There are a
lot of strange ghost stories in South East Asia and one of my personal favorites involves a woman whose head can separate from her body and fly - with entrails dangling beneath - as it goes is search of food, newborn babies being a particular favorite. This particular monstrosity goes by a few different names in different areas but in Malaysia it is known as the
Penanggal and it is the subject of an upcoming film.
A naïve girl inadvertently inherits the penanggal curse from her
guardian and wants desperately to be rid of it, until she starts tasting
the power the penanggal accords to her, an otherwise ugly and simple
girl with no chance at love or power in her life.
Fresh off an international festival run - a rarity for commercially minded Malaysian films -
Penanggal is now coming up to its theatrical release. Check out the trailer below.