Joko Anwar didn't just remake a 1980s cult classic; he basically broke the internet—and the box office—by assembling a group of actors who could actually make you believe in the supernatural. Most horror movies fail because the people on screen feel like cardboard cutouts waiting for their turn to scream. Not here. The cast of Satan's Slaves (or Pengabdi Setan for the purists) brought a heavy, suffocating realism to a story about a family falling apart under the weight of a demonic debt.
It's been years since the 2017 reboot and its 2022 sequel, Communion, but people are still obsessed with how this specific group of actors managed to turn a low-budget Indonesian genre flick into a Shudder sensation. You've got veterans like Ayu Laksmi, whose face is now synonymous with nightmare fuel, and newcomers who had to carry the emotional core of the film while being chased by "Ibu."
The Power of the Mother: Ayu Laksmi as Mawarni Suwono
Let’s be honest. Without Ayu Laksmi, this movie doesn't work. Before she was the terrifying matriarch Mawarni, Ayu was primarily known as a singer, dancer, and stage performer from Bali. She wasn't a "horror actress" by trade. That’s probably why her performance felt so unsettling. She didn't rely on tropes.
When Joko Anwar cast her, he wasn't just looking for someone who could look scary in a veil. He needed someone who could convey a lifetime of secret desperation. In the film, Mawarni is a former singer who lost her voice and her health to a mysterious illness. For the first twenty minutes, she doesn't even speak. She rings a bell. That bell sound still triggers a fight-or-flight response in anyone who saw it in theaters. Laksmi’s ability to use her eyes and slight tilts of her head created a character that felt both pitiable and predatory. It’s a rare feat. Most "ghosts" in movies are just CGI or makeup, but the cast of Satan's Slaves succeeded because the threat felt human first.
Tara Basro: The Final Girl Who Actually Feels Tired
Tara Basro plays Rini, the eldest daughter. If you follow Indonesian cinema, you know Tara is basically Anwar’s muse. They’ve worked together on A Copy of My Mind, Gundala, and Impetigore. What makes Tara’s performance in the Satan's Slaves franchise so grounded is her exhaustion.
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She doesn't look like a Hollywood starlet with perfect makeup in the middle of a haunting. She looks like a girl who hasn't slept in three weeks because she’s trying to figure out how to pay the light bill while her mother dies in the next room. Rini is the anchor. If she doesn't believe the house is haunted, we don't believe it. Tara brings a "done with this" energy that makes the horror feel more visceral. When she finally breaks, it’s earned.
The Kids Who Carried the Weight
Working with child actors is notoriously difficult in horror. It usually goes one of two ways: they’re annoying, or they’re creepy in a way that feels forced. Endy Arfian (Tony), Nasar Anuz (Bondi), and Muhammad Adhiyat (Ian) avoided both traps.
- Endy Arfian: He played Tony with a sort of teenage bravado that slowly crumbled. His chemistry with Tara Basro felt like a real sibling bond, especially in the scenes where they’re just trying to distract the younger kids from the scratching sounds in the walls.
- Muhammad Adhiyat: As the youngest, Ian, he was the heart of the first film—until he wasn't. The twist involving his character required a level of nuance most kids don't have. He had to be innocent enough to protect, but "off" enough to make you suspicious.
- Nasar Anuz: Bondi was the skeptic. Every horror movie needs one, but Bondi wasn't just a plot device. He was the kid who tried to solve the problem with logic until logic stopped working.
Bront Palarae and the Burden of Fatherhood
Bront Palarae is a Malaysian actor, and his inclusion in the cast of Satan's Slaves was a brilliant move for regional appeal. He plays the father, Bahri Suwono. In many ways, he’s the "villain" of the domestic drama. He’s absent. He’s looking for work while his family rots.
Palarae plays Bahri with a quiet, simmering guilt. You can see it in the way he avoids eye contact with his children. He knows something is wrong, but he’s too paralyzed by his own failures to face it. It's a subtle performance in a movie that is often very loud and very scary. By the time we get to the sequel, his character’s arc becomes even more complicated as we realize just how much he was hiding.
