KUALA LUMPUR: American horror fan magazine Fangoria is going into film production, and its debut is a reboot of a less-known 1964 film by Tan Sri P. Ramlee.
Entertainment magazine Variety reported recently that the lost Ramlee film is Sitora Harimau Jadian, and popular veteran actor Wan Hanafi Su will be the main star of the reboot, simply titled Sitora.
Sitora tells the story of a cruel bomoh who conjures a half-man, half-tiger monster to terrorise villagers who disobey him.
Wan Hanafi, 71, is best known for films as Susuk, Bunohan and The Garden Of Evening Mists.
"Sitora exemplifies our mission to celebrate genre filmmaking. We aim to provide a platform on the international stage for horror films rooted in culture and legends to thrive," said Fangoria Studios in a recent press release.
"Fear is universal. When it comes to horror, everyone screams in the same language."
Sitora will be filmed in Malaysia and directed by Los Angeles-based Malaysian filmmaker Diffan Sina Norman whose work has been screened at the Sundance and Rotterdam Film Festivals.
Sitora Harimau Jadian was written and directed by Ramlee who was also its main star. His co-stars were Datuk Mahmud June, Rosmawati, Ali Rahman, Minah Hashim and Fazliyaton.
Ramlee's first directorial project at Studio Merdeka, Ulu Klang, Selangor, it was distributed by Shaw Organisation and premiered on Nov 30, 1964.
Sitora Harimau Jadian was destroyed due to improper storage conditions at Studio Merdeka which is today the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) headquarters.
Fangoria was established in 1979 and is based in Atlanta.