Joko Anwar. That's the name of the director who made such an impact on me that I will never forget his name. When I came across this movie, I was very bored and though the title "The forbidden Door" was pretty cliché for a horror/ thriller movie, I decided to take a quick look at it and discard the viewing within the 10 first minutes if it failed to catch and maintain my attention. I am sure glad I stumble across this movie. I was in for a nice surprise to the point that when I finished watching it, I played it and viewed it again to appreciate all the details. So here we go: you have this guy, Gambir, who is a well-known sculptor, specializing in making as large as life sculptures of pregnant women in different positions. He has a beautiful wife, two best friends, a mother and a Manager. Gambir, played by a fascinating and excellent actor named Fachry Albar, received messages by phone, by writing in his yard grass, by hand written notes, by writing in the street, by TV …from a young boy. They all say "Help Me". Gambir will evolve from a shy, submissive man to a fanatic, action man.That's it! I don't want to tell you more. You have to watch the whole movie because it's so good! In fact it's one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. The Christmas dinner scene, at the end, is gruesome but well worth it. Fachry Albar gives an Oscar performance. This is not horror for the pleasure of it and just to captivate the blood thirsty audience but it's a horror movie full of feelings, questions, and just beautifully made. The horror is everywhere to be found: in ideas, in thoughts, psychologically, physically, in the eyes, in the touch…Each scene leaves you wondering and pondering. Watch the credits entirely, because the last scene is after the credits: a less than 30 seconds scene that wraps up the whole movie like a ribbon that you want to undo to open and watch this movie all over, again.

I have just recently had the opportunity to watch this movie even though I have noticed the surround positive reviews of the movie for some time. And after watching it just yesterday, it would be fair to say that this picture by far is the best modern picture made by Indonesian filmmaker.It is a bold, horrifying, intense and mean noir psychological horror. The horrid surreal atmosphere and chilling gore very much remind me of Lynch's and Aronofsky's style which is outstanding. Watching this movie really gives you a more complex horrid feeling than any kind of Indonesian horror with excessive portion of demon and ghost appearance more than you beg for of which you can't help but to smirk. And fairly said, this movie has put back faith in me that indeed Indonesian filmmaker can so do much better than only of those sex exploit movies and series of ridicule horror.Finally said, this movie is very recommended as an introductory to a fine piece of Indonesian modern cinema. And despite the plot may not be very original at all and at some point the gory scene may need a little extra stomach to bear, but to skip this modern horror experience would be a sin to every horror/thriller movie lover.

This movie is a perfectly executed thriller combining startling and grisly violence with mystery and a foreboding mood. A young artist finds himself drawn into a world of terror against his will and his life begins to unravel. This is a story of a cruel world and of living under the power of others.The multi-part climax and ending could be described predictable, surprising, (Yes, both of those) as truly epic, and cryptic. I think I've figured what it was supposed to mean, though even had you left the theatre merely confused, you'll appreciate the craft and you will have been affected by the movie.The acting and direction is top notch, and I can attest that the movie was foreboding even when interrupted by technical difficulties and projector problems as my theatre endured when the movie was screened. (Appropriately enough given the English title, our projector broke in two parts where the main character opened a door at a tense moment)I would love to see more work by these people.

Pintu Terlarang (aka the Forbidden Door) is a brilliant film, plain and simple. Joko Anwar, the director, did a fabulous job constructing the imagery of the psychological thriller with magnificent scoring, impressive casts and smart plot line. Though the film, itself came from the best-selling novel by Sekar Ayu, I found that it only took major plot from the novel. To be honest, I did not know about the ending until it was revealed. Quite a shock! Both Fachri Albar and Marsha Timothy gives one of the best performances of their career, the powerful performances with complex emotions. Some scene are quite disturbing but it helps the film to build intense in beautiful cinematography, the Joko Anwar's style. You may go and see this film again to realize why the end is such a surprise, or so many twists that you want to get them clearly…or you could rush out to watch it again purely because it's an almost perfect example of it's genre, as I did it three times. Brilliant.