Indonesian zombie horror The Elixir (Abadi Nan Jaya) is about a herbal medication gone wrong. It’s predictable, but also entertaining and slightly funny (or is it just me?!). Kenes and Rudi’s marriage was on the brink; he had cheated on her, and they didn’t think they could make it work anymore. They’d come to the decision that before they officially went their separate ways, Kenes must convince her father to sell his herbal company, ‘Wani Waras.’ The money would allow Kenes to rebuild her life from scratch with her son, Raihan. Since Rudi had also been a part of the business, he believed he deserved his share himself, especially since things could get complicated after the divorce. Her father too had decided to retire, and it was assumed that he wouldn’t object to selling the company. But the meeting didn’t go as they’d anticipated.
Spoiler Alert
What resulted in the zombie outbreak?
Kenes’ father, Sadimin, had been thinking about ways to boost sales, and he’d come to realize that they needed a revolutionary product, so he proposed the idea of an age-reversal drug. He tried the sample before going to shower, and by the time he saw his face in the washroom mirror, he realized that the formulation had worked. His gray hair was gone, his wrinkles had disappeared, and he had a youthful glow. His wife, Karina, was astonished; despite their significant age difference, the drug made him appear only a few years older than she was. Kenes and Rudi were shocked to see the old man’s new look. Kenes wondered if he’d gotten a makeover, and eventually her father revealed to his family that he’d taken a drug that had brought back his youth. He didn’t think that accepting the offer made by Nusa Pharma would drastically change the state of his second-rate company. But he believed that if they started selling the youth potions, then they would soon cross all their targets, which meant that he wasn’t yet ready to sell the company. Karina was stunned when he announced that he wouldn’t retire. She’d hoped that after the retirement they would get to spend more time together, but clearly that was not his priority. Kenes protested, stating that his sudden decision would significantly affect her life, but her father didn’t care. Instead, he hinted that she was responsible for her husband’s infidelity. The conversation turned into an argument, and Sadimin accused his children of being greedy and never being respectful of him.
Soon, Sadimin’s health started to deteriorate; his veins became prominent, and he threw up blood. Just as his children and wife were thinking of ways to take him to a hospital, Sadimin woke up. He was no longer a human being; he’d turned into a bloodthirsty creature, and he attempted to attack those around him. He’d already wounded his driver (Mr. Aris) and his house help (Pardi), and he soon grabbed hold of his son, Bambang. He tried to push his father away, but Sadimin had become extremely powerful, and he was driven by his thirst for blood. With no option at hand, Bambang ended up shooting his father in the head with a dart gun toy. He immediately felt guilty, but he didn’t really know what else to do. The family didn’t realize that the potion had turned Sadimin into a zombie, so whoever he’d bitten would also turn into one. Rudi asked Aris to drive to the village chief, say that there had been an accident, and get the police to their house as soon as possible. But Aris had already started to turn, and by the time he’d reached the village chief’s house, he’d transformed into a zombie, and he attacked the village chief when he’d come near the car to speak to him.
Did the family manage to escape?
At home, Pardi had become unstoppable; he chewed off a portion of Imah’s (another helper) arm. Bambang felt overwhelmed by the situation, and he chose to distance himself from the rest and process his emotions in his car. Kenes followed him, and she tried to help him navigate his feelings when they suddenly noticed that Suji (a helper) had transformed and she had turned vengeful. Kenes got back in the car and ended up running over Suji, but that wasn’t enough to completely destroy her. Meanwhile, Pardi followed Rudi, Karina, Raihan, and Mbok Sum (the cook), until Karina managed to stab him with a pitchfork. They thought they would find help at the village chief’s house, but as soon as they arrived there, they realized they were in trouble. There was an event at the village chief’s house, so dozens of guests had turned into zombies! As was expected, Mbok Sum became the target of the zombies. Rudi, Karina, and Raihan managed to enter the house and lock themselves in. Rudi had contacted Kenes and asked her and Bambang to meet them at the Village Chief’s house. Since they were locked inside, Kenes couldn’t spot them, and she started to honk repeatedly. The zombies were sensitive to sound, and they immediately started to gather around the car.
