Poor teenager Tommy isn't having a good time of it. His mother just passed away at a tragically young age. Tommy starts seeing a ghostly white apparition of her unrestful spirit. He also experiences scary nightmares of an evil devil cult. Plus a couple of close friends of the family meet brutal untimely ends. Could it be mysterious new housekeeper Darminah who's behind the freaky and troubling events that have befallen Tommy and his family? Director Sisworo Gautama Putra does an expert job of ably creating and sustaining a powerfully eerie and unnerving otherworldly atmosphere. Moreover, Putra does a totally convincing job of evoking a thoroughly believable mundane everyday reality that's ripped asunder by bizarre and inexplicable supernatural phenomenon. Better still, Putra keeps the pace slow, yet steady throughout, uses violence in a shocking, but restrained manner and gradually builds up a tremendous amount of harrowing tension before pulling out all the stops with a genuinely terrifying conclusion in which all hell quite literally breaks lose. This film even offers a rich, colorful and illuminating depiction of a fascinatingly different culture and its strongly held religious beliefs. An extremely solid and satisfying foreign fright feature.

Young Tommy and his sister are dealing with the death of their mother. After Tommy visits a psychic in order to contact his mother, the psychic - who is actually a vessel for Satan - shows up at their house as their new servant and, so slowly, all hell begins to break loose. This black magic flick from the director of Barry Prima vehicle THE WARRIOR is often described as an "Indonesian version of PHANTASM." Well, don't get your hopes up - it is only similar to PHANTASM in that it steals a few plots points. No Indonesian Tall Man or flying orbs so hopes are easily squashed. It also rips off SALEM'S LOT and the Langella Dracula. Unfortunately, nothing happens for the first hour. And I mean nothing! When the dead finally do rise, it is during the last half hour and, despite their cool looking design, it still sucks. If anything, this might be the only film you see where the devil is beaten down by guys chanting, "Allah akbar!" (or perhaps they were chanting for RETURN OF THE JEDI's Admiral Ackbar?) Man, I would hate to be the guy who I saw pay over $80 for the Japanese VHS on eBay for this.

This little known cinema rarity from Indonesia offers up a real treat for western horror buffs. Claiming to be an Eastern take on Don Coscarelli's Phantasm, it transposes Christian-based horror themes to the Muslim culture. Although, it lacks a bit of luster when compared to Phantasm, those able to look past that will find a very solid and intriguing blend of zombie horror, haunted house tale, and psychological thriller.

Satan's Slave tells the story of a family who, upon the loss of the mother, alienate themselves from religion. Of course, this leaves an open door for evil to come into their lives. It first comes in the form of the mother's nightly spectral appearances (mostly centering around the two youngsters of the household). When a terrorized servant commits suicide, he too makes a return. Then, a newly appointed housekeeper seems to work black magic and have secret diabolical intentions toward the family. After suspecting witchcraft, the children persuade the father to hire a shaman. However, that makes the haunting even worse and the wrath of the evil woman increases ten fold. With more lives claimed in the name of Satan, the evil forces at work get more and more powerful. It is up to the family to band together and accept God into their lives if they want to survive.

Yes, at the heart, this film is like an Islamic morality tale. But, that does not keep it from being an all-around good horror picture. This unique venture is worth a look by any fan of horror from around the world.