Key Takeaways:
- Indonesian supernatural folk horror inspired by a Minahasa urban legend from Sulawesi Utara.
- Focuses on Songko, a mysterious black-robed supernatural entity linked to the deaths of young women in a village.
- Set in 1986-era Minahasa, blending village paranoia, supernatural terror and accusations against an innocent family.
- Marks the feature film directorial debut of Gerald Mamahit, previously known as a horror screenwriter.
- Stars Annette Edoarda, Imelda Therinne, Fergie Brittany, Tegar Satrya and Khiva Rayanka.
Plot
Set in the late 1980s in the land of Minahasa, Songko: Kisah Petaka dari Sulawesi follows Mikha and her family as they become caught in a wave of deaths spreading through their village, where young women begin turning up dead under mysterious circumstances, and as fear takes over the community, villagers become convinced that the killings are connected to Songko – a supernatural figure believed to hunt victims and consume their blood.
The panic quickly turns into suspicion when accusations fall on Helsye, Mikha’s stepmother, who is blamed for bringing the creature’s curse upon the village. Forced to leave their home, Mikha and her family become outsiders while the terror continues despite their disappearance.
As Mikha tries to uncover the truth behind Songko, she discovers that the horror surrounding her family may be connected to something much deeper than simple superstition – a mystery involving fear, prejudice and a village desperate to find someone to blame.
Trailer
Cast & Production
Songko: Kisah Petaka dari Sulawesi is an Indonesian supernatural horror mystery directed by Gerald Mamahit and written by Gerald Mamahit, Raihan Umbara and Salsa Wahyudi – the film stars Annette Edoarda as Mikha, Imelda Therinne as Helsye, Fergie Brittany, Tegar Satrya, Khiva Rayanka, Priscilla Raintung, Joshua Bertus, Swarch Watak, Luisa Rawung and Eric Dajoh.
The film is produced by Dunia Mencekam Studio and Rumah Produksi Santara, with much of the production connected to local talent from Minahasa, Manado and Tomohon, and the film was released in Indonesia on 23 April 2026 with a runtime of approximately 108 minutes.
Style and Presentation
Songko: Kisah Petaka dari Sulawesi appears to be leaning into the kind of horror where the supernatural threat is only part of the nightmare – the real danger comes from what fear does to a community.
The idea of a village searching for someone to blame gives the film a different flavour from a straightforward creature feature. The Songko itself is obviously the headline attraction, but the more interesting element is the breakdown of trust as neighbours turn against each other and rumours become more powerful than facts.
The Minahasa setting also gives the film a bit of a distinct identity, placing its horror inside a specific community with its own folklore, history and beliefs – something that immediately separates it from more generic Indonesian ghost stories – and I think there is also an interesting comparison to films like The Wailing, where a supernatural mystery creates fear but the bigger horror comes from uncertainty and people trying to understand something they cannot control, and Songko seems to be exploring a similar idea, where the search for answers may become just as destructive as the entity itself.
Cultural Context
The film draws from a local legend associated with Minahasa and Tomohon in North Sulawesi, bringing a regional story that is less familiar internationally into the spotlight, where it is not simply importing a familiar vampire-style idea into Indonesian horror – the creature is tied to local storytelling traditions, with the legend shaped by fears surrounding blood, beauty, death and the unknown, where the tension between folklore and social paranoia appears to be one of the film’s biggest themes.
Why You Should Watch
It seems the creature itself here is not the only thing that makes this story interesting, as a lot of horror films are about simply surviving a monster, but this one seems just as interested in what happens when an entire village loses its sense of reason, appearing to focus heavily on accusation, fear and the damage caused when people decide they already know who is responsible.
Indonesian horror has also explored Java, Jakarta and other familiar locations many times, so seeing a story rooted in Minahasa folklore gives this film a chance to introduce audiences to a part of Indonesian mythology that has rarely appeared on the big screen.
Check out some more Indonesian horror movies.
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