Ghost in the Cell
October 19th, 2026
MOVIE: GHOST IN THE CELL
STARRING: ABIMANA ARYASATYA, ENDY ARFIAN, DIMAS DANANG SURYONEGORO
DIRECTED BY: JOKO ANWAR
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 106 MINUTES
Joko Anwar’s style has never been subtle in horror. The Indonesian director has developed a distinct approach to the genre, often involving dark spirits, ghosts, severed limbs, and the destruction of entire communities. Oddly enough, his newest film, Ghost in the Cell, might be his most commercial effort yet, but it still resurrects his signature brand of haunted storytelling. A dark, terrifying prison is the perfect setting for an Anwar film, and Ghost in the Cell delivers one disturbing stint behind bars. After all, it’s hard to escape a ghost when you’re locked up with one.
Although the title explains the basic premise, the story begins at an Indonesian newspaper, where Dimas (Endy Arfian) is working on a report about a corrupt mine where groups of workers have been mysteriously killed in horrific ways. During his investigation, a ghost seems to latch onto him. When his editor winds up dead in the office, Dimas is sent to Labuhan Angsana prison, charged with the murder, bringing even more death along with him. This is when fellow inmate Anggoro (Abimana Aryasatya) begins noticing strange ghostly shadows marking other prisoners. Soon, dead bodies are turning up in cells and the mess hall. The inmates are trapped inside with a dark spirit, and there is seemingly nowhere to hide.
Written by Anwar, Ghost in the Cell is narratively limited to a series of episodes in which various inmates are haunted by the ghost, each encounter escalating into increasingly gruesome deaths. Where Anwar breaks from this formula is in his focus on the collective group of prisoners and their attempts to ward off the evil spirit. They gather in circles in the courtyard to discuss what is happening and share what they have witnessed. At one point, they even attempt to scare the spirits away by attending a rhythmic jazz dance class, a sequence that is both funny and inventive. At times, I got the sense that Anwar was making a horror version of Stalag 17, trading a group’s efforts to escape for a desperate attempt to survive a murderous spirit.
It’s this variety, combined with Anwar’s sharp sense of humor, that makes Ghost in the Cell work. A scene in which inmates discuss the colors of their auras quickly erupts into a martial arts fight between Anggoro and another prisoner, eventually escalating into an all-out prison brawl. The sequence demonstrates that Anwar isn’t content to limit the violence to jump scares and splashes of blood. Instead, he builds a chaotic, fully realized world within the prison, one where the inmates have plenty to fear beyond the ghosts haunting their cells.
The result is something far more distinctive than a typical horror film. At times, Ghost in the Cell seems unsure of what kind of horror movie it wants to be: a frightening exercise in gruesome kills, a horror-comedy poking fun at overcrowded prisons, or a political statement about the unjust treatment of incarcerated people. Yet once I got on the same wavelength as the film, its willingness to juggle these different approaches became part of its appeal. Ghost in the Cell ultimately stands out as one of the more original horror films of the past five years. Clearly, Joko Anwar knows how to make his particular brand of horror work both inside and outside the cell.
3 STARS
GHOST IN THE CELL IS CURRENTLY PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS AND AVAILABLE TO RENT ON DIGITAL TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27TH, 2026.
Written by: Leo Brady