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The Evolution in Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion
When the sequel dropped in 2022, the stakes got weirdly high. The setting shifted from a lonely house in the woods to a decaying high-rise apartment complex in Jakarta during a storm. This changed the dynamics of the ensemble entirely.
We got new additions like Muzakki Ramdhan and Fatih Unru. The sequel leaned harder into the "cult" aspect of the lore. The cast of Satan's Slaves 2 had to deal with a much more claustrophobic environment. Instead of one ghost in one room, it was a whole building full of people who might be part of the conspiracy.
Jourdy Pranata joined as Dino, adding a layer of street-smart grit to the mix. His presence helped expand the world outside of the Suwono family. It made the horror feel systemic, like it wasn't just one family being cursed, but a whole society being manipulated by these "slaves" of the title.
Why This Specific Ensemble Worked
Most horror franchises swap out casts like they’re disposable. Satan's Slaves didn't. By keeping the core family intact for the sequel, Joko Anwar allowed the audience to grow a genuine attachment to them. We aren't just watching "victims" get picked off; we're watching people we’ve spent four hours with try to survive an impossible cosmic nightmare.
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The chemistry is the "secret sauce." If you watch behind-the-scenes footage or interviews, you’ll see that the cast of Satan's Slaves actually spent a lot of time together in the "haunted" locations. They filmed the first one in an old, abandoned house in Pengalengan, West Java. The actors stayed nearby. They felt the cold. They saw the fog. That atmospheric reality bled into their performances.
A Note on the "Raminom" Mystery
One of the biggest talking points regarding the cast isn't even an actor you see clearly for most of the film. The entity known as "Raminom"—who looks remarkably like Mawarni—created a massive fan theory rabbit hole. Is it actually her? Is it a demon taking her shape? The way the cast reacts to Raminom—with a mix of grief and absolute terror—is what sells the mystery. They treat the entity not just as a monster, but as a perversion of someone they loved.
What You Should Watch Next
If you’ve finished both films and want to see what these actors are capable of outside the Suwono household, there are a few "must-watch" projects. It’s the best way to appreciate the range they brought to the horror genre.
- Impetigore (Perempuan Tanah Jahanam): This is another Joko Anwar masterpiece featuring Tara Basro. It’s arguably scarier than Satan's Slaves because it’s more grounded in folk horror and ritual.
- Gundala: If you want to see Tara Basro and Bront Palarae in a completely different light, this is Indonesia's first major superhero movie. It’s gritty, urban, and shows off their action chops.
- The Science of Fictions: For something more "prestige" and artistic, check out Gunawan Maryanto (who has a smaller role in the Anwar universe). It’s a slow-burn film that shows the depth of the Indonesian acting pool.
The Legacy of the Cast
The cast of Satan's Slaves changed the trajectory of Southeast Asian cinema. Before 2017, Indonesian horror was often seen as "cheap" or "trashy," focusing on jump scares and exploitative themes. This ensemble proved that you could have a massive commercial hit that was also a masterclass in acting and atmosphere.
They didn't just play characters; they built a mythology. When you see Ayu Laksmi in a different movie now, you still get a little chill. That’s the mark of a performance that has transcended the screen and entered the collective subconscious.
Actionable Insights for Horror Fans
- Watch in the original language: If you watched the dubbed version, you missed about 40% of the performance. The vocal inflections of the cast of Satan's Slaves, especially the way they use traditional Indonesian honorifics, add a layer of formality and dread that English dubs just can't capture.
- Pay attention to the background: In both films, the actors often do their best work when they aren't the focus of the shot. Watch Bondi’s reactions in the background of the living room scenes—his constant scanning of the corners of the room adds to the tension.
- Follow the director’s "troupe": If you liked this cast, look for other films produced by BASE Entertainment or Rapi Films. There is a recurring group of actors in this "new wave" of Indonesian horror who frequently collaborate, and seeing their chemistry evolve across different stories is fascinating.
The real trick to enjoying Satan's Slaves isn't just looking for the ghosts. It's watching how the family falls apart and tries to stitch themselves back together. That’s where the real horror lives. The ghosts are just the catalyst; the actors are the story. Reach for the subtitles, turn off the lights, and pay attention to the silence between the bell rings. That's where the best acting happens.