KL-based ZAG Studios collaborates with Mediacorp for eerie podcast adaptations of 'Pontianak' and 'Samsara'
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Horror enthusiasts rejoice as local award-winning podcast company ZAG Studios has come up with two new horror audio series titles Samsara and Pontianak.
The special series is in collaboration with Singapore’s media network Mediacorp and it will be part of their After Dark podcast
The first title, Samsara is an adaptation from AETN’s TV show My Ghost Stories Asia which marks the first time a TV series is being adapted into a podcast in Southeast Asia.
The miniseries is being reimagined into a four part story, approximately 15-minutes each, which was written by Wong Jo-Yen and directed by Terence Toh.
It features Malaysian-Singaporean characters bound together by tragic circumstances and will give listeners a thrilling take on the Buddhist concept of samsara.
Meanwhile, Pontianak is a two-episode series written by author Tina Ishak and was adapted from a published short story of the same name.
With a runtime of around 30 minutes for both episodes, Pontianak follows the story of a Singaporean who met a beautiful woman at a serene village in Malaysia but quickly realises something was not right.
Pontianak is directed by Fattah Fawzy.
Both the titles promise listeners a dynamic cultural interplay and supernatural mystery fit for local horror junkies.
According to ZAG Studios founder Matt Durai, partnering up with Mediacorp has been terrific. He applauded the company for being ahead of the curve in the digital media landscape.
“In a media landscape being disrupted from all angles, producers and platforms need to be ultra-creative and do more with less and adaptations are a fundamental piece of the puzzle,” he said.
Both Pontianak and Samsara are now available to stream via the After Dark podcast series on Spotify.