5 Best Indonesian Horror Movies & TV Series to Watch if You're Tired of Hollywood Flicks

If you're tired of predictable jump scares and standard Hollywood horror plots, it's time to turn your attention to Southeast Asian cinema.

Indonesian horror movies and series offer a unique fusion of tropical folklore and Islamic customs where the fear of the supernatural coexists with social anxieties.

1. 'Impetigore', 2019

IMDb Score: 6.6/10

After a series of mysterious and terrifying events, a girl named Maya leaves civilization with a friend for a remote village where the secret of her noble origins lies.

Maya hopes to find her family home and sell it. However, as soon as she arrives, she realizes that a terrible curse hangs over the community, and the locals have their own plans for the heiress.

Impetigore was an event for Indonesian cinema, with excellent box office receipts and success at the Sundance Film Festival.

2. 'The Demon's Bride', 2025

IMDb Score: 5.4/10

Ranti is an outsider in her own family and has no support or help. She tries to save her child's life by any means necessary.

For her daughter's sake, Ranti makes a pact with the devil, giving herself to him like a bride and gradually merging with her new husband.

The director, cinematographer, makeup artists, and set designers brought the story to life, creating the textures of evil as a disease slowly and irreversibly infecting the body and the walls of the house.

3. 'Joko Anwar's Nightmares and Daydreams', 2024

IMDb Score: 6.5/10

Nightmares and Daydreams is a collection of seven intertwining horror, sci-fi, and detective stories set in Indonesia's capital over the course of 30 years.

The first episode follows a taxi driver who encounters a secret society; the second – follows a family that adopts an unusual child. The third – follows a writer who becomes the heroine of her novel, and the fourth – follows fishermen who encounter an unidentified object.

The fifth story takes place in an abandoned movie theater where a portal to the unknown opens; the sixth – follows an electronics repairman who learns the art of hypnosis, and the final story follows a translator who searches for his missing sister.

4. 'Satan's Slaves', 2017

IMDb Score: 6.5/10

The story takes place in Indonesia in 1981. Following the death of popular singer Mawarni, her family finds itself targeted by evil forces. Prideful of their lack of superstition, they begin praying too late.

The father, grandmother, and four children struggle to make ends meet, despite the fact that Mawarni's songs are still played on the radio.

The demonic attacks are caused not only by a lack of faith, but also by a dark family past. The key to the past lies in a record of Mawarni's famous song.

5. 'The Elixir', 2025

IMDb Score: 5.3/10

Sadimin, the longtime owner of a herbal medicine company, finds success with a new recipe – a liquid in a vial can restore youth and beauty in minutes.

However, there are immediate side effects: first Sadimin himself, and then the entire town, are transformed into zombies or yellow-eyed demons – smiling, hungry, and very fast.

The businessman's family is the first to experience the zombie apocalypse: his daughter, son, grandson, son-in-law, and new young wife.