The Devil Wears Kebaya
Every now and then, a horror movie comes along that reminds you why you keep your lights on at night. Joko Anwar’s Satan’s Slaves (Pengabdi Setan) is one of those rare gems — a film that makes you laugh nervously, scream earnestly, and call your mom immediately afterward (just to make sure she’s not haunting you).
This 2017 Indonesian supernatural horror is technically a loose remake of the 1980 cult classic of the same name, but calling it that feels unfair. Anwar doesn’t just remake Satan’s Slaves — he exhumes it, reanimates it, and gives it a stylish new curse. It’s both a prequel and a love letter to Indonesian horror, soaked in atmosphere, superstition, and the kind of domestic dread that makes you reconsider every creaky hallway in your house.
It’s The Conjuring with a regional twist and a sense of humor black enough to summon its own demons.
Family Values, But Make It Satanic
The story begins in 1981, with a struggling family living in the Indonesian countryside, where every sound of wind through the trees feels like an omen. Mom, Mawarni (Ayu Laksmi), was once a glamorous singer — think: the Barbra Streisand of spooky folklore — but now she’s bedridden with a mysterious illness that makes death look like the better option. Her husband Bahri (Bront Palarae) is broke, her children are stressed, and her record royalties have gone the way of her pulse.
When Mawarni finally dies — after three long years of croaking, coughing, and making her family’s life a living séance — the family should be relieved. But this is a horror movie, and in horror movies, nobody ever just dies. Soon the house is haunted, the well is doing suspiciously well at hiding bodies, and even Grandma can’t be trusted not to fall into something unspeakable.
Rini (Tara Basro), the eldest daughter and the film’s emotional anchor, discovers that her late mother might’ve been involved in a satanic fertility cult. Which, let’s be honest, is a hell of a thing to learn about Mom. Turns out, Mawarni made a pact to bear children for Satan — and there’s a catch: one of those kids belongs to the Devil himself.
The Sound of Terror (and Deafening Love)
Anwar’s genius lies in how he builds dread from the mundane. The house creaks like a coffin being pried open. The well gurgles like it’s chewing on secrets. Even silence becomes a weapon — especially through Ian, the family’s youngest child, who happens to be deaf.
Ian (Muhammad Adhiyat) is one of horror’s rare treasures: a child character who’s both lovable and terrifying by association. His deafness heightens the tension — when the audience can hear something he can’t, you want to leap through the screen and sign “RUN!” But you can’t, because you’re too busy clutching your popcorn like a holy relic.
It’s that kind of film — one where you feel complicit in the fear.
A Symphony of Screams and Superstition
Joko Anwar’s direction is meticulous. The pacing is slow-burn, but every minute drips with menace. He’s not interested in cheap jump scares (though there are some, and they’ll rattle your fillings). Instead, he layers unease like a funeral shroud: the ominous score, the earthy cinematography, the constant rain that feels like tears from a weeping sky.
The production design deserves its own exorcism — the house is a masterpiece of rustic dread. It looks lived-in, haunted, and slightly moldy, like a home that’s been holding its breath for years. Every mirror reflects something you’d rather not see. Every door creaks open just a little too eagerly.
And then there’s the well — oh, the well. If The Ring made you afraid of your TV, Satan’s Slaves will make you afraid of your plumbing.
The Horror of Parenthood
At its rotting heart, Satan’s Slaves isn’t just about ghosts — it’s about family. Specifically, how families keep secrets, even from the grave. Mawarni’s pact with the Devil is the ultimate act of maternal desperation: a woman who wanted children so badly she’d sell her soul for a baby shower.
And her husband Bahri? He’s the prototype of every horror dad who doesn’t get it until it’s too late. When cultists show up at your house in the middle of a thunderstorm, chanting about “harvests” and “the chosen child,” maybe don’t invite them in for tea. But Bahri does what horror dads do best — he looks sternly at the problem, mutters “We’ll deal with this,” and promptly fails to do so.
It’s darkly hilarious, really — a family falling apart while trying to pretend everything’s fine. “Don’t worry, kids,” Dad might as well say. “It’s just your dead mom banging on the door again.”
When Satan Comes Knocking, Bring Snacks
The film’s third act is where things go full demonic opera. Cultists appear out of the mist like a PTA from hell. Corpses rise from the grave wearing burial shrouds (the pocong, in Indonesian folklore), and Mawarni returns, looking fresh for someone who’s been dead a week.
Rini’s realization that her beloved little brother Ian might actually be the Antichrist is both heartbreaking and absurdly funny. Imagine the emotional whiplash of “I love you, but also, you might be Satan’s toddler.” It’s the kind of horror that balances tragedy and absurdity so perfectly you don’t know whether to cry or cackle.
By the finale, we’ve got a full-scale ghost riot, a rainstorm from hell, and a cliffhanger that suggests the Devil’s daycare program is far from over.
The Devil’s in the Details
Anwar laces his film with social commentary so subtle you almost miss it between screams. It’s about poverty, gender, and faith — how desperation drives people to unholy bargains, and how belief can both save and doom you. The ustad (the local cleric) tries to protect the family, but even religion here is fallible — faith may fend off ghosts, but it can’t pay the mortgage.
And while the supernatural elements are terrifying, the real horror comes from the ordinary: a family crushed by debt, illness, and inherited curses. Satan, it turns out, doesn’t need to work very hard when despair is already doing his job.
The Cast That Sold Their Souls (in a Good Way)
Tara Basro as Rini is phenomenal. She carries the film with a blend of strength, fear, and exhausted pragmatism that makes her both relatable and heroic. Bront Palarae brings weary gravitas as Bahri, while Ayu Laksmi as Mawarni delivers one of horror’s most iconic “back-from-the-dead” performances — equal parts tragic and terrifying.
Every supporting actor, from Grandma Rahma (Elly D. Luthan) to the well-meaning ustad (Arswendi Nasution), adds texture to the nightmare. Even Hendra (Dimas Aditya), the poor neighbor boy who gets mowed down by a truck before he can finish his good deed, manages to make you laugh — mostly because his timing is so hilariously bad.
A Cult Classic Reborn
Pengabdi Setan isn’t just a horror movie — it’s a cultural resurrection. It revived Indonesian horror cinema for a new generation, proving that you don’t need a Hollywood budget to make your audience soil their seats. The film became a box office phenomenon for good reason: it’s smart, scary, and slyly self-aware.
It’s also one of the rare horror films where every scare serves the story. Nothing feels cheap; everything feels earned. The fear seeps in like dampness — slow, inevitable, and impossible to shake off.
Final Verdict: Holy Water Recommended
Satans’s Slaves is a devilishly good time — a gothic, grimly funny, beautifully crafted horror film that reminds us family is forever, especially when your mother won’t stay buried.
It’s stylish, spine-chilling, and slyly satirical, the kind of movie that makes you laugh just to keep from screaming.
Rating: 10 out of 10 haunted wells.
Because sometimes, the only thing scarier than the Devil… is your mom’s parenting style from beyond the grave.
