From Pee Mak to Kang Mak: Cultural translation and narrative transformation in Southeast Asian film adaptation

Transnational film remakes in Southeast Asia offer a rich site for comparative literature and intermedial studies, yet how deeply rooted cultural-religious systems are negotiated across national borders remains under-researched. This study analyzes the cultural translation and narrative transformation in the adaptation of the Thai horror-comedy Pee Mak Phrakanong (2013) into the Indonesian remake Kang Mak (2024). Using an intermedial comparative literature approach, the study combines Linda Hutcheon’s theory of adaptation with Lawrence Venuti’s distinction between domestication and foreignization, and applies a qualitative textual-visual analysis of both films. The analysis shows that the remake domesticates the setting into a vintage Indonesian rural context, transposes Buddhist-animist protection into Islamic-traditional spiritual frameworks, and reshapes the folkloric ghost into a kuntilanak-like figure, while retaining the core narrative structure and the theme of love that transcends death. Its humor is hybridized with Indonesian comedic traditions and star images. The study recommends that comparative literature curricula include regional intermedial adaptations to foster transnational cultural literacy.