Satan’s Slaves (2017)

Written and directed by Joko Anwar. Starring Tara Basro, Bront Palarae, Ayu Laksmi, Endy Arfian, Nasar Anuz and Muhammad Adhiyat.

Plot: four children are haunted by the death of their mother, who died of a debilitating disease.

Also known as Pengabdi Setan, this Indonesian horror movie is about a once famous singer who dies, leaving her husband and four children to grieve her. The husband, Bahri (Palarae) has to make money for them, so he goes into town. And the phone is cut off, so they can’t reach him when things start to get really scary on them.

First, the children, Rini (Basro), Tony (Arfian), Bondi (Anuz) and Ian (Adhiyat), start hearing things, like the bell their mother used to call for help before she died. Then, the children start seeing things, like actual apparations of their late mother. Then, it gets even worse. Tony starts to believe his mother made a deal with the devil so that she could have kids, so their neighbor says they should turn to Allah for help.

I don’t even want to give away the ending. It’s equal parts creepy and sad. The whole movie is scary though. I definitely wouldn’t watch this alone. Even the camera angles themselves are disturbing. The characters were so likable. Little Ian was adorable. The script was superb. The specials were more than effective. The acting was terrific. Even the Freddy Claws was amazing. Watch it. And soon.

Our score: 76.