Indonesian horror

After a hiatus during the Suharto era in the 1990s, when censorship affected production, Indonesian horror films continued being produced following Reformasi in 1998.

[1] During the authoritarian New Order regime under President Suharto, many horror films included religious symbolism and heroes to adhere to strict guidelines from censors.

[6] Thomas Barker has argued that films produced after 1998 in Indonesia have been particularly shaped by what he described as the residual "trauma" of violence under the preceding New Order era under President Suharto.

[7] Indonesian horror films, particularly the work of Joko Anwar, attracted heightened international attention in the late 2010s, aided by streaming services.

[5] Themes approached in Indonesian horror include haunted forests as in Alas Pati: Hutan Mati (2018)[9] and ghost stories, for example.