Joko Anwar's first non-horror feature in six years misses the mark, despite its potentially intriguing premise and gritty action set pieces.

imagine you just chillin then outta nowhere some jawir dude pulls up and attacks you

After such a long time, Joko Anwar has finally returned to directing a film outside of the horror–supernatural genre, and honestly, I’m satisfied with this one. As always, Joko Anwar’s opening scenes immediately trigger me—my heart pounding, thump-thump-thump!! Truly terrifying, yet this isn’t even a horror film. Almost every aspect of this movie comes close to perfection: from its neatly woven plot narrative, to its amazing world-building and production design. The dystopian world is portrayed as being in total chaos, yet it feels so realistic that it makes us feel as though this world is dangerously close to our own reality. No wonder—collaborating with MGM 🐯 resulted in such mind-blowing production design. The scoring is also perfectly placed, amplifying the tension even more. The visuals? Stunning—an atmosphere so gripping that it brought back memories of the dark times during the 1998 riots. As for the acting? Omara Esteghal delivers an excellent and convincing performance as Jefri—his facial expressions and gestures scream pure psychopath. Likewise, Morgan Oey is equally impressive as a teacher forced to risk his very existence in his role—torn between protecting his students and surviving their horror. To embrace and reconcile means risking being killed, but to defend oneself—even if it means killing—goes against his moral code as a teacher. This isn’t just an ordinar…

_"Our country is like the thinnest glass. If we don't do anything, we'll just have to wait for it to break. We're not in a good place." —_