SIKSA NERAKA on Netflix is a horror thriller from Indonesia with a religious supernatural plot that was not my cup of tea. It was way too slow and heavy-handed in its focus. Read our full Siksa Neraka movie review here!
SIKSA NERAKA is a new Netflix horror movie with supposedly both slasher and thriller elements. I say “supposedly” as all of the first act passes without much interesting taking place. There’s setting the scene and then there’s just slow-burning to the point of killing the fire.
In any case, as I’m sure you can gather, I am not a fan of this one. It has a supernatural plot with religious overtones. I am fine with that as long as the story is good, but it just is not. Its core message is that it’s nearly impossible not to sin. Yet when you do, you will be tormented in Hell for eternity.
Continue reading our Siksa Neraka movie review below. On Netflix from April 25, 2024.
Beware of sin – or just doing anything!
In Siksa Neraka, we meet four siblings, Saleh, Fajar, Tyas, and Azizah. The two boys and two girls have all been forced to listen to stories about heaven and hell since they were born. Now they’re teenagers and getting ready to embark on their own lives.
They were educated strictly by their father, who was well respected in the village as a man of Faith.
One night, the four siblings head for a competition in another village. It’s against the wishes of their parents, but one of the sisters is in the talent competition and her brothers want her to succeed.
On their way there, a greater power intervenes and they are swept away by a strong river current. They then wake up in another realm, which is the hell their father talked about. They are then tortured relentlessly. Bodyparts are cut off, only to grow back out, and then be cut off again.
During flashbacks, we will see the sins the kids committed to deserve this fate. I almost understood the appeal of catholicism where everything is a sin, but at least you can be absolved rather easily. Here, you go straight to hell no matter how small the sin.
Clumsy and heavy-handed
Having watched my share of both amazing and subpar Indonesian movies, I never know what to expect. This one is based on a comic book and has a song in English during the (very cool, I might add) opening credits.
A song that I found myself humming later on, much to my own irritation. It’s not that good, but it just got stuck somehow. Maybe because I was so surprised that it was in English. Nothing else in this movie is in English.
Other than the song, what stuck with me is that even the smallest of “sins” will land you in Hell. And as we see the siblings being tormented in Hell – mostly via bad CGI, which just feels like additional punishment to us viewers – it’s like something you might be forced to watch in Sunday school.
No matter what house or book of worship you follow, these heavy-handed stories are simply not for me. Give me Satan’s Slaves over this mess anytime. In fact, anything by Joko Anwar!
You can watch Siksa Neraka on Netflix now
The director of Siksa Neraka is Anggy Umbara, who also co-directed a movie with Rocky Soraya, who makes a lot of Indonesian horror movies – but not with this kind of plot. The screenplay comes from Lele Laila, who previously wrote Qorin and Primbon. Both are better!
This 2023 Indonesian movie is a film adaptation of the comic “Siksa Neraka” by M.B. Rahimsyah. Its depiction of hell has led the movie to be banned in countries like Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam for “portraying the atmosphere of hell”.
However, this probably only added to the domestic success of the movie. I can’t help but feel angry about the message, which is that even the smallest of sins is reason enough to go to hell. Making your children scared and sad isn’t a sin though. And being a girl is inherently a sin.
Good stuff all around. Yeah, like I said, I am not a fan of the story or heavy-handed messages in Siksa Neraka. Then again, as an agnostic gay girl, I’m sure this movie was never intended for me. I am already a lost soul in their eyes.
Siksa Neraka is on Netflix from April 25, 2024.
Details
Director: Anggy Umbara
Writer: Lele Laila
Cast: Safira Ratu Sofya, Slamet Rahardjo, Kiesha Alvaro, Ariyo Wahab, Nayla D. Purnama, Rizky Fachrel, Astri Nurdin, Ingrid Widjanarko, Wina Marino, Joseph Kara, Rency Milano, Bella Novita
Plot
Four siblings go missing and wake up in the afterlife, undergoing punishment for their worldly sins in the depths of hell.
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