Joko Anwar Takes a Temporary Break from Horror Films, Will Explore a New Genre?

Kapanlagi.com - Written by: Nadia Sabilla Ramadhani

Famous for his unique horror genre, Joko Anwar will bid farewell to his beloved genre. This comes as a surprise to horror fans of Joko Anwar. All the works of this famous director have never failed, many are disappointed by Joko Anwar's departure from the supernatural world of Indonesia.

This was revealed by the director himself on his social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram. “Taking a short break from Indonesian horror films.” That's what Joko Anwar expressed on Twitter @jokoanwar last Friday (24/5). It is also similar to what Joko Anwar posted on Instagram with a brief black text on a white background.

The latest release of his horror film that immediately became trending is SIKSA KUBUR which received a rating of 7.1/10 from IMDb. Fans' reactions to Joko Anwar's post vary, let's find out what they are!

1. Joko Anwar's Farewell Post from Indonesian Horror Genre

Joko Anwar (© KapanLagi.com/Bayu Herdianto)

In both platforms, Instagram and Twitter, Joko Anwar's post received various responses. His Instagram post @jokoanwar garnered 38 thousand likes and 1,500 comments. There was no additional caption in the post, and many speculated that Joko Anwar would shift towards drama genre like JANJI JONI or continue with the action-fantasy genre of Bumilangit Cinema Universe's GUNDALA. Some also commented, “Okay, bro, but I'll always wait for your work because my standard for Indonesian horror films is you. I won't watch horror if it's not Joko Anwar, that's it. Good luck!” said one of Joko Anwar's loyal horror fans.

The responses on X/Twitter post were not much different from Instagram, with 1.4 thousand likes and a couple hundred comments. Many commented that Joko Anwar might switch to drama or fantasy genre, or some mentioned that he would venture into the international scene. “Okay, bro, it's time for international expansion.” said one of Joko Anwar's fan accounts.

2. Rising Works

Joko Anwar (© KapanLagi.com/Budy Santoso)

Joko Anwar has a lot of track records in the horror world. However, that doesn't mean he never explores other genres. Starting from drama, romance, and fantasy genres from short films to 2-hour films. An example is JANJI JONI with a comedy drama genre getting a rating of 7.6/10 on IMDb and GUNDALA with a fantasy and action genre getting a rating of 6.1/10 on IMDb.

Joko Anwar's horror genre can be said to be the center of Indonesian horror because of its mind-blowing plot. Joko Anwar always adds additional genres such as MODUS ANOMALI (RITUAL) which is a psychological horror, thriller, and mystery genre. And the most popular one is PENGABDI SETAN which currently has its first and second sequels. This became popular because the plot of the story is very unique and unpredictable with the next scene. The mystery genre in Joko Anwar's horror makes the audience really curious until the end of the film.

As we know, the horror films presented by Joko Anwar are always fresh and the concepts are always unique for a horror film class. It can be said that the horror brought by Joko Anwar is high-class Indonesian horror.

(kpl/nyx)