Rudi and Karina thought it was the perfect opportunity to escape from the Village Chief’s house, because clearly it wasn’t the safest place to be. Soon after they managed to walk a few steps away from the house, the zombies started following them. They had no choice but to enter a nearby house, and while Karina and Raihan stayed inside, Rudi tried to fight off the zombie that had followed him. The only way to kill the zombies was by shooting them in the head, and while Rudi managed to tackle them, he got bitten in the process. Although it was heartbreaking, Rudi knew that he had to distance himself from Raihan for the sake of his son’s safety. Before walking away, he wanted his son to know that even though he and Kenes had been fighting lately, he would forever love her and Raihan with all his heart. He asked his son to look after his mother when he was gone, and while Raihan was old enough to realize that his father was about to turn into one of the monsters they’d been running from, it was a lot for him to process. Rudi turned even before he could walk out of the house, and he ended up attacking Karina and Raihan. While chasing them, Rudi ran into a sharp pole, and he couldn’t move anymore.
Did Kenes reunite with Raihan?
Kenes and Bambang managed to make it to the nearest police station. The cops underestimated the threat; they tried to stop the raging zombie crowd and ended up getting devoured by them. Only one of the officers managed to make it back to the station where Kenes and Bambang had taken shelter. The officer who returned from the attack instructed Officer Rahman to lock up all the doors and windows. Bambang noticed that the officer had been bitten, and as soon as he turned, he shot the officer. Rahman didn’t comprehend what was going on; he accused Bambang of murdering his senior, but soon enough the officer/zombie was back, and this time Rahman faced his wrath. They ended up locking him in the lockup, and they tried to come up with a plan to reunite Kenes and Raihan. Rahman realized that the zombies could be temporarily controlled with sound, so he proposed that they distract the zombies with fireworks and run to his motorbike that was parked just a few steps away from the station, to then drive to Ningsih’s house, where Karina and Raihan were staying. Ningsih was Rahman’s girlfriend, and she was the only one at the village chief’s gathering who’d managed to escape from the zombies. While the plan seemed simple enough to execute, they were dealing with unpredictable bloodthirsty zombies, so nothing really could be foolproof.
Although they temporarily managed to distract the zombies with the sound of fireworks, it wasn’t enough time for them to walk up to the motorbike. They were soon attacked by the zombies from all sides, but they held on to the riot shields that they were carrying for protection, and they shot as many zombies as they could. Things changed for the better when it started to rain. The zombies were distracted, and they couldn’t move. Kenes, Rahman, and Bambang used the situation to their advantage, but as soon as the rain stopped, the attack began. Kenes managed to climb into a van while Rahman and Bambang went back to the police station. Meanwhile, Karina and Ningsih realized they weren’t safe as long as they were inside the house because the zombies had started to gather outside in large numbers. The rain helped them escape on Ningsih’s bike. Kenes tried to drive the van, but the engine gave out. She felt helpless when, to her surprise, she noticed Karina, Ningsih, and Raihan on a motorbike. Bambang and Rahman distracted the zombies with fireworks. As the zombies walked away, Kenes finally got off the van and ran to her son. Raihan and Kenes were finally reunited.
Did Ningsih and Rahman die?
Karina, Ningsih, Kenes, and Raihan got in the van, and the zombies were desperately trying to find a way into the vehicle. While Karina didn’t know how to drive a manual, Kenes begged her to focus and just drive. Karina succeeded, though just running a vehicle over hundreds of zombies was a new experience altogether. The plan was to drive to the station, but Karina failed to stop the van on time, and they ended up crashing into the station. Bambang’s leg got stuck under the van, and even though they tried to pull it out, it seemed impossible. Immediately after the crash, the zombies started to flood the station, and there was no way to contain them. Rahman started to shoot them down, while Ningsih stood behind him. She hadn’t noticed that there was a zombie locked in the police cell, and it ended up taking a bite of her arm. While Rahman shot the zombie, it was already too late. She was running out of time, so Rahman quickly decided that he would stand by her until the very end. He used his handgun to shoot the zombies that approached them. Soon, more and more zombies huddled around them and fed on their blood and flesh.
During The Elixir’s ending, Rahman pulled out the ring he’d been carrying to propose to Ningsih; they knew that it was all over, but before they turned into heartless, bloodthirsty creatures, they chose to seal their love in marriage.
What happened to Bambang?
