News

The fifth episode of the series moves towards Hollywood pulp territory once more, while also fostering a very intriguing metaphor. The timeline this time is 1997, when Indonesia was experiencing recession.

Click on the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix

Bandi is a movie poster painter barely making a living along with his wife Dewi and their son, Marhan. Dewi's environment does not want her to be with Bandi, as they consider their relationship a dead end, as the violent scene in the beginning eloquently highlights, but the two love each other too much for anything to break them up. This, until one fateful night, Bandi decides to enter a rundown cinema and spend a bit of time with the owners there. When he returns to his apartment, though, it seems that years have actually passed.

While the main premise might seem cliché, Randolph Zaini's unique approach and...

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 anthology series debuting on Netflix this summer with “Nightmares and Daydreams.” A new teaser gives a closer look at the strange phenomena haunting this dreamy new series.

Joko Anwar’s “Nightmares and Daydreams” arrives globally on Netflix on June 14, 2024.

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

Here’s the full official synopsis: “A sci-fi supernatural series about ordinary people encountering strange phenomena that may be keys to the answer about the origin of our world and the imminent threat we will soon face. Characters and plots will intertwine like pieces of a puzzle. And the big picture will be awe-inspiring.”

The seven episode series presents a different story and a new set of actors in each installment, leading up...

Prime Video might be pulling back from Southeast Asian originals, but Netflix remains is doubling down on originals in the region.

The streamer has unveiled several titles from Indonesia and Thailand, and a Chinese-language slate for 2024.

One of the bigger titles on the streamer’s Indonesian slate is sci-fi series Nightmares and Daydreams, which marks Netflix’s first collaboration with Joko Anwar.

Anwar’s horror films are often well-received at the box office, with Satan’s Slaves and its sequel both in the top 10 list for highest-grossing films in the country.

Director Timo Tjahjanto will return with action film The Shadow Strays, after making comedy action flick The Big 4 in 2022, which became the second most-watched non-English film on the streamer. The Shadow Strays will star Ario Bayu, Lukman Sardi, Marissa Anita, Nirina Zubir, Sita Nursanti, Fachri Albar and Asmara Abigail.

The Indonesian slate also includes Borderless Fog, which stars Putri Marino,...

Global streaming giant Netflix has made a significant ongoing commitment to production of original content from Southeast Asia and in the Chinese language.

For 2024, Netflix has unveiled a slate of four Chinese-language series, all hailing from Taiwan. From Thailand, it detailed seven series and one film. From Indonesia, it has committed to five films and a series co-written and directed by the consistently successful Joko Anwar, marking his first partnership with the streamer.

Additionally, Netflix has confirmed the appointment of Maya Huang as its head of Chinese-language content.

The moves stand in sharp contrast to the mid-January happenings at rival global streamer Prime Video, which is cutting staff in the region and ending its brief experiment with Southeast Asian originals.

In Indonesia, Netflix says it is broadening its storytelling with a range of genres including comedy, action, fantasy, and sci-fi thrillers.

“Nightmares and Daydreams,” Anwar’s debut project for the company,...