Gabriel S
Pengabdi Setan, or Satan’s Slaves (the American name of the movie, pretty much a translation of the Indonesian title,) is a solid South Eastern horror movie, kind of a remake of 1980 movie with the same name. It delivers a chilling experience through a simplistic story, gripping horror fans from the start.
The story follows the Suwono family, mainly Rini, the 22-year old daughter of a grieving father and a dying mother, the latter who used to be a famous singer. They are struggling with poverty, things spiraling further and further down the sink. To close the sh*tstorm, their mother dies, starting a sequence of haunting and paranoia.
This movie’s setup is amazing, traditional Asian horror at its best. True to its nature, a lot of jumpscares, yes, but practically no CGI, just the actors doing fine work. Movies lately seldom grip us like Satan’s Slaves did, much appreciated.
The plot develops as a haunted house story structure. The family is stranded in the house where supernatural fenomena tight its claws with each scene; they can’t leave because, well, where would they go with no money, no friends, nothing? Adding to the theme, Rani, the main character, does not believe this BS.
Rani, by Tara Basro, is alright, character development is not really the main focus of the movie. The movie wants to scare you with a demonic-driven story. Rani, her sin being a non-believer, quite misses the change department, almost a pawn in the story.
So is everyone else, for that matter. Though, I do have to praise Nasar Anuz as Bondi: great performance towards the end of the movie.
The story does have inconsistencies, hard to dismiss. One plot point vanishes from the overarching story at one moment, leaving us wondering what the hell.
Also, one death is just kinda unexplained, sort of just sets the characters in motion to meet Mr. Exposition. These points in the plot feel random, dissatisfying.
Another pet peeve of mine is how characters in most horror movies tend to just dismiss clear supernatural events. If I were to undergo some freaking underworld shenanigans, I would shout out to my close-ones as fast as I would get outta dodge. In movies, seems like they are brave dumblings, and, later, ackward mutes; how about “hey, uh, mom... I saw a f-ing demon — like, 100% I was wide awake and the freaking thing pulled my hair!”
The cinematography is quite alright, for the most part. The setup segment reuses the same technique over and over, which sets the mood for this horror story, but also gets predictable. It’s the old slow-driven scene, edgy suspenseful event, nothing... then, tah dah!, something. Then, there are some great shots like one where the ghoul is going up the stairs; pretty cool.
The movie goes a bit downhill towards the end.
The events seem rushed, kinda like they remembered that they had to move the story forward towards closure somehow.
And the final revelation is alright, but sort of gotcha-like. Very M. Night Shyamalan, a twist that almost breaks the flow — close to the limit of being unacceptable. It leads to a closure that is unsettling for the wrong reasons.
Satan’s Slaves entertains, definitely. If you are a horror fan, and you enjoy Eastern Horror, this movie is a nice gem. Don’t take it that serious, though; it’s like a fine Swiss cheese: you pay for the taste, even though the holes come from bacteria.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/14/24
Full Review
julio w
One of the best indonesian horror movie🔥
This must be the minimum standard quality for indonesian horror movie.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
09/04/24
Full Review
Lukas K
Boring and absolutely not scary. And when it got scary it was predictable. Totally dissappointed.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
04/25/24
Full Review
Bintang
Very scary and creepy horror movie, unexpectedly awesome!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/25/24
Full Review
Raj
not that scary. not good ending
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
01/25/24
Full Review
harwee h
Solid horror movie, script needed some finessing but good nonetheless.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/22/23
Full Review
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