[CINEPOCALYPSE 2018] ‘SATAN’S SLAVES’ Review

I’m not very familiar with Indonesian cinema. I’ve seen Gareth Evans’ work and the Mo Brothers’ as well, but to my knowledge that’s about it. From what I can tell by looking at writer/director Joko Anwar’s filmography, he’s dabbled with horror elements in the past but never with that Asian favorite of ghosts. Satan’s Slaves is a same-titled remake of what I’ve heard described as Indonesian Phantasm. That sounds killer, and I need to see that now. Although they do seem to share a similar premise and idea, Anwar’s is nothing like Phantasm or, from what I’ve gathered, is drastically different than the 1982 original. Until the last 20 minutes or so, this is pretty purely a haunted house film.

Like so many others, I grew tired of the long-haired Asian ghost explosion of the early 2000’s, but there was something nostalgic about this movie. I was able to feel fear and tension from something that I hadn’t in at least 10 years. This was a passion project for Anwar, and the love shows in the craft. The story is fairly simple in that a family is dealing with the passing of their matriarch from an unnamed illness. After strange occurrences and haunting nightmares, the daughter Rini (Tara Basaro) begins to look into their family history and uncovers dark secrets and ties to a cult. Things spiral out of control and leads to a crazy climax. This isn’t really all about the story, it’s about atmosphere.

Anwar’s a stylish director, and has a full grasp on exactly how to build tension and telegraph a scare that still works. Jump scares, for me, have to be either out of nowhere surprises or well established bits that defy the standard. Anwar managed to pull off both on me at least once. The movie looks fantastic, by the way. The cinematography, the lighting, the camera movement and timing — all of this adds up to an effectively creepy flick. The sound design is particularly effective, with a Darth Vader-like breathing from the ghost, as well as a small service bell ringing that indicates danger is near. Scares are punctuated with a thunderous boom that is overwrought but somehow still works. I think the movie owes a lot to James Wan’s style of horror, and it would surprise me if Anwar isn’t a big admirer.

This was the highest grossing horror film of all time in Indonesia, and their top grosser for 2017 overall as well. While I wasn’t very impressed with the story or the characters in terms of originality — the oddly translated subtitles occasionally didn’t help — but the climax gets wild enough to ultimately win me over. There is also a brutal scene that left me breathless, which I won’t divulge further information on. Wait for the surprise. My takeaway most importantly was that this is the full birth of a great horror director, one who earns his scares rather than cheaply stealing them, and I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

Good news! In addition to playing at Cinepocalypse 2018, CJ Entertainment has North American distribution rights and we should hopefully see a release sometime later this year!