Fantastic Fest Review: Ghost in the Cell

Horror fans tend to be very open-minded about international movies. Maybe that explains why, while Indonesian director Joko Anwar has made thrillers, action films, and even superhero flicks, it’s his horror movies like the Satan’s Slaves series that have received releases and acclaim in the U.S. That pattern continues with his latest outpouring of madcap mutilating mayhem, Ghost in the Cell, a crowd-pleaser with heart and guts.

Actually, if the titular spook stayed under lock and key, that would be an improvement for the inmates locked inside the hellish and brutal conditions of this Indonesian prison. Instead, it roams freely, ripping apart prisoners and guards at seeming random. It then desecrates the corpses, turning them into elaborate and gruesome sculptures, like some grisly and oddly funny art project. There are only two clues about its intentions. First, that it turned up at the same time as journalist and unlikely murderer Dimas (Endy Arfian), whose imprisonment has more to do with his investigations into illegal mining in Borneo than the condition of the corpse of his late boss. Second, that somehow old hand and resident whiny fabulist Six (Yoga Pratama) can suddenly see the auras of those about to become entrail decoupage.

Under the exuberant horror decor, Anwar’s script keeps close to a lot of prison tropes, most especially the idea of the anti-gang, the group of outsiders who fit together because they don’t fit in anywhere else. The semi-heroic Cool Hand Luke who binds them together is Anggoro (the perfectly paternal Abimana Aryasatya), a good man in jail for the right reasons, whose sentence keeps getting extended because he keeps going toe-to-toe with the martinet chief guard, Jefry (Bront Palarae, seething with impotent rage and a bushy moustache fit for a petty dictator). Of course Anggoro is going to step in when the new fish, Dimas, is seemingly lined up by the prison authorities for murder at the hands of resident psychopathic creep Tokek (Aming Sugandhi in a genuinely toe-curling performance).

The prison is a hideous, filthy, stinking place, painted in grime and shadows, with minor scammers sharing a cell block with bloodthirsty drug barons. Only the worst of society – the powerful, wealthy, and corrupt – get their own block, and that’s basically a four-star hotel behind barbed wire. Their crimes have so many victims that, after a while, the ghost doesn’t seem so bad.

That’s really Anwar’s point. He aims a blunderbuss at the web of corruption that pervades Indonesian society, and rages at the bulletproof fashion in which the rich and powerful get away with literal murder. Anwar’s convictions about the moral failures of Indonesia’s justice system makes Ghost in the Cell a rock-solid prison flick, and then Anwar layers that with a hilariously grisly supernatural horror with heavy Hellraiser influences, as the vengeful ghost turns the inmates and guards into bloody art pieces. As for how Six’s new second sight helps them avoid becoming its new canvas, that’s the source of real and unexpected belly laughs.

Anwar’s often been compared to Sam Raimi for his interweaving of slapstick and bloodshed, but he has a compassionate side that the infamously mean-spirited Evil Dead director lacks. When Anggoro receives a visit from his adorable kids who just want their dad back, it’s not cloying or forced, but actually heartwarming.

There may be some crazy stunts and wild moments of action, like the hilarious way the convicts scatter every time they see another of the spirit’s, ahem, installations. Yet, unlike Raimi, he never treats them like Looney Tunes characters. Instead, Anwar has assembled a cast, including many of his regular ensemble, that is prepared to be silly while never sacrificing character. One of the deaths is even genuinely tragic, a waymark to Anwar’s ultimate point about how, even in the worst times and places, we can be our own worst enemies, but that with friends and a little self-deprecation we can take on anything.

Ghost in the Cell North American Premiere Monday, Sept. 22, 11:35pm

Fantastic Fest runs Sept. 17-24 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. Badges and info at fantasticfest.com. Follow our coverage at austinchronicle.com/fantastic-fest.

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