Warkop DKI: Setan Kredit (1982) Movie Review, Film Still and Poster

Indonesia 1982
Director: Iksan Lahardi
Cast: Dono, Kasino, Indro, Minati Atmanegara, Lisa Dona, Dian Ariestya, Alicia Djohar
Rating: Dewasa (Adult)
Language: Bahasa Indonesia
VCD Quality: Poor/Decent/Excellent
Release Date: 1982; 18 April 2000 (VCD)
Running Length: 1 hour 27 minutes 25 seconds

The Movie Review

Warkop DKI: Setan Kredit film still 1


WARKOP DKI: SETAN KREDIT ( Credit Demon )
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

There is a reason why most filmmakers stick to one genre in making a movie, in a sense that mixing comedy, action and even supernatural horror into one single movie may not be a good idea if it's not done carefully. Surely that opening sentence refers to Setan Kredit. Setan Kredit or loosely translated as Credit Monster or Credit Demon is the second warkop movie that uses horror in its storyline, and with even bigger portion than in Manusia 6 Juta Dollar (1981). This movie was also directed by the same person who directed IQ Jongkok (1981).

Dono, Kasino and Indro are, again, college students. Indro invites Dono and Kasino to his house. There Indro tells Dono and Kasino about his hobby in amateur radio. After feeling concerned about the increasing crime rate in Jakarta, especially after Dono lost his wallet to a pickpocket, they decide to be an underground law-enforcement agency where they use the amateur radio for their communication media. Their first and biggest mission is to search for a kidnapped girl. However this mission is not as easy and as fun as it looks, particularly when they have to enter a dark forest and meet the Setan Kredit...

Okay, first of all, at the time of its release and a few years after, most Warkop movies were enjoyable, but fellow moviegoers also should realize that some movies simply could not stand the test of time and probably only die-hard fans of those movies who would still like them no matter what. I'm saying this because even though my next lines would seem to criticize Setan Kredit, actually at the time of its release, I actually quite enjoyed it.

Setan Kredit is a daring combination of three genres into one. This film is heavy on the comedy (of course), but it's also weighty in action and even gloomy in supernatural horror. The three of them however, even though seem pretty well interconnected, each still feels to be standing on their own. For example, there is an action scene where Dono is being chased by several people who mistaken him as a bad guy, where this scene is also accompanied by action musical score. And then there is this quite disturbing horror scene where the guys are lost in the dark woods and meet scary creatures from the dark. Comedy still play a big role, but the jokes are feeble and forced too hard to be funny such as in a scene where Dono is being lifted up by wind and almost bump a woman driving her car near Monas (Monumen Nasional or National Monument) and...she is holding a whip and is dressing like a lady in the western era and acts as if she's riding a horse instead of a car.

Personally from all the scenes in Setan Kredit, by putting aside the comedy value, the one that I like the most is when Dono is being lifted up by the wind and the camera takes several aerial shots of Jakarta. This is also a compliment to the great musical score, which is very relaxing and really fun.

If I have to say that the story is pretty intriguing, okay I can give you that, nevertheless intriguing doesn't always mean good. Probably as we growing up and having watched frequently so many different movies, we might not that forgiving anymore to a movie that we used to like. Still though there are some movies that proudly stand the test of time... Unfortunately Setan Kredit does not. You might still like it, if you appreciate the classical value or historical value of Indonesian movies in the dawn of the 80s. Honestly, I like to watch the first half of this movie from time to time just to see how Jakarta looked like back then.