After the death of their mother, a once-famous singer, and the departure of their father to find work in the city, the Suwono children, including Rini, Toni, Bondi, and Ian, begin to be haunted by a ghost resembling their mother, as they learn that their parents might have not been entirely truthful about what they have done in the past.
Unlike the original film, the film discards the more overtly religious Aesop about not abandoning your faith for worldly pleasures, although it does still preach about not getting involved in deviant teachings for the sake of fame. The film was warmly received and became a smashing success. Alongside Danur: I Can See Ghosts, it was responsible for reinvigorating Indonesian horror cinema, which had been undergoing a downfall since the late 2000s, with trashy, sex-selling B-grade pics saturating the cinema. With 4.2 million admissions, it was the highest-grossing Indonesian horror film until the 2022 release of the viral hit KKN di Desa Penari (which was such a box office juggernaut that it not only dethroned its ranking, but ended up becoming the highest-grossing Indonesian film period).
The film got a sequel in 2022, called Satan's Slaves 2: Communion.
Tropes
- The '80s: Likely to reference the original film, the film is set in 1981.
- Adaptation Name Change: The daughter from the original film is named Rita, while here, her name is Rini.
- Archnemesis Dad: After her death, Mawarni comes back as a ghost who haunts her children.
- Big Damn Heroes: Budiman shows up at the last minute to save Rini, Toni, Bondi, and Bahri, as they are being attacked by the reanimated corpses.
- Bittersweet Ending: Rini, Toni, Bondi, and Bahri manage to escape alive thanks to Budiman's help, but the Ustaz and Hendra are dead, and Ian is taken away by the Satanists. Oh, and the very end reveals that Darminah, the original film's antagonist, is also around, and who knows what she is up to.
- Deal with the Devil: Rini and Hendra learn that Bahri and Mawarni made a deal with the demonic cult so the latter could give birth and achieve fame as a singer.
- Decomposite Character: The original film has just one son, Tomi, while the remake turns him into three distinct characters: Toni, Bondi, and Ian.
- Demonic Possession:
- After Grandma Rahma's death, she possesses Bondi and forces him to attack Ian.
- In the third act of the film, Ian is seemingly possessed by the ghost and gains the ability to talk (albeit in a demonic language), even though he was previously established to be mute.
- Demoted to Extra: Darminah, the original film's antagonist, only appears at the very end, giving food to the Suwono family upon their move to an apartment.
- Good All Along: Rahma's ghost has been trying to protect her family from the Satanists. She attacked Ian because she knew he had been marked by them, and is the true cause of the haunting.
- Night of the Living Mooks: In the climax of the film, reanimated corpses attack the Suwono house, killing the Ustaz and forcing the rest to flee with Budiman.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Hendra's father is only known as the Ustaz (the Indonesian term for an Islamic scholar).
- Outliving One's Offspring: Hendra dies being hit by a truck, predeceasing his father.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Rahma Saidah did not approve her son's marriage to Mawarni, because she was an artist and unable to bear children, having to resort to Satanism to do so.
- Religious Horror: The Suwono family are attacked by a ghost and demonic cultists.
- Riches to Rags: The Suwono family were once wealthy thanks to Mawarni's success as a singer, but after she became sick and stopped singing, they are barely making ends meet.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The Ustaz walks away when he sees Rini being attacked by Hendra's ghost, knowing that there is nothing he can do for her at this point.
- Thrown Down a Well: Grandma Rahma dies after falling into a well.
- Token Religious Teammate: The Ustaz, as contrasted with the irreligious Suwono family.
- Tragic Dropout: Rini had to drop out of college because the family's fortune had been spent on Mawarni's medication.
- Turn to Religion: The Suwono family are not religious, which the Ustaz explains may have led to them being exposed to evil spirits, and he suggests that Rini should try to pray. The ghost attacks her while praying, and she stops attempting to do so. By the end of the film, the Ustaz, the most religious person in the film, ends up dying, while Rini, Toni, Bondi, and Bahri survive the film.
- The Wicked Stage: Rahma dislikes Mawarni because she is an artist.
