My quick rating – 5.4/10. In case you didn’t know, Indonesia does some scary-ass horror movies. So, when one manages to fall into my circle, I am always eager to watch it. Bayi Ajaib is a remake of an Indonesian horror movie of 1982 called Bayi Ajaib. Having never seen the original, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to pretend that I can judge the remake based on that. So I won’t.
The story follows Kosim (Vino G. Bastian), a man who unexpectedly strikes gold in the village of Hirupbagja. Suddenly flush with cash, he marries Sumi (Sara Fajira), and life appears to be heading in a considerably better direction. Naturally, because this is a horror movie, that’s about where the good news ends.
Their child becomes the vessel for a malevolent supernatural force, and what initially looks like a blessing quickly turns into a very serious case of your baby is possessed by something evil and everybody should probably start running.
Director Rako Prijanto clearly knows his horror history. Bayi Ajaib wears its influences pretty openly, particularly The Exorcist and Evil Dead. Some of the imagery and supernatural mayhem feel like they’re tipping their hat directly at those classics, but Prijanto generally handles the material well, particularly as the movie heads toward its finale.
Where the movie really gets interesting for me is the Indonesian folklore and culture woven through the horror. The village setting, local beliefs, traditions, and superstitions give the movie an identity beyond simply throwing another possessed child at us and hoping everyone screams. There is something genuinely appealing about watching horror rooted in a culture and mythology that isn’t the same collection of familiar Western demons we’ve seen a thousand times.
The performances also work. Bastian and Fajira pull off the fear and desperation quite convincingly, so I never found myself shaking my head. I saw the film with subtitles, and I would have to give some credit to whoever was behind them, as I never found myself wondering whether I was watching a horror film or some accidental comedy. Bad subtitles can certainly ruin a foreign language film. Luckily, not this time.
Sadly, however, Bayi Ajaib isn’t really frightening enough. While there is a certain degree of creepiness in the film and a good sense of atmosphere, the scares aren’t often enough. In addition to this, the plot does take some time getting on its feet, and some viewers may get bored by it.
The finale brings some of that energy back, although even then I found myself wishing the movie had gone all in. After all that buildup, you would think that the payoff would blow down the doors and throw some furniture at you. Instead, it was quite timid.
However, there’s a lot of good stuff here as well. The Indonesian folklore adds some much-needed character to Bayi Ajaib, the acting is solid, and the horror scenes are effective thanks to the grotesque visuals they employ at times. It simply fails to scare enough to make it worth a re-watch.
But if your baby starts talking in a voice that definitely isn’t a baby’s, maybe don’t stick around to see what happens next. That’s usually a pretty reliable horror-movie warning sign.
