5 Best Indonesian Horror Movies

Indonesia’s film industry has been growing rapidly in the past decade, producing numerous high-quality movies of many genres—drama, comedy, action, thriller, horror, and others.

Of all these genres, it is no more doubted that the horror genre has been one of the most identical genres when it comes to Indonesian movies.

Horror movies have been filling Indonesian cinemas since the 1930s, initiated by the first film entitled Doea Siloeman Oeler Poeti en Item.

With the enhancement of cinematographic technologies, the quality of horror movies are then developing drastically especially during the recent years.

Many have won various awards, and the society has continued to increasingly admit the quality of these films.

Among all these sophisticated ones, here is the list of five best Indonesian horror movies that you should try watching.

1. Satan’s Slaves (Pengabdi Setan)

Satan’s Slaves is certainly worthy to climb the top of this list for its brilliant achievements.

Directed by Joko Anwar, one of the most prominent movie directors in modern Indonesian film industry, this 2017 Indonesian horror movie is said to be the most viewed horror movie of all times, holding the sixth position out of all other genres.

With Tara Basro as one of the main casts, Satan’s Slaves has been watched by approximately 4.2 million people.

It has also been released in 42 other countries comprising Malaysia, Singapore, and United States, making it one of the most watched Indonesian movies worldwide.

This horror film tells a story about a poor family who was haunted by their mother’s death from a strange illness.

The film has managed to achieve numerous awards, which includes the Indonesian Box Office Movie Awards and Toronto After Dark Film Festival.

Following its success, the production house, Rapi Films, has announced that they are planning to release a sequel to the film, where the production is scheduled to begin in 2019.

2. Danur: I Can See Ghosts

Another must-watch Indonesian horror movie is Danur.

This movie is an amazing outcome from the director Awi Suryadi, with Prilly Latuconsina, one of the most popular Indonesian actresses, as the main cast.

With a total viewer of 2.7 million, Danur was mentioned to be the first ever Indonesian film to reach more than two million audience, grabbing the 13th position in the list of the most viewed Indonesian films of all times.

Adapted from a best-selling novel of the same title, the movie follows the life of Risa, a girl coming from a wealthy family who possesses the ability to see ghosts.

The quality of the film has been admitted through various nominations, and Danur also won the Top 10 Box Office Movie of 2017 in Indonesian Box Office Movie Awards.

Two sequels following the first movie have been released, all managed to attract more than two million people.

3. May the Devil Take You (Sebelum Iblis Menjemput) 

This Indonesian horror movie is also a very popular one with numerous achievements.

Directed by Timo Tjahjanto, May the Devil Take You was released in 2018 with Chelsea Islan, who often plays in best Indonesian romance movies, and Pevita Pearce as the main casts.

Also among the most viewed Indonesian film list, this movie managed to attract 1.1 million viewers. The film then went international through the Netflix platform.

The movie follows the story of Alfie, whose father suffered from a mysterious illness as a result of the pact he made with the Devil.

This movie was positively rated 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, claiming its high quality to the society.

The sequel to this movie has just been released in early 2020, and has successfully attracted 81 thousand viewers on the first day of its release.

4. Suzzanna: Buried Alive (Suzzanna: Bernapas dalam Kubur)

Next on the list is Suzzanna, a 2018 production directed by Rocky Soraya and Anggy Umbara.

Starring Luna Maya and Herjunot Ali, one of the most popular Indonesian actors, as the main casts, this film is a remake of the 1981 film entitled Sundel Bolong, and was successfully accepted and praised by the total of 3.3 million viewers.

Also released internationally through Netflix, the film has then reached the 10th position of the most viewed Indonesian films of all times.

The story of the film follows the marriage journey of Suzzanna and Satria, who had just been blessed with a pregnancy.

Unfortunately, Suzzanna was attacked by four workers and was buried—yet the plot twisted when Suzzanna came back living the next day.

This movie has successfully won many awards like the Indonesian Movie Actors Award and Maya Award.

5. Impetigore (Perempuan Tanah Jahanam)

This other film by Joko Anwar should certainly not be opted out from this list of best Indonesian horror movies.

Produced in 2019, Impetigore was successfully played by the main cast Tara Basro, and has received a total of more than 1.7 million viewers following its release. The film was also published in Malaysia two weeks after.

Impetigore tells a story about the journey of Maya revealing the mystery of her family and her ancestor’s village.

Although needing almost ten years to finalize this film production, the movie eventually proved its worth by winning some awards like Maya Award and Indonesian Movie Actors Award.

This then wraps the list of the five best Indonesian horror movies that you should try watching.

Let us appreciate more the authentic horror movies produced by our home country, and we hope the industry will keep on growing well.