Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion review.
Joko Anwar’s sequel to his hit 2017 film Satan’s Slaves tones down the scares in favor of atmosphere and character building. It’s another strong effort by one of the most effective horror story tellers going today. Both films are streaming now on Shudder.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion
Directed by Joko Anwar
Written by Joko Anwar
Starring Taro Basro, Endy Arfian and Nasar Annuz
Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion
Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion feels like the middle chapter of a trilogy. That’s not to say there isn’t a full story here…there definitely is. The poor Suwono family thought they left their demons behind after moving into an apartment complex. Little do they know their troubles have only just begun. And hits closer to home than they expected.
We spend a good amount of time catching up with the family and introducing some new characters. The biggest problem with the first film was the lack of character development. The sequel fixes this issue right off the bat. Everyone gets the opportunity to shine this time around.
What Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion does well is to hold its creepy atmosphere for pretty much the entire run time. The apartment building is an imposing tower of terror long before all hell breaks loose. Once the lights go out and the dead come out to play…it ratchets up several notches.
The four members of the family who made it out of the first movie each have their own story going on in Communion. Rini, the oldest daughter, is again given the most interesting story. She has been taking care of her father and brothers for years but now can go back to school and make a future for herself. Rini tells the family and they’re supportive. She promises to become successful and move them to a better place. While she is supposed to leave right away, the building has other ideas.
It all begins with an elevator accident. The scene is the centerpiece of the movie’s first half. From there things get very quiet and very dark. One thing that these Satan’s Slaves movies do a wonderful job of is to show viewers outside of the culture how they handle religion and ceremony. In this case, how the living care for the newly deceased. That is…to wrap them in ceremonial shawls and display them on the floor of their homes until burial. In a horror movie this can obviously be utilized to a startling, and frightening, effect.
Satan’s Slaves: 2 Communion also does a great job expanding the lore of its world. We learn something that changes the way we think about the original, but not in a way that hurts that story in retrospect. It does change the way we think about one of the characters though. We won’t get into that here but it’s a welcome and chilling addition to the overall story Anwar is telling.
The movie begins with a separate side story that will pay off by the end of ours. A reporter is brought to an obscure location by a police officer to see the exhumed bodies from a cemetery. The police officer has been sworn to secrecy but wants the reporter to tell everyone what’s happening out there. He believes the dead are walking the earth. It’s an intriguing set-up that becomes an integral piece to the overall story in both expected and unexpected ways.
Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion is a beautiful movie to look at despite its setting. Anwar is a master craftsman who knows how and when to use every tool in his toolbox for maximum effect. This sequel feels bigger than its predecessor in every way. While it does set aside some of the move effective scary moments in favor of story…it does so in a way you don’t want to turn your attention from. There’s more to this story…and with Communion already a bigger financial success than Satan’s Slaves let’s hope for that third chapter sooner than later.
Scare Value
An even more assured film than the excellent Satan’s Slaves, Communion is an incredibly well-made, long lasting, nightmare. While it lacks the jump scares of the first film, it strikes a great balance between sustained atmosphere and world building. A third film in the series feels as inevitable as it does necessary. The world of the dead isn’t finished with the Suwono family just yet.
4/5
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