Ghost in the Cell: Joko Anwar's Prison Horror Wields Decades' Wildest Brawl

By Elena Vasquez

Joko Anwar's Ghost in the Cell contains "the most unhinged punch-up in decades," according to the Guardian's review published 19 October 2026. The Indonesian director, the most genre-committed horror filmmaker of the 2020s boom, aims this prison-slasher-satire squarely at the corruption and hypocrisy of his native country.

The review praises Anwar's use of horror as social commentary, comparing his scabrous broadsides against injustice to the work of Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook's recent No Other Choice. Yet the film stands apart through what the critic calls "its own likable silliness and raucous energy."

What is the story?

The plot follows Dimas, a timid investigative journalist played by Endy Arfian. Framed for the murder of his boss — a victim found gutted and spreadeagled on a ceiling fan — Dimas lands in prison, where the killings follow him.

• The prison hitman assigned to dispose of Dimas is himself found in the washroom, rendered into "flesh origami."
• Charismatic prison refusenik Anggoro, played by Abimana Aryasatya, takes the journalist under his wing.
• As victims stack up, a seemingly clairvoyant inmate called Six, played by Yoga Pratama, admits all the dead manifested a red aura — signifying anger — before they died.

The film's running joke lands in a repeated inmate refrain: "this is Indonesia, not Norway!"

Why does Anwar matter now?

The Guardian argues that given the 2020s horror boom, Indonesia's prolific Anwar — who has worked more often in horror than in any other genre — "should be better known." The review positions him alongside Bong Joon-ho as a director who weaponizes genre film for social critique.

The comparison carries weight. Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice, reviewed by the Guardian on 29 August 2025, drew similar notice for genre-bending social anger, and Anwar's film extends that current into Southeast Asian cinema.

Takeaway: Anwar has built a career on horror with a political bite, and this prison-set entry sharpens it.

What does the film change for Indonesian genre cinema?

The review frames Ghost in the Cell as proof that Indonesian horror can carry the same satirical load as its Korean counterparts, pairing gruesome set pieces with direct attacks on institutional rot. The blend of slasher mechanics, supernatural prophecy and broad farce gives the corruption critique a popular, raucous delivery system rather than a solemn one.

Whether international audiences catch up with Anwar during the ongoing horror boom may determine if Ghost in the Cell becomes his breakout, as the Guardian's review suggests it deserves to be.