A wealthy family is having a big problem because someone has targeted them and cursed them with black magic. To find out why some wish them dead, they have to visit the past. So, let the adventure begin.
Blood Curse is a 10-episode Indonesian horror TV series. It follows a rich and happy family: a father, mother, daughter, and son. The son, though, is a drug addict, while the sister is a career woman.
Then one day, all hell breaks loose for them, and it won’t get any better because someone hates them and casts black magic spells on them one after the other. So we see a lot of bugs since that’s what you associate with black magic. And Indonesians love their black magic, especially in movies—and in this case, a TV series.
I’m not a big fan of Kimo Stamboel. I’m a big fan of his partner in crime, Timo Tjahjanto, though. He is the creative one, while Kimo Stamboel is just a generic and half-lazy director. But with Blood Curse, he has made his masterpiece because I don’t think he can make a better movie or TV series than Blood Curse. He has reached his capacity.
As with most Indonesian horror movies—yes, I know this is an Indonesian TV series, but I’m used to Indonesian horror movies—this is a gory and violent series. But there are too many bugs here, and after a while, the black magic curses get stale because of the use of bugs and stuff like that. Thankfully, though, there are other ways the characters die one after the other, and that’s a good thing.
One problem with the TV series is that it didn’t need 10 episodes to tell the story. It could have used eight episodes because the pacing is off in a couple of them. It also gets a little repetitive in the first half because of the damned bugs.
Another problem is that the wealthy family is pretty disgusting. They are not likable, and just when you didn’t think it could get any worse, we visit the past, which confirms that there are some really rotten apples in this family’s basket. But before that, you get the sense that they love to smell their own farts, and I just ended up hating them—especially the loser drug addict of a brother. He is such a loser that I wanted him to die after a couple of episodes.
There is only one character here that I like, which is the son of the man who kills himself in the first episode. He is a sympathetic character I hoped the best for.
This story works, and it keeps you engaged even though it can get a little repetitive in the first half of the season. But the cinematography is good, the score is good, and the atmosphere is pretty great. The acting is also good.
If you are not tired of Indonesian movies and their shtick, Blood Curse is an entertaining TV series that offers you what you expect from Indonesia. But I wish the family we follow could have been more likable than these fart-sniffing jerks!