Alas Roban Review: Indonesian Horror Finds Its Way to Pakistan

An Indonesian horror movie about a haunted forest road, dubbed in Urdu, playing at a single cinema in Lahore. That is not a combination you see every week. Alas Roban made over 1.75 million admissions in Indonesia and somehow found its way to Pakistan. I was curious enough to check it out at Universal Emporium.

The short version: the atmosphere is good, the lead actress carries the film, and the Javanese folklore angle gives it something most horror movies lack. But the scares are cheap, the pacing drags, and the dialogue needed another pass. 2.5 out of 5.

What is Alas Roban about?

Sita (Michelle Ziudith) is a single mother traveling with her daughter Gendis (Fara Shakila), who has visual limitations. Their bus breaks down on the Alas Roban route, a road that cuts through a forest steeped in Javanese legend. Locals avoid it. The forest has spirits. You can guess where this goes.

What follows is a night of supernatural terror. Gendis becomes the target of a vengeful spirit, and Sita has to figure out how to perform a ritual to save her. She gets help from Anto (Rio Dewanto), an ambulance driver who knows the local myths, and her cousin Tika (Taskya Namya), who turns out to be the most resourceful person in the film.

The premise is strong. A mother protecting her disabled child in a haunted forest. That should work. And in stretches, it does.

What works

The forest. The cinematography uses the dense foliage and shifting fog to create genuine isolation. You feel trapped with these characters. The practical effects lean into the natural environment rather than relying on CGI, and the result is a horror film that looks more grounded than most.

Michelle Ziudith. This is reportedly her first horror role, and she commits to it. The emotional range she brings to the mother character anchors every scene she is in. When the script gives her something real to react to, she delivers.

Taskya Namya. The standout performance. Her character Tika is rational, brave, and actually does useful things instead of just screaming. Multiple reviews from Indonesia singled her out, and they were right. She carries the second half.

The folklore. The film draws from a real Javanese urban legend about the Alas Roban forest. This gives the supernatural elements a cultural weight that generic horror spirits lack. When a character explains why the forest is dangerous, it does not feel made up.

What does not work

Jump scares. Too many. Too predictable. The film has a genuinely unsettling atmosphere and then undercuts it every ten minutes with a loud noise and a face in the dark. It plays too safe with its horror when the setting calls for something slower and more dread-filled.

The dialogue. Flat. Multiple Indonesian reviewers described it as "dry and messy." The Urdu dub does not help, but the problem starts with the writing. Characters explain things they should not need to explain, and the emotional conversations feel rushed.

Pacing. At 111 minutes, this is too long for the story it tells. Some scenes drag without building tension. Other scenes that should breathe get cut short. The final ritual, which should be the climax, feels rushed compared to the slow middle section.

Sound design. The audio is aggressively loud in places. Not in a way that enhances the horror. In a way that makes you wonder if someone at Universal turned up the wrong dial. A couple of moments had me physically uncomfortable, and not because of the scares.

How does it compare?

For context, here are the ratings from other platforms:

The critical consensus is "atmospheric but formulaic." I agree. The ingredients are there for something better than what we got. The folklore angle and the mother-daughter relationship deserved a script that trusted its audience more and jumped at them less.

In Indonesia, this made 1.75 million admissions. Box office success and quality are not the same thing, but that number tells you the premise resonates.

Should you watch it in Lahore?

If you like horror and want something different from the usual Hollywood fare, Alas Roban is worth a weekday afternoon at Universal Emporium. It is the only cinema in Lahore showing it, with 9 showtimes this week.

The Urdu dub is serviceable. You will follow the story. Some of the emotional nuance gets lost in translation, but horror does not always need perfect dialogue to work.

If you are choosing between horror options this week, Ready or Not: Here I Come at CUE is more fun, and The Curse of the Totem is the newer release. Alas Roban is for the person who has seen those and wants something with a different cultural flavor.

Do not go expecting a great film. Go expecting an interesting one with a strong lead performance and a setting that deserves to be in a better movie.

Cast and crew

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