Bambang accepted his fate. He’d never worked a day in his life, though all the hours he’d dedicated to video games came in handy during the zombie apocalypse. He knew that he’d never been a good son or a doting brother, so he believed the present was his chance to do something for his family that was truly a matter of life and death. He begged Kenes, Raihan, and Karina to leave while he held onto a firework that attracted the zombies to him. He’d noticed that the fuel tank of the van was leaking, and blowing the place up was the only way to completely put an end to the madness. Karina, Kenes, and Raihan managed to walk out of the station before it blew up. They assumed that the threat had been dealt with.
Why did Kenes shoot herself?
Just as they were about to get on a motorbike parked outside the station, Kenes noticed the bite mark on her arm. She chose to put on a brave face and tell her son that she couldn’t join him and Karina for now, but as soon as she got better, she would come find them. After everything that Raihan had witnessed, he knew what that meant, and he wasn’t ready to part ways with his mother. He hugged her tight and begged her to stay. Kenes was devastated, but she didn’t have a choice; she didn’t intend on becoming a threat to her own son. Before leaving, Kenes asked Karina to take her son somewhere far away and give him a good life. Karina promised to do so. Karina and Kenes used to be childhood best friends, but that was before Karina married Sadimin. Kenes couldn’t accept the marriage between her father and her best friend. She thought Karina always had an ulterior motive—she wanted to inherit all her father’s wealth. Karina had tried to explain that she loved Sadimin, but it wasn’t something Kenes could ever come to terms with. She had caught them in an intimate position after her mother passed away, and the image left her scarred for life. While she had enough reasons to despise Karina, she had all the more reasons to love her. Karina proved that she was a reliable friend, and she protected Raihan like her own son. After everything that they’d been through, Kenes realized that Karina didn’t deserve her hate. She knew that the only person she could rely on to keep her son safe was Karina, and in the end it seemed that had always been their destiny.
In The Elixir’s ending, Kenes held a firework to distract the zombies while her son and Karina left on the motorbike. When the zombies approached her, Kenes held a gun next to her head and pulled the trigger. She chose death over being turned into a monstrous creature.
What Happens In The Post-Credits Scene?
The blast at the police station didn’t kill all the zombies, and as soon as they run out of flesh and blood to devour, they will approach the neighboring villages. The post-credit scene of The Elixir also suggests that the zombie apocalypse will not only take the suburbs by storm but also have an immediate effect on the posh gated societies of Jakarta. Mrs. Grace (possibly an investor/loyal customer) was also sent a sample of ‘the elixir,’ and soon after consuming it, she noticed that her gray hairs and wrinkles were gone. Her husband was stunned, and they celebrated the radical innovation, but we all know how that celebration is going to end! Grace’s husband had mentioned that they were about to go to the airport, hinting that the zombie outbreak will not be confined only to Indonesia but will likely spread all over the world, leading to a global zombie apocalypse. Even if they transform into zombies before reaching the airport, there is no guarantee that it will only be a problem that Indonesia will have to deal with alone. Maybe they’ll bite someone who is about to enter the airport, they might just board an international flight, and tada, it’s a global problem!
In The Elixir’s ending, Kenes had advised Karina to go somewhere far away, but she will likely stop by in Jakarta and try to find a way to get access to her husband’s wealth before moving abroad. She is oblivious to the fact that the zombies are going to soon take over Jakarta. Considering the city is also going to come to a standstill, it’s almost impossible to expect that Karina and Raihan will somehow manage to survive it all. The suburbs might have been safer, but considering they had no clue about the potential outbreak in the city, they will possibly not even consider staying back. Karina can also assist the authorities to contain the zombies, but given how rapidly they can spread, the future looks bleak. But every zombie apocalypse film always has survivors, and perhaps Karina and Raihan will spend most of their lives fighting the zombies. Or, they might just be weighed down by the emotional toll of the apocalypse and eventually give up, realizing that there was no true escape from the madness. And last but not the least, we still don’t know much about the zombie virus, so if there’s a sequel to the film, it can be possible that it will shed light on the nature of the virus so that humanity can develop an antidote for it. By now we know that rain seems to have a peculiar effect on zombies, so maybe humans will use water cannons/similar solutions to distract the zombies until they figure out a long-term plan.
