Netflix’s Indonesian horror film “The Elixir” has risen to the top of the streamer’s global ranking of non-English titles, attracting more than 11 million viewers in the first few days of its release on October 23.
During the tracking period from October 20th to 26th, director Kimo Stambor’s zombie thriller secured the number one spot in five markets and was among the top 10 most-watched films in 75 regions worldwide across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, including Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Germany, France, South Africa, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Canada and Brazil.
This horror film centers on a family business dealing in jamu, a traditional Indonesian herbal remedy, in a village on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. A family patriarch’s quest for immortality goes catastrophically wrong, sparking domestic chaos and a deadly epidemic.
Critics and audiences responded positively to the film, a culturally specific take on zombie horror that incorporated indigenous Indonesian elements and a creature modeled after the pitcher plant, native to Indonesia.
“We wanted to make a zombie movie that felt truly Indonesian, not only in its setting and language, but also through its core story, from the villages of Jamu and Java to the family relationships. To see this film embraced by audiences across the country proves that local stories can have global resonance,” said director Stambor, who co-wrote the screenplay with Agasha Karim and Khalid Khashoggi.
The cast includes Mika Tambayon, Eva Celia, Donny Damara, Dimas Angara, Martino Rio, and Kiki Narendra. Edwin Nazir produced for Morwin Pictures.
“I never expected that a story about family, ambition and loss, so close to our daily lives, would resonate so well at home and abroad. Elixir may have zombies, but at its core it’s about family and humanity. Personally, it was a very rewarding experience to bring a story rooted in Indonesian culture to a global audience and see how warmly they responded.”
