Saagar Kote
Directed by Kimo Stamboel, Netflix’s ‘The Elixir’ or ‘Abadi Nan Jaya’ is an Indonesian zombie horror film set in a peaceful countryside village. The movie centers on a family struggling for survival amidst a zombie outbreak. The chaos begins when Dimin, the head of Wani Waras Herbal Company, launches a new herbal product, “Abadi Nan Jaya,” with disastrous consequences. The family faces both external threats and internal strife. Dimin’s second wife, Karina, and his daughter, Kenes, are dealing with emotional difficulties.
Kenes’s husband, Rudi, and their son, Raihan, live with her as the company hopes for a turnaround. Meanwhile, Dimin’s son, Bambang, grapples with the growing distance among his family members. As relationships falter and risky business decisions lead to catastrophe, the zombie apocalypse forces the family to fight for their lives. The Wani Waras Herbal Company and its product, called Abadi Nan Jaya, both play important and complex roles in the storyline and main character arcs. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Wani Waras Herbal is a Fading Business Facing Competition
Written by the aforementioned director along with Khalid Kashogi and Agasyah Karim, the film is a fictional tale of a zombie outbreak. Although the Wani Waras Herbal Company is a fictional entity, it reflects the extent to which businesses go to survive. It is established by the narrative that Wani Waras, headed by Dimin, is facing losses and also encountering stiff competition from Nusa Farma, a larger company looking to acquire it. The company reflects the reality of smaller businesses dealing with corporate takeover and scare tactics. Out of desperation and a will to survive, Dimin bets on a new drug that will most likely prevent the company from being acquired. He reveals an elixir-like product, named “Abadi Nan Jaya,” guaranteeing youthfulness.
However, this turns out to be a dangerous drug that leads to the outbreak of the zombie virus. A 2025 report claims that the Indonesian government is supporting the growth of natural medicines in the country. This also includes herbal medicines and remedies. The popularity of the traditional medical sector in Indonesia is reflected in the competition between Nusa Farma and Wani Waras in the narrative. To date, Indonesia boasts a registration of 23,576 natural medicines. This total includes 77 standardized herbal medicines and 20 phytopharmaceuticals.
A hostile takeover occurs when one entity gains control of a company despite the existing management’s objections. It works against ethical considerations and even goes against fair competition. But, in reality, such takeovers are difficulties that vulnerable businesses are forced to deal with. This is the strategy that Nusa Farma is seemingly using against Wani Waras in order to gain advantages in the industry. Although the narrative deals with supernatural elements like zombie attacks and drugs transforming people into monsters, Wani Waras and the way it deals with business problems reflect the difficult realities of the corporate world.
Abadi Nan Jaya is a Destructive Miracle Drug
Though Abadi Nan Jaya is a fictional medical product, it leads to fear, death, and destruction in the narrative. It starts as a sincere effort from Wani Waras to somehow make a breakthrough in the market, but it ends up becoming their pharmaceutical company’s biggest mistake. Though the product isn’t launched by Wani Waras, the samples are sent out for direct human use. When Dimin consumes it to become youthful again, he unexpectedly becomes a Zombie in a matter of minutes. Since the narrative looks at supernatural elements, there is no actual connection to reality in this particular context. However, the drug symbolically represents human evil through the use of the zombie image. It becomes a vehicle to take human beings from a state of stability to chaos.
It indirectly looks at how dangerous drugs can actually impact the human mind and even cause people to forget who they truly are. This, in a way, reflects the real drug problems faced by Indonesia. Reportedly, around 3.3 million Indonesians are challenged by drug addiction, which is taken advantage of by crime syndicates. In the country, the cost of drug smuggling has also skyrocketed. It has also been observed that plantation and mining workers in the country are led towards drugs like methamphetamine because they assume it makes them more energetic. Though the zombie drug in the case of the narrative doesn’t have any real-life parallels, it offers a kind of commentary on such phenomena that affect common people negatively.
Reportedly, a rather disturbing trend was seen in the US when the drug known as “tranq” wreaked havoc in the streets. It is an animal tranquilizer, xylazine, mixed with fentanyl, which was dubbed the “Zombie Drug,” due to its ability to create a zombie-like trance in those who use it. Though it was originally meant for use on animals, it was used by people, which led to unexpected and dangerous situations. Thus, Abadi Nan Jaya symbolizes such social realities, while also dealing with supernatural elements.
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