The Draft!

When you’ve not really been able to get the brain into film watching mode, there’s something to be said for trying to settle yourself back in with a film you know nothing about. That made the screener of a 2023 Indonesian comedy/horror The Draft! by director Yusron Fuadi very timely. especially as, at a mere 84-minutes, it was not going to hang about. 

What could possibly go wrong when five friends decide to spend the weekend at a remote villa owned by one of their family? Why nothing in the least, save the quiet housekeeper, Uncle Dadang creating some unease and the surprise death of one of their own. But what if this is not your average horror film and these are not your average horror characters? 

The Draft! is one of those films that is hard to speak of at all without giving away the central premise. It’s also tough because that central premise is important as you're going to want to ignore the first relatively average 25-minutes. The opening suffers from terrible introductory dialogue, a cavalcade of generic inertia and many heavy-handed descriptions apparently out of nowhere about how our protagonists should be scared of where they are going. Well, having heard The Draft! being compared to One Cut of the Dead I was initially left me bewildered because the opening third seemed to be a load of generic averageness, devoid of any absurdist humour ala The Evil Dead 2, or the awareness of One Cut. But this is all a ploy and a necessity, yet for all of that it has very little effect. Then the film starts to veer off into its own territory, its own place where spoilers abound and I will try not to include them, because I feel the film is best watched knowing as little about it as possible, suffering the opening before the pivot that takes it into more of the self-aware-horror-comedy angle it (eventually) leans into.  

So if you read no more before watching the film: forgive the beginning, it all makes sense in the end. 

When the film does find its feet and starts to have fun playing with horror tropes it becomes far more entertaining. It acknowledges its lacklustre first third as necessary, and then has a lot of fun with playing out various genre scenarios in a way that becomes allowed within the narrative framework that it builds. Suddenly mowing down a field of zombies with a minigun becomes a reality as our protagonists begin to become far more interesting and engaging than when the film started. Yes, they actually act like people. Sort of. Well, not really. But they become their own characters and they own themselves. As it’s not just the story that is initially constrained but four of our five friends: Ani, Amir, Wati and Iwan (sorry Budi, death always returns) start to also become more engaging. Fleshed out? Not exactly, but then again then they should not, cannot be exactly, they must be flexible, morphing, adapting to the scenario. 

Is The Draft! as good as One Cut? Honestly, it’s not as good as the last Indonesian film I can remember seeing, the excellent Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash which was another film I knew nothing of before watching. But eventually, once the story twists into its own territory, it provides a great deal to enjoy.

Visually, it has some nice transitions, but for all its low budget it hasn’t honestly anything near to Sam Raimi’s invention that he displays in The Evil Dead 2 . The Draft! feels like a labour of love and eventually becomes greatly entertaining, but it could have done with finding a way to make the admittedly intentionally generic first quarter of the film a little more inventive while staying true to the (unspoken here) conceit. That said when it comes to horror films, trying to find something that will make you stand out is tough. Genre films are a go-to for a reason, often easily made, cheap and with a ready-made audience who may forgive what things that wouldn't get a pass in a straight up drama. To be fair, The Draft! does find its own niche, even if perhaps with a bit more money it could have done more with the premise. Rgeardless, the way that premise cuts together is smartly done and finally provides a film that, while not the next best cult film you'll see, one worth your time. It's a pleasure to watch and will hopefully provide the filmmaker, Yusron Fuadi, a chance to make more, because with a bit more money he might be able to realise his ideas fully. Here’s hoping.  

The Draft! is streaming on digital platforms from the 27th October. Review screener courtesy of Blue Finch Distribution