Indonesia’s Horror Movie Industry Rises from the Grave
AFP/APP
Jakarta: Crunching popcorn and screaming, Indonesians are flocking to watch homegrown horror films in cinemas that draw on the country’s rich folklore of ghosts and monsters.
The genre now dominates Indonesia’s theatres after helping the local film industry rise from the grave at the start of the century — a time when almost no horror films were being produced locally compared to the dozens released last year.
“Our parents and grandparents used these stories to scare us,” said Ekky Imanjaya, 52, a film studies lecturer at Jakarta’s Bina Nusantara University. “These tales are very close to us.”
According to the Indonesian Film Board (BPI), 60 percent of the 258 domestically produced films in 2024 were horror. They accounted for 54.6 million tickets sold, which is nearly 70 percent of the total audience.
Moviegoer Elang, a 25-year-old consultant, credited the genre’s success to its “emphasis on local traditions and monsters” like Pocong — a ghost still wrapped in a burial cloth. Another movie enthusiast, Ajeng Putri, 29, said horror films based on urban legends were “easier to understand… more exciting.” These legends include Tuyul (a living-dead child) and Kuntilanak (a woman who cannot give birth due to a stillborn baby trapped inside her).
A Horror Renaissance
Indonesia’s film production “declined drastically” in the 1990s due to lack of funding, according to Jakarta-based Studio Antelope. The film archive and data centre Sinematek Indonesia recorded only 456 movies made between 1990 and 2000, of which just 37 were horror films, said archive worker Wahyudi, 55.
However, the tide turned. In fact, Indonesia earned a Guinness World Record two years ago for being the most horror-centric film industry globally.
In 2023, Indonesia’s largest cinema operator XXI reported that five of its top 10 movies were horror films, generating 27.8 million ticket sales.
Indonesia’s first horror movie was made in 1971, during the dictatorship of Suharto. But it wasn’t until the 2010s that a true resurgence began. “A new wave began,” said Ekky, with filmmakers like Joko Anwar revolutionizing the genre with high-quality independent films.
Post-COVID, the industry bounced back stronger with the 2022 film KKN di Desa Penari, which sold 10 million tickets. Based on alleged true events during a rural community service program, it ushered in a trend of more realistic horror films inspired by real-life stories.
“It launched a new wave of more realistic films, based on real events,” said Nanang Istiabudi, 53, director.
According to Film Indonesia, cinemas generated $136 million in gross revenue in 2022. PwC Indonesia projects the cinema industry will grow by over six percent annually until 2027.
The boom earned Indonesian horror a special programme titled “The Renaissance of Indonesian Cinema” at the 2023 Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s most prestigious film gathering.
Western Interest and Global Reach
Indonesian horror films don’t just draw from folklore — they often include religious themes, particularly Islam, which permeates daily life in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. Some movies incorporate verses from the Quran, and entire storylines are built around spiritual themes.
The rise of streaming services has helped Indonesian horror films reach a global audience, said director Ismail Basbeth, who attended the Busan film festival.
Even smaller production houses, like Jakarta-based Avantgarde Productions, are now exporting horror films abroad.
“The latest films have been released in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and we are negotiating with Vietnam,” said Marianne Christianti Purnaawan, a 27-year-old producer at the company.
The curiosity of local audiences and growing international interest suggest Indonesian horror is far from dead — and might just be immortal.
“Indonesian films are successful abroad because they are unique, exotic, and unimaginable,” said Ekky. “The horror film audience seeks the unknown.”
