Satan's Slaves (2017)

 


Name: Satan's Slaves, also known as Pengabdi Setan

Directed By: Joko Anwar

Subgenre: Supernatural, Foreign

Series: Spooktober 2019 entry #11; review #42

Review: Set in 1981, Satan's Slaves tells the tale of an Indonesian family beset by tragedy following the (eventual) passing of their mother and unofficial matriarch of the household; dark secrets are slowly revealed forcing the family to come together to survive not just their communal loss but waves of Satanic debt-collectors that come their way. The film evokes vibes of several more widely established films, like The Conjuring, The Exorcist, and Poltergeist but, to me, the closest comparison to be made is that Satan's Slaves is essentially an Indonesian take on Hereditary. It's got Satanic cults, it's got family curses, it's got traffic deaths: it's got it all. That said, unlike Hereditary's slow, methodical pace and creeping dread, Satan's Slaves offers a more traditional set of scares and misdirects, the latter of which work more toward dispelling the tension than building it (and a few instances are actually pretty funny). And like Hereditary, the film's final act drops its atmospheric approach and jumps into gonzo territory. I actually didn't mind it for both films, but the ending to Satan's Slaves feels extremely rushed, and the outro will likely leave you scratching your head. Turns out, the film is a prequel to another film, Satan's Slave; apparently Satan found some more spooky cultists to join the party. The ending is likely a reference to that movie, but it still leaves a sour note on an otherwise solid film. Satan's Slaves is a movie with a lot of different movies in it, but it still manages to find its own niche and deliver some tense moments before dropping the ball near the ending.




Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5 Chads forced to come together as a family by way of umbrella-wielding cultists. Did Satan's Slaves scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: Satan's Slaves is available on these platforms.


Official Trailer



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