Jurnal Risa (2024): When Indonesia’s Queen of Horror Turns Found Footage

Indonesia’s horror scene is booming, and one name that stands tall among local horror fans is Risa Saraswati. Known for her paranormal books and ghost-hunting YouTube channel, Risa takes a daring leap into cinema with Jurnal Risa (2024) — a found footage horror film that feels personal, raw, and genuinely unsettling. If you're a fan of spooky documentaries and ghost investigations, this is a must-watch.

📖 Quick Synopsis

The film follows Risa Saraswati herself, alongside her team of ghost hunters, as they document a late-night investigation inside an old colonial-era house with a dark past. What starts as a routine exploration for her YouTube content slowly turns nightmarish when the team encounters entities far more aggressive than expected. The deeper they go, the more sinister the disturbances become — with events escalating beyond anything they've previously experienced. The entire film is presented in the found footage format, mimicking real ghost investigation vlogs but with a terrifying twist.

🎥 Why Jurnal Risa is Worth Your Attention

🗺️ Location

The film was shot in an authentic abandoned colonial house in West Java, Indonesia. The decaying walls, high ceilings, vintage furniture, and dimly lit rooms instantly set an eerie atmosphere. It’s the kind of place that naturally looks haunted even in daylight, making it the perfect horror film location.

📹 Camera Work

Jurnal Risa fully commits to the found footage aesthetic. Shaky handheld shots, sudden pans, and moments of total darkness create a sense of unease throughout. The film also uses night vision mode effectively during key scenes, which gives those classic grainy green visuals we all love from ghost-hunting shows. Some moments are so realistic you might forget you’re watching fiction.

🌫️ Atmosphere

The film thrives on its oppressive, claustrophobic tension. There’s no background score — just the eerie ambient sounds of creaking wood, distant knocks, and disembodied whispers. Risa’s authentic reactions and interactions with her team make the danger feel immediate and believable. It’s one of those horror films where you start glancing behind you halfway through.

🔍 Fun Facts

• The movie’s events are loosely inspired by Risa’s real-life ghost investigations.
• Several scenes feature actual paranormal occurrences captured on set, according to the cast’s interviews.
• This is the first official found footage-style horror film produced by a local YouTube personality in Indonesia that made it to mainstream cinema.

🎞️ Official Poster

Source: Jurnal Risa Official YouTube

▶️ Watch the Official Trailer

📺 Where to Watch Jurnal Risa

The film is currently available for streaming on:

• Bioskop Online
• Local cinemas across Indonesia (Check listings via CGV or Cineplex 21)

And of course, Risa continues to share bonus clips and behind-the-scenes content on her official YouTube channel.

✍️ My Thoughts

As a long-time fan of both found footage horror and Risa Saraswati’s ghost stories, Jurnal Risa delivered exactly what I was hoping for — a raw, immersive, and skin-crawlingly eerie experience. What makes it stand out is the blending of fiction with Risa’s actual persona and ghost-hunting team, which adds a layer of authenticity you rarely get in horror films.

The scares are not cheap jump scares. Instead, they come from subtle disturbances, ghostly figures lurking in the background, and the uneasy atmosphere of being in a place you know you shouldn’t be. This is Indonesian horror done right — minimalistic, atmospheric, and deeply rooted in local supernatural folklore.

If you're someone who enjoyed films like Grave Encounters or Noroi: The Curse, this is one Indonesian entry you should definitely check out. It’s a fresh, locally flavored take on the found footage genre that proves Indonesia’s horror scene can hang with the best of them.