Ghost in the Cell [Fantastic Fest Review]

by Mike McGranaghan

Ghost in the Cell might be the craziest prison movie ever made. I certainly can’t think of any others that come close to it. This Indonesian horror film from director Joko Anwar is gory, funny, spooky, and utterly, wonderfully bananas.

The setting is a grimy prison, filled with criminals, con artists, and corrupt government officials. (That last group lives in a special wing where they receive favorable treatment.) Trouble starts when a new inmate arrives. Dimas (Endy Arfian) is a reporter, sentenced for killing his boss – a crime he insists he didn’t commit. As soon as he shows up, a ghostly presence makes itself known within the prison walls. It assumes the form of its victims, then mutilates their bodies into gruesome works of art. Dimas leads a small group of prisoners trying to figure out what the ghost wants.

The movie lets you know what you’re in for during the first scene, where a man is strapped to a ceiling fan via his own intestines. Believe it or not, that’s one of the milder moments. A murder in the prison showers is even more ghastly, as are several of the others. The ghost shows no mercy, staging slayings that would make John Doe from Se7en turn green with envy. One can only assume that Anwar told his special effects team to go nuts, and they fully complied.

Ghost in the Cell has a sense of humor about its own graphic nature. Comedy is routinely added to the mix. An incredible fight scene between two combatants finds their fellow inmates handing them impromptu weapons through the bars of their cells. Some are effective, others humorously not. Another brawl alternately features brutal fisticuffs and dance moves. Yes, really. When the bloodshed stops, the boogieing begins. Nothing is off limits here. If it’s outrageous, it goes in. That approach provides the film with an “I can’t wait to see what happens next” vibe.

The actors effectively give their characters colorful personalities. Conversations between them are often as entertaining as the action scenes because their group chemistry is fun to watch. Registering particularly strongly is Aming Sugandhi as Totek, the heavily tattooed, most dangerous prisoner. He plays the character as a deranged psychopath, to unnerving effect. You kind of want to laugh at him at the same time that you fear what he’s going to do.

At 106 minutes, Ghost in the Cell feels a tiny bit longer than the material requires, but that’s hardly fatal given the enjoyable madness on display throughout. The movie even has a hint of political satire to match its carnage. There’s nothing else quite like this picture, which is exactly what makes it special.