Generally speaking, I'm over zombie movies. While favorites such as 28 Days Later along with the initial episodes from The Walking Dead proved enjoyable, this category feels mostly exhausted nowadays. Yet the highly anticipated 28 Years Later remains gathering dust on my to-watch queue for months. But, the platform's latest Indonesian zombie flick, The Elixir, managed to defy what I anticipated and proved quite entertaining.
Impressive Pacing and Personal Development
One of the film's greatest strengths lies in the superb rhythm. It begins using a memorable initial scene in which a calm family gathering is violently interrupted when a vehicle plows right into the guest area. From the wreckage, an extremely zombie-like stranger emerges and begins assaulting the attendees. This dramatic scene is then followed by a look back, giving viewers to see the family prior to the tragedy occurred.
Unlike many undead movies, The Elixir actually gives viewers enough opportunity to become acquainted with its main personalities before the chaos ensues. There's Nes, a wife and mother with a ex best friend, Karina, has become wed to Nes' father—a clearly uncomfortable situation. This has predictably caused a rift among the two women. Then there's her sibling, Bang, who is kind-hearted yet socially awkward, and who enjoys gaming alongside his nephew, Raihan. Nes' husband, Rudi, appears to have recently cheated on Nes. The family head consists of her dad, who runs a popular natural medicine company named Wani Waras, and he appears to care about only two things: his business and his marriage to his daughter's ex-best friend. Unsurprisingly, this gathering is extremely tense.
Engaged in the Drama
I found myself so engrossed in the household's issues along with their personal conflicts that I nearly overlooked this was a scary movie—which might seem like a negative, but in the end paid off. The Elixir spends a considerable amount of its runtime to showing viewers who each family member is, and how they add to the general dysfunction. This focus on conflicting personalities enabled the audience to relate with the characters sufficiently to care about their fate—an uncommon feat for this style which frequently introduces characters just to kill them off shortly afterwards. The Elixir avoids portraying its characters as two-dimensional, disposable victims for an army of zombies to consume, thus it's a genuine shock once events eventually deteriorate.
Evocative of Parasite
The opening sequences from the gathering and various family interactions in fact bring to mind the film Parasite, a story which disguises itself like a K-Drama with slightly dark humor before taking an abrupt shift into shocking ground. These early scenes aren't centered as much on humor as Parasite, but The Elixir nonetheless gives sufficient opportunity to immerse in its world before everything gets upended.
Original Zombification Source
This movie also offers a fairly intriguing explanation regarding the origin of the contagious zombification. Instead of an accidental lab leak or some sort of biological weapon, the cause for this contagious disease stems from a recent batch from Wani Waras herbal remedies created by her dad. Although some background is provided something regarding its origins, I wish the film had spent a little more focus on how Wani Waras went from a trusted purveyor of holistic medicine to producing a lethal elixir that appears to include a highly contagious virus. Despite the lack of background, the effect this affliction has on people is utterly disgusting, and I love it. The Elixir's undead are quick, bizarre in appearance, and, perhaps worst of all, always smiling. This is a bold choice, yet it succeeds. The Elixir's practical effects and computer graphics are also quite realistic, and are practically guaranteed to provoke one's trypophobia.
Resourceful Personalities
More impressive than the gross-out moments are the characters themselves. Of course, there are a few instances of dubious decision-making (as in any good zombie movie), but generally, Nes and her family are inventive and sharp. They also aren't afraid to strike an undead in the face, stab it using a farm tool, or beat it over the head with whatever heavy object they find instead of standing still like a deer in headlights as death approaches.
Realistic Family Discord
The Elixir doesn't drop its focus of familial discord when people begin transforming to the undead, this proved a welcome authentic deviation from that "We don't get along|"We have issues, but since you nearly died so I instantly forgive you for everything! cliché frequently used in end-of-world films. It's clear, Nes cares for her family and cares about her husband, Rudi, yet it's equally apparent she remains clinging to bitterness regarding his infidelity of their marriage vows. Once the household becomes split up, they agree over the phone to meet up at a close location. However, once Bang reveals he doesn't know how to get there, Nes expresses an immense amount of frustration on her brother that's clearly been brewing over time. Nes is not flawless, and her family—flawed as it is—seem realistic and understandable since the movie avoids attempting to promote the notion that a near-death experience immediately resolves family tensions. This causes those instances when these characters do show appreciation for each other seem far more sincere.
Predictable Conclusion
Despite The Elixir's strong efforts to break new ground, the conclusion is admittedly somewhat formulaic. The Elixir isn't really presenting any deep message about family or community, either. Instead, it's mostly serving up frights. Yet these are successful frights, and since the movie allows every personality sufficient space to grow and avoids penalizing them for their imperfections, the outcome proves an engaging and entertaining
