JAKARTA, bhayaksa.net — The Indonesian horror film industry has been sent into a frenzy following the latest project announcement from acclaimed director Joko Anwar. The country’s biggest horror franchise has officially entered the early stages of production for its final chapter, titled Satan’s Slaves 3: Origin.
Produced by Rapi Films in collaboration with Come and See Pictures, Sky Media, and Legacy Pictures, the movie has teamed up with Barunson E&A—the legendary South Korean production powerhouse behind the Oscar-winning film Parasite—as its international sales agent. To deliver a grand visual terror, the film is being shot entirely with IMAX format cameras and is scheduled for a simultaneous theatrical release in 2027.
Story Concept & Expanding Mythology Across Two Continents
Unlike its two predecessors, Satan’s Slaves 3: Origin is designed as a standalone prequel. The plot will no longer follow the fate of Rini’s family in the modern era, but will instead jump back in time across two continents to unearth the root of the curse and the origins of the secret cult. To support its vast historical scope, the dialogue in the film will feature seven different languages: Indonesian, Alsatian, Portuguese, Dutch, Javanese, Turkish, and Latin.
Deconstructing Historical Background: From Europe to the Javanese Coast
Joko Anwar bridges a distance of thousands of miles and a century-long time gap between European soil and the Indonesian archipelago through the concept of a forbidden cult migrating via maritime exploration routes.
The beginning of the film opens in Europe in the year 1518, brought to life by the real-life historical event known as the Dancing Plague of Strasbourg. In actual history, hundreds of people hysterically danced in the streets without stopping for days until they collapsed and died from heart attacks, strokes, and extreme exhaustion. Scientifically, this phenomenon is suspected to have been caused by mass ergot poisoning in rye grain, which triggers LSD-like hallucinations, or mass psychogenic hysteria due to severe famine.
However, in the film, Joko Anwar twists this historical event into the first physical manifestation of demonic power. The mass dancing phenomenon is depicted as a pure soul-harvesting ritual by the earliest heretics. When local church authorities began hunting them down, this secret occult group went underground and fled Europe.
The plot then shifts to the 17th century on the Southern Coast of Java through colonial trade routes. The European cult leaders are told to have infiltrated Western exploration ships, such as those of the Portuguese and the Dutch, sailing to the East Indies in search of spices. Arriving on the southern coast of Java—a region long notorious for its steep cliffs, fierce waves, and a heavy mystical aura—they built a lighthouse featuring colonial Gothic architecture. While physically serving to guide ships, the cult mystically utilized the tower as a spiritual transmitter to summon the ultimate dark entity. It was at this lighthouse that the European cult assimilated with local Javanese black magic practitioners, giving birth to the ancient blood covenant that would eventually bind “Mother’s” lineage.
The Dark Lineage and Hierarchy of the Satanic Cult
The lineage and hierarchy within the Satan’s Slaves universe began in 16th-century Strasbourg, Europe, pioneered by a group called The Founders. They were medieval demon worshippers who formulated rituals of mass soul surrender through extreme physical death, including the dancing plague phenomenon. When their position was threatened by European religious authorities, the group fled by sea toward the East Indies in the 17th century and established a secret stronghold in a lighthouse on the southern coast of Java.
At this new landing point, the Western cult assimilated with ancient Javanese black magic practitioners, spawning a new generation of followers bound by the ancestors through an ancient blood debt. From this 17th-century assimilation, the early versions of Darminah and Batara emerged, known as The Immortals (The Harvesters). They are the original messengers of the cult who were granted immortality across the ages. The primary task of Darminah and Batara throughout the centuries has been to monitor all families in the archipelago who are bound by the blood contract, while ensuring that the last child resulting from the covenant is born safely to be handed over to the cult.
This lineage continued secretly until it reached the modern era of the 1980s, where Mawarni Suwono’s family, or “Mother,” became the next victim. Trapped by the chains of past infertility, Mother and her husband became The Debtors, renewing the ancient blood contract whose roots had been planted in the southern lighthouse centuries prior. From Mother’s womb, Ian was born as the fourth and final child, who in the modern cult hierarchy is projected as the incarnation or the new leader for the continuation of Satan worship in the future. To this day, the lineup of actors and actresses playing these immortal characters and cult ancestors is being kept strictly under wraps by the production team to maintain a massive casting surprise during filming.
Premium Visual Aesthetics and 3D Spatial Audio Terror
Joko Anwar has reassembled his roster of frequent master filmmakers to craft a premium visual style that meets international standards. Legendary cinematographer Ical Tanjung is responsible for fully exploring the IMAX format cameras with a minimalist, naturalistic lighting technique. He relies solely on the glow of torches, candles, and the lighthouse lamp to capture the vast southern coast cliffs and the pitch-black Gothic interiors on the giant screen.
Meanwhile, Dennis Sutanto acts as the Production Designer, rebuilding the reconstructed streets of 16th-century Strasbourg and the 17th-century lighthouse interior, complete with claustrophobic narrow spiral staircases and damp, thick stone walls based on precise historical research. Character appearances are handled by Costume Designer Gemma Furia, who designed a contrasting blend of attire across cultures, ranging from medieval French armor and peasant dresses to ancient 17th-century Javanese traditional clothing infused with a dark, magical touch.
The sound department is also engineered to manipulate the audience’s psychology to the extreme within the IMAX theater. The musical score is composed by the collaborative duo Aghi Narottama and Bemby Gusti. For the European segment, they utilize medieval classical instruments such as the lute and the hurdy-gurdy, paired with an intimidating ancient Latin choir. As the story transitions to Java, the music shifts into the sounds of an ancient slendro-tuned gamelan that has been heavily distorted, merging with the constant roar of the southern sea waves. This 3D IMAX spatial audio design is engineered to surround the audience with the stomping feet of hundreds of dancing people, whispers in 7 different languages echoing around the studio, and a slowing heartbeat to give a real sensation of being trapped in the middle of a cult ambush.
Critical Review Preview: Massive Potential vs. Narrative Risks
Critically, the film holds massive potential due to its boundary-pushing cinematic ambition. Leaping from local folk horror to international historical cosmic horror offers a massive breath of fresh air, separating this franchise from typical domestic horror stereotypes. The premium production quality of the IMAX format, the dense Gothic cinematography, and international distribution backing guarantee an exceptionally high aesthetic standard.
However, the film faces a major hurdle regarding its heavily packed narrative risk. Combining two continents, two different centuries, seven languages, the history of the cult’s founding, and resolving the plot theories from the previous two movies risks making the story feel convoluted or overwhelming if not executed seamlessly. Furthermore, the film carries the heavy burden of fan expectations to answer conspiracy theories that have matured in the audience’s minds for years, which could backfire if the ultimate cult origin resolution does not match the collective expectations of the fans.
Reporter: Timothy
Editor: bhayaksa.net Team
