New Joko Anwar Horror Film Traps Prisoners With a Murderous Supernatural Force

Joko Anwar returns to the horror genre with a dark and atmospheric story that takes the traditional haunted-house setting and places it somewhere considerably more dangerous: a high-security prison controlled by violent gangs, corruption and an increasingly terrifying supernatural presence.

The upcoming Indonesian horror film follows a group of prisoners who are forced to put their rivalries aside when a series of gruesome murders begins spreading through the facility. As the bodies pile up, they discover that their enemy may be something no prison walls can contain.

The Plot

A high-security prison is already a brutal place, divided between feuding gangs and a tyrannical warden who maintains control through fear.

But everything changes when a new inmate arrives.

Not long after his arrival, a series of mysterious and gruesome murders begins. The victims are left on disturbing display, creating panic throughout the prison and leaving the inmates desperate for answers.

At first, suspicion naturally falls on the prisoners themselves. Yet as the killings continue, it becomes increasingly clear that something much more sinister is operating inside the prison.

The inmates eventually realize they may have to put their longstanding rivalries aside and work together to uncover the identity of their invisible enemy.

Unfortunately, their investigation leads them toward an even more frightening possibility.

A ghost is roaming the prison—and it has murderous intentions.

With nowhere to run and the prison cells effectively becoming cages, the inmates must confront an otherworldly force that appears impossible to escape.

A Prison Horror Story With a Supernatural Twist

The prison setting gives the film a particularly claustrophobic foundation. Unlike a traditional haunted house, the characters cannot simply leave when the supernatural activity begins.

Every corridor, cell and locked door can become a potential trap.

The story also creates an interesting conflict between human violence and supernatural horror. These prisoners are already accustomed to surviving against one another, but their experience with physical violence may be useless against an enemy they cannot see or understand.

That forces former enemies to cooperate if they want to survive.

Joko Anwar Directs

Joko Anwar serves as director and writer, bringing his distinctive approach to Indonesian horror to the project.

Anwar has established himself as one of Indonesia’s leading genre filmmakers, and this new film provides him with an opportunity to combine prison thriller elements, gang conflict, gruesome murders and supernatural horror within one contained setting.

The result promises to be an intense and potentially very unsettling addition to the Indonesian horror landscape.

Cast

The film features:

• Abimana Aryasatya as Anggoro
• Almanzo Konoralma
• Aming Sugandhi
• Arswendy Bening Swara
• Bront Palarae as Jefry
• Dimas Danang Suryonegoro as Irfan

What to Expect

With its combination of prison violence, gang warfare, mysterious murders and a vengeful ghost, the film looks to offer a particularly confined brand of supernatural terror.

The central mystery surrounding the murders should also give the story a strong investigative component, as the prisoners attempt to determine what—or who—is responsible before they become the next victims.

But in a place where escape is already nearly impossible, discovering that the killer may not even be human makes survival considerably more difficult.

A Chilling New Horror Experience

Joko Anwar’s latest project appears to blend the brutal atmosphere of a prison thriller with the supernatural dread of a traditional ghost story.

There is nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, and no guarantee that the person standing beside you is the greatest danger in the room.

As the prison descends further into chaos, its inmates will have to confront something far more terrifying than each other.

The ghost is already inside.

In Theatres October 2