{"id":290541,"date":"2026-02-10T13:09:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T13:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/290541\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T13:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T13:09:07","slug":"joko-anwar-on-using-horror-to-expose-corruption-in-ghost-in-the-cell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/290541\/","title":{"rendered":"Joko Anwar on Using Horror to Expose Corruption in ‘Ghost in the Cell’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe ghost in Joko Anwar<\/a>\u2018s \u201cGhost in the Cell<\/a>\u201d doesn\u2019t haunt \u2013 it holds accountable.<\/p>\n

\n\tIndonesian filmmaker Anwar used his Berlinale Forum entry \u201cGhost in the Cell\u201d to channel societal anxieties about systemic corruption and environmental destruction through supernatural horror, creating a prison-set thriller that treats its genre elements as political instruments rather than escapist entertainment.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film centers on inmates at an Indonesian correctional facility whose fragile power structures fracture when a new prisoner arrives with a vengeful supernatural entity that hunts those with the darkest aura. As the body count rises, survival depends on collective action among the incarcerated population.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Anwar, the prison setting provided a concentrated laboratory for exploring societal hierarchies. \u201cA prison is like a miniature of the society and it mirrors hierarchy, power dynamics in it, also fear, violence, morality all compressed in one confined space with politeness stripped out,\u201d the director explains. \u201cInside a prison, the consequences are immediate. However, while everyone is trapped in the same system, not everyone faces equal consequences including punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe filmmaker deliberately wove environmental destruction and judicial inequality into the narrative fabric rather than treating them as background decoration. \u201cThe environmental and political realities have always been the origin of horror, not only as a sideshow,\u201d Anwar says. \u201cI let the ghost carry the truth that the system made by humans refuses to articulate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCentral to the film\u2019s approach is treating the supernatural presence as an active agent rather than pure metaphor. \u201cThe ghost was never meant to represent an idea. It has intent, intelligence, and limits. It chooses its victims,\u201d Anwar notes. \u201cSo the ghost isn\u2019t a metaphor and becomes an actual character, shaped by trauma and injustice. It doesn\u2019t deliver moral comfort. It delivers consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tManaging the large ensemble within the volatile prison environment required extensive preparation. Anwar developed detailed backstories for every character, including day players, and conducted group rehearsals that mirrored the film\u2019s factional dynamics. \u201cI let every actor have other character\u2019s sheet in their group and left other characters from different groups as a mystery so they can feel the danger, suspicion, coming from other groups of inmates,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe tonal balancing act proved crucial, mixing violence, satire and uncomfortable humor. \u201cHumor in the film doesn\u2019t release tension, it sharpens it,\u201d Anwar says. \u201cLaughter should come with discomfort. If the audience laughs and then immediately questions why they did, the tone is working.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLanding in Forum, known for championing formally ambitious and politically challenging cinema, aligned with Anwar\u2019s intentions. \u201cForum is a section where films are allowed to be uncomfortable and unresolved,\u201d he observes, hoping international audiences recognize the systems portrayed as uncomfortably familiar rather than exotic.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe director wants viewers to leave questioning institutional complicity. \u201cI hope they ask themselves who the system is actually designed to protect,\u201d he says. \u201cThe film isn\u2019t asking whether corruption or destruction exists, we all know it does. It\u2019s asking why we\u2019re so comfortable letting them become normal.\u201c\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n

\n\tThe production represents another collaboration between Anwar and producer Tia Hasibuan through their Jakarta-based Come and See Pictures, alongside Rapi Films, South Korea\u2019s Barunson E&A \u2013 the studio behind Bong Joon Ho\u2019s Oscar-winning \u201cParasite\u201d \u2013 and Legacy Pictures. The ensemble cast features Abimana Aryasatya, Lukman Sardi, Bront Palarae, Aming, Rio Dewanto, Morgan Oey and Tora Sudiro.<\/p>\n

\n\tBarunson E&A is handling worldwide sales on the project as part of a\u00a0two-year agreement with Come and See Pictures.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ghost in Joko Anwar\u2018s \u201cGhost in the Cell\u201d doesn\u2019t haunt \u2013 it holds accountable. Indonesian filmmaker Anwar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[126938,28158,93,126939,61,60,126940,270],"class_list":["post-290541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-barunson-ea","tag-berlin-film-festival","tag-entertainment","tag-ghost-in-the-cell","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-joko-anwar","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}