Joko Anwar’s Ghost in the Cell

Apparently, Norman Vincent Peale was right. Positive thinking will keep you alive in this Indonesian prison. At least it will keep prisoners safe from the ghost hunting people with negative auras. Of course, it is hard to maintain that positive energy, when the various prison gangs attack their fellow inmates, for conventional criminal reasons. Regardless, Anggoro and his friends are not getting released anytime soon, so they must survive as best they can in director-screenwriter-editor Joko Anwar’s Ghost in the Cell, which releases tomorrow on digital VOD.

Dimas’s editor was just about to water-down his expose on political corruption, environmental despoilation, and a series of bizarre ritualistic murders, but the ghost strung him up on his ceiling fan before he could proceed. Unfortunately, Dimas was convicted of the murder. Of course, it didn’t make any sense, but as the characters constantly remind each other: “this is Indonesia.”

Once inside, the corrupt Warden agrees to arrange Dimas’s murder, by placing him with Tokek, the prison’s worst psychopath. Yet, the next day, the would-be assassin is impaled on a showerhead. After a few more gruesome murders, Six, one of Anggoro’s mates, reveals he can predict who dies next because he can see auras. The previous victims always had the worst auras in prison, reflecting either extreme rage or despair. That means they must keep their auras positive to survive, either through prayer or “artistic” endeavor like dance. Of course, that becomes extremely inconvenient whenever rival gangs launch an attack.

Honestly, it is amazing that Ghost in the Cell exists. First of all, it is a horror comedy that is actually funny, which certainly sets it apart. It also savagely skewers Indonesia’s justice system. Yet, even more daringly, it presents Islamic faith in a way that is not disrespectful (at least not from a Western perspective), but still conspicuously enmeshed in the film’s outrageous comedy. It is not irreverent, per se, but it sure isn’t reverent either.

At times, it is also spectacularly gory. Even the serial killer in Se7en would consider the ghost’s crime scenes somewhat excessive. Regardless, despite the fearless physical humor, Ghost in the Cell is consistently tense and scary, because it taps into the realities of its setting. No matter what happens, Anggoro and his block-mates are stuck inside, with the angry ghost.

Abimana Aryasatya is appropriately steely as the reluctantly heroic Anggoro, while Bront Palarae is spectacularly nasty as Jefri, the villainous captain of the prison guards. However, nobody is creepier (or creepier looking) than Aming as the deranged Tokek.

Arguably, Ghost in the Cell is the most original horror film in several years. It is also one of the funniest. Anwar helped put Indonesian horror on the map and Ghost in the Cell raises the bar even further. Very highly recommended for genre fans, it releases tomorrow (10/27) on VOD platforms.