no expense – or latex – in crafting a gory, pulse-pounding film reminiscent of the well done 2016 South Korean zombie thriller Train to Busan. His zombies all look the part with well-done practical effects and move quickly, impeded only by rainstorms, oddly enough. Stamboel literally throws everything but the kitchen sink into his overlong story, to its credit as well as its detriment. There is a lot going on.
The weakest part of The Elixir is the melodramatic adult characters, many of whom are entitled, hard to root for, rich brats who seem incapable of making smart decisions. But hackneyed backstory aside, as far as mindless zombie flicks go, The Elixir is still pretty entertaining.
REEL FACTS
• The Elixir director Kimo Stamboel has won several awards for horror films (Headshot, Killers, Macabre) made with his friend and collaborator Tim Tjahjanto, together known as the Mo Brothers.
• The Elixir‘s original title in Indonesian is Abadi Nan Jaya.
• The Elixir was filmed in and around Yogyakarta, Indonesia and in the nation’s capital, Jakarta.
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