Accomplished Indonesian movie director, Joko Anwar, who is often recognized for some of his best work including Gundala, A Copy of My Mind, and The Forbidden Door has now put Indonesian cinema on the world map with his latest series – Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams. This series has a total of seven episodes and is undoubtedly the perfect binge you need for the weekend.
Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams is a supernatural and sci-fi anthology series where each episode takes place in a different period of time but the backdrop of all episodes remains the same as they are set in Jakarta.
However, the stories are all incredibly unique, and in this review, we will talk a little more about why Joko Anwar’s series deserves to be on your list.
Every Frame of the Series is a Treat
Over the decade, Netflix has become one of the most popular streaming platforms globally, however, if there is one series that everyone remembers is the British television series, Black Mirror, which first started in 2011.
Black Mirror was groundbreaking television, and since then, many other series have attempted to replicate what Charlie Brooker once started. Some succeeded, some failed, but altogether, anthology series grew more popular, which brings us to Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams.
Anthology series are easy to watch as each episode tells a different story and you don’t necessarily have to watch it in order or be aware of the context of what comes before and what comes after. While this is one of the key elements of why this sub-genre has become increasingly popular, we won’t use it as a reason to describe Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams’s success on Netflix.
Joko Anwar’s Indonesian series has a lot going on for it in every single episode and to begin with, we would like to express that each and every frame of every episode in this series feels magical. It not only fits perfectly and makes sense, but it draws one to the series like a moth to a flame, that’s just how beautifully all the nightmares and dreams are encompassed in this series.
If you aren’t a fan of horror because you hate the jump scares and the heart palpitations that come with them, we would recommend giving Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams a shot, because this series hardly ever relies on jump scares to frighten the viewers.
The stories, the incredible acting by the cast, the set design, and the dialogues, are more than enough to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats, clinging on to a pillow.
Conclusion
Anwar has truly created magic with this latest series and he deserves all the credit for giving the viewers something to look forward to after every episode. Hopefully, he is back with another season, because we haven’t got our fill of this concept just yet!