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Exclusive: Indonesian animated feature Jumbo has smashed records to become the third highest grossing local film of all time in the country, recording 7.49 million admission after four weeks on release.

The first animated feature produced by Jakarta-based Visinema Studios follows a chubby boy who gets bullied and nicknamed Jumbo by his peers. When a fairy appears asking for help, the two embark on an adventure to reunite her with her family and look for a stolen book written by the late parents of the boy.

The film opened on March 31 during the week-long Hari Raya Puasa holiday and has taken...

The last episode of what seems to be the first season of “Joko Anwar's Nightmares and Daydreams” concludes the story in a way that everything that happened before makes sense, while retaining the very appealing sense of surprise that occurred in the previous segments. Joko Anwar, just like the first episode, “Old House” takes the seat of the director once more in “P.O. Box” closing the circle even in a meta level.

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The story this time revolves around Valdya, one of the best diamond appraisers in all of Jakarta, who is so good that she can even tell the quality of a diamond just with her eyes. Later on, we learn that her older sister, Dara, went missing some time ago, and that Rendy, the guy who used to date her, is now in a serious relationship with Valdya.

Joko Anwar, a driving force behind Indonesia’s modern film industry, is the creator of Netflix’s new anthology series Nightmares and Daydreams. The Satan’s Slaves filmmaker slips in and out of these seven episodes, with his fingers directly on the pulse of a select few. However, even when not personally directing or writing, Anwar’s unique touch can be felt in every inch of the journey. What initially looks to be a chain of unconnected stories turns out to be an odyssey with a specific and often unsettling destination.

Unlike other anthologies, there is no particular character who guides the audience in and out of the sub-stories and clarifies their experience. On the contrary, each tale kicks off with no kind of formal introduction — apart from a surreal opening sequence — thus allowing the series to access that certain sensation of nodding off and slipping into a dream. Everything appears...

Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar (Satan’s Slaves, Impetigore), known internationally for stylish and gory horror, has a supernatural thriller series on the way for Netflix. Anwar recently teased a first look at upcoming series “Nightmares & Daydreams” via Twitter.

Netflix describes “Nightmares & Daydreams” as “A supernatural thriller series that shows there isn’t necessarily a rational explanation behind every occurrence.”

Between Anwar’s body of horror works so far and the ominous first look image, above and below, the series is already shaping up to be a creepy one.

The series was initially announced in 2022 by Deadline as part of a huge slate of Indonesian projects that included several new series and movies from renowned Indonesian filmmakers, including Joko Anwar. The outlet reported to expect “Nightmares & Daydreams” to follow multiple storylines that would see ordinary people encountering strange, eerie phenomena.

“Indonesia is so full of unique and extraordinary stories. I’m always...

Malaysian horror movie Curse of the Totem, aka Sumpahan Jerunei, draws from 13th-century Borneo sacrifice rituals, and, thanks to Variety, a new image gives a first look at the upcoming horror movie described as an “urban legend story.”

Curse of the Totem “tells the story of Dr. Sani, who goes in search of his wife, who disappeared on a genealogy expedition to study the ancient mythical legend of Jerunei’ Burial Poles of the indigenous Melanau tribe in Borneo. Combing through the Borneo jungle for answers, each member of Dr. Sani’s team experiences inexplicable hallucinations, malicious disturbances and eventually are haunted by unexplained spirits of the dead. Things take a turn for the worse when one of them is completely possessed by evil forces.”

While human sacrifice was outlawed in the 18th century, the Burial Poles still exist today as grave markers, contributing to the true-life origins that inspired this urban legend horror story.

Panu Aree and Kong Rithdee make their directorial fiction feature debut on The Cursed Land, a Thai movie that’s hitting the Cannes market this week.

Screen Daily reports, “WME Independent is handling international sales at Cannes.”

“The film follows a widower and his daughter who travel to Thailand’s deep south to seek help from a Muslim witch doctor after unleashing a djinn in a rundown house.”

Ananda Everingham (Shutter), Bront Palarae (Satan’s Slaves: Communion) and Jennis Oprasert (Where We Belong) star in The Cursed Land.

Screen Daily details, “Shooting wrapped last week on the film, which was mostly shot in Narathiwat province and the adjacent rainforest, Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary.”

