Satan's Slaves (2017) Review: Joko Anwar's Gothic Horror Revival

Is Satan’s Slaves worth watching?

Yes — this is the film that announced Joko Anwar as Southeast Asia’s most important horror auteur working today. Satan’s Slaves holds an 88% Critic Score, 80% Audience Score, 72 Metascore, 3.7 on Letterboxd, and 6.9 on IMDb. The remake of Sisworo Gautama’s 1980 cult classic premiered at Toronto and played festivals worldwide while restoring domestic respect for Indonesian horror as art, not just commerce.

What is Satan’s Slaves about?

After their mother’s death, a suburban Jakarta family is haunted by whispers, apparitions, and a buried secret tied to their father’s abandoned faith. Tara Basro, Bront Palarae, and Endy Arfian play siblings whose grief becomes a doorway for entities demanding continuation of a pact the patriarch broke. Joko Anwar treats possession as familial inheritance — sin passes downward like property, and women pay the highest interest.

Should you watch Satan’s Slaves before Impetigore?

Absolutely — the two films form a diptych of class, faith, and violence, with Satan’s Slaves the more restrained entry. Follow with Impetigore for folk horror turned blood-soaked, or Joko Anwar’s Netflix anthology Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams for how his social rage scales to television. Compare with Awi Suryadi’s viral KKN di Desa Penari — same nation’s horror boom, opposite temperaments.

How does Joko Anwar build dread without spectacle?

By letting silence and domestic space do the work — creaking houses, funeral rites, children who hear what adults deny. Anwar’s camera lingers on Tara Basro’s face as she processes impossible information with grounded realism, which makes the supernatural violations land harder. The third act escalates into set-piece horror, but the film’s reputation rests on its first hour of gothic patience. Marcus Webb’s comparison: South Korea’s Goblin romanticizes immortality; Satan’s Slaves treats the afterlife as debt collection.

Where does it sit on Best of Asia 2016–2026?

Among the decade’s essential horror restorations — proof that remakes can honor source material while speaking to contemporary Indonesia. On Best of Asia 2016–2026 it anchors Indonesia beside action landmarks and commercial phenomena. Shudder streams the film in several territories; IMDb tt7076834. Critics at Rotten Tomatoes praised Anwar for refusing jump-scare assembly lines — the scares emerge from character and theology.

Who should watch Satan’s Slaves?

Horror fans seeking arthouse patience; viewers building a Joko Anwar syllabus; anyone who liked The Medium’s ritual horror but wants domestic intimacy instead of mockumentary scale. Pair with Banjong Pisanthanakun’s The Medium from Thailand for shamanism at opposite aesthetic poles. Avoid if you need constant stimulation — Anwar rewards viewers who trust atmosphere.

Where can I watch Satan’s Slaves?

Shudder in many territories; IMDb tt7076834. The gothic first hour rewards volume control — whispers and floor creaks are mixed for dread, not clarity. Joko Anwar’s commentary tracks on festival discs deepen appreciation if you find them after streaming.

Verdict

Satan’s Slaves is mandatory Joko Anwar — Marcus Webb’s pick for the horror film that made Indonesia’s genre revival impossible to ignore internationally. Tara Basro’s performance alone justifies the runtime. Continue to Impetigore, browse Indonesia, and map the decade at Best of Asia 2016–2026.