“Modus Anomali” is written and directed by the most acclaimed director in Indonesia: Joko Anwar. Before its release, this film had already received so much anticipation from Anwar’s fans including me. His previous works are all very intriguing, innovative, and out-of-the-box. In my own words, I think his talent is such an enlightenment for Indonesia’s film industry. This minimalistic film tells a story of a man (Rio Dewanto) who finds himself estranged in a remote forest. He doesn’t have any idea who he is until he discovers a cabin in the middle of the forest. In the cabin, there’s a video that shows that the man has a wife (Hannah Al Rashid) and two children (Izzi Isman and Aridh Tritama).

The wife is brutally murdered and his two kids are missing. We later find out that the man’s name is John Evans. John comes to conclusion that there’s a killer loose in the forest and that he must find his children and solve the mystery before they’re also killed. Honestly, I have a really high expectation towards this film. Because Joko Anwar’s last film “Pintu Terlarang” or “The Forbidden Door” is still traumatizing me until this very second. Yes, you should check it out. It’s a twisted and unbelievably sick film. Although the cinematography is insanely breathtaking, the first 60 minutes of “Modus Anomali” was a little all over the place.

But it did make me scream my heart out at some scenes. And this guy beside me at the cinema was always jumping out from his seat. Hilarious. Rio Dewanto’s acting in this film is top notch. Mainly because he had most screen time than any other actors in the film. In the end, there’s only three possible options about what’s really going on in “Modus Anomali”: 1. John is a psycho and kills everyone, 2. John is trapped in some kind of wacko experiment, and 3. It’s all happening in John’s head. It’s still a great thriller though. But I think “Modus Anomali” could have been better.

6.5/10