The post ‘The Cursed Land’ – Thai Horror Movie Consults a Witch Doctor After Unleashing a Djinn appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Sequel to the great Satan's Slaves, “Communion” is the first Indonesian film to be released in IMAX format, and a huge box office success which has already become the third highest-grossing Indonesian film of all time, with 6.3 million viewers.

Satan's Slaves 2: Communion” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival

The film begins in the 50's actually, when a photographer is “invited” by a friend into a truly hellish setting, where a number of bodies have been exhumed and used for some sort of satanic ritual, with the friend asking the photographer to do everything in his power to let people know about what is happening. Back in the 80s, several years after they managed to save themselves from the terrible events that resulted in the death of their mother and the youngest sibling, Ian, the family are now living in a block of flats. Rini, Toni and Bondi...

The sixteenth edition of the MotelX film festival kicks off in Lisbon, Portugal this week. For one week some of the best that the international genre scene has to offer. The festival will open with Bodies Bodies Bodies, the Gen Z slasher our own Josh said was, "Fun, funny, surprising, and occasionally even scary...". Other festival faves include Argento's Dark Glasses, Benson and Moorehead's Someting in the Dirt, Joko Anwar's anticipated Satan's Slaves 2: Communion, Canadian feminist post apocalyptic Polaris, and the genre-defying Saloum. The festival announcement follows. 16th edition - 6 - 12 September - Lisbon | Cinema São Jorge Motelx - Lisbon International Horror Film Festival Complete Programme 16th edition Generation Z in danger, “Bodies Bodies Bodies”...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The first wave of titles for this year's edition of The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival have been announced and is filled with horror movie premieres, special events, and a Lucio Fulci retrospective you won't want to miss!

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival announces today the first wave of titles for their explosive 2022 edition, presented by Shudder, running October 13th to the 20th with screenings held at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg and Williamsburg Cinemas. Following last year’s return to theaters, Bhff is thrilled to present its most robust slate to date.

The festival will open with the Eva Green starring Nocebo, the latest psychological thriller from celebrated Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan, best known for his 2019 Cannes selection Vivarium, starring Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg, but better known to Bhff audiences for his feature debut Without Name, which swept the festival awards in 2016 taking Best Feature, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival announced today an impressive first wave of titles for their explosive 2022 edition running from October 13th to the 20th with screenings held at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg and Williamsburg Cinemas. Following last year’s return to theaters, BHFFs presents its most robust slate to date.

From the press release:

“The festival will open with the Eva Green starring Nocebo, the latest psychological thriller from celebrated Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan, best known for his 2019 Cannes selection Vivarium, starring Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg, but better known to Bhff audiences for his feature debut Without Name, which swept the festival awards in 2016 taking Best Feature, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.

“Wave one includes the world premieres of four exciting new films: the feature directorial debut from Laurence Vannicelli (co-writer of the hit 2021 Bhff horror comedy Porno), Mother, May I?, starring Dinner In America’s Kyle Gallner...

The seventh annual Brooklyn Horror Film Festival is coming soon, and it runs from October 13-20 with screenings held at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg and Williamsburg Cinemas. The festival has announced its first wave of titles for 2022, and we've got the complete lineup presented for the first time by your favorite home for horror, Shudder.

Opening the festival is Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan's film "Nocebo" starring Eva Green, his highly anticipated follow-up after the Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg film "Vivarium." Finnegan is a Bhff alumni after his debut feature "Without Name" swept the 2016 festival, nabbing the awards for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.

Bhff will be the home of the world premieres for four awesome new horror films including the Kyle Gallner starring "Mother, May I?," the directorial debut of Laurence Vannicelli known for co-writing the horror comedy "Porno." Christopher Denham took time out of...

Woo Ming JIn is back in the international festival scene with his layered female revenge drama that borrows from genre tropes, and incorporates animation and folklore. In “Stone Turtle”, which screens in Locarno’s international competition, an isolated Malaysian island becomes a place of the merciless cat and mouse game under the wake eyes of ghosts who all have two things in common: being women, and illegal immigrants.

In this Malaysian-Indonesian co-production, two acclaimed actors slip into lead roles: Indonesian Asmara Abigail (Joko Anwar’s regular cast since “Gundala”), and Malaysian Bront Palarae. Their chemistry is charged with all ingredients needed for a proper revenge story, none of them painted in black & white, but nuanced enough to make a distinctive line between good and bad.

Asian Movie Pulse met with Woo Ming Jin in Locarno, right after “Stone Turtle”s world premiere to talk about the film’s unique look,...