Indonesian Horror Has Been Building Toward Something Like This For Years
Satan's Slaves (Pengabdi Setan) is a 2022 Indonesian horror film directed by Joko Anwar. It arrived as a sequel to the 2017 film, but it actually works fine if you haven't seen the first one. The story follows siblings who return to their family home after receiving news about their mother. What they encounter is not your typical possession narrative. The film draws heavily from Javanese folk horror traditions and blends them with family drama in a way that feels grounded rather than theatrical. When I first watched this, I noticed something most casual viewers probably missed. Joko Anwar uses long static shots in quiet moments, then hits you with extremely fast editing during the scary sequences. It creates a rhythm that keeps you off balance. Most Western horror directors rely on jump scare timing built around a rising musical sting. Anwar instead builds dread through atmosphere and domestic spaces that gradually feel wrong. The house itself becomes a character, and the camera rarely leaves it. This approach costs very little in special effects budget but pays off significantly in tension. One thing beginners in the genre often misunderstand about this film is that the horror elements are not just shock value. The possession sequences and supernatural events are tied directly to the family history and cultural background. Each horror beat has a narrative purpose. If you go in expecting random scares, you will leave disappointed. The film earns its scares because it takes the family dynamics seriously before it introduces any supernatural complications.
I ran into an issue when trying to explain certain cultural references to friends who are not familiar with Indonesian folklore. Things like the konsep of genderuwo and the spiritual hierarchy in Javanese tradition are assumed knowledge here. My workaround was simple: I stopped trying to summarize every reference and instead pointed people toward short video essays by Indonesian film critics on YouTube. A few minutes of context from someone who actually grew up with these stories goes further than any English summary I could write. The practical effects work deserves specific mention. Some of the body horror sequences were done in camera, not through CGI. That decision shows in the weight and texture of the creatures on screen. You can see actual fabric movement, real lighting interactions, and physical performances from the actors underneath the prosthetics. Compare that to modern Hollywood horror where everything gets a digital polish and it looks like plastic. The film's production team spent time getting the practical elements right, and it shows. There are legitimate reasons this film will not work for everyone. The pacing in the middle act drags noticeably. A scene involving a possessed dog ran about forty seconds longer than it needed to, and I timed it because I was checking my phone. The gore is not extreme by contemporary standards, so if you are looking for something that pushes boundaries in that direction, this is not it. Also, the sequel setup at the end felt somewhat rushed, and I have heard from people in the theater that portions of the audience walked out during those final minutes.
If you do end up watching this, watch it with sound properly set up. The audio mixing does a lot of heavy lifting. There are Infrasound-level low frequencies mixed into the score during key scenes, and most laptop speakers or phone audio will completely miss those. A basic stereo system or headphones will make the difference noticeable. I compared watching on earbuds versus a proper set of speakers, and the second viewing hit different entirely because of the sound design alone. The film's approach to genre blending is worth noting more closely. It operates as a family drama, a supernatural horror, and a cultural folklore piece all at once without fully committing to any single lane. This is why some reviewers call it a genre-bender, but the term feels insufficient. What Anwar is really doing is using horror as the vehicle to explore grief, sibling rivalry, and colonial trauma in Indonesian history. The supernatural elements are the language, not the message. Satan's Slaves is available on various streaming platforms depending on your region. It is listed on some major services but rotated frequently. If you cannot find it, the DVD/Blu-ray release from well-distributed Indonesian horror labels tends to have better bonus content than the streaming cuts, including commentary tracks from the crew. Skip the theatrical trailer if you want a real sense of the film. The marketing cut is deliberately misleading and frames the movie as something much more generic than it actually is.
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I should also mention that a second sequel, Satan's Slaves 2: Birth of the Living Dead, came out in 2024. It expands the universe but does not match the tightness of the first sequel. The acting weakens slightly, and the runtime balloons to over two hours. If you enjoy the first film enough to continue, this one is watchable. Just do not expect the same precision. What makes this film stand out in the current horror landscape is that it treats its audience with intelligence while still delivering genuine scares. Most horror cinema today assumes viewers want constant stimulation. Anwar trusts you to sit with discomfort. That restraint is what separates competent genre filmmaking from something that actually lingers with you after the credits roll. The practical effects, cultural specificity, and emotional core combine into a package that few other regional horror cinemas can match right now.
