The Forbidden Door (2009) User Reviews

A little too intense for my taste, but extremely well made and quite effective...

[lathe-of-heaven · 6/10 · 6 February 2022]

Like I say in my title above, this isn't really quite my type of film. I DO though very much like the David Lynch touches and mood which are created very well throughout. Technically, everything is expertly executed, and all the acting is excellent.

If you happen to like the intensity of movies like 'HOSTEL' or others of this nature, this will probably be right up your alley. For me personally, those kinds of films I just don't find entertaining, it's just not my thing. But, as I've stated in many of my reviews, just because I don't happen to find the story fully enjoyable, I can honestly say that for people that do like these kinds of movies, they will likely find it entertaining. It is made very well, AND truthfully, it is extremely effective in what the filmmakers are trying to do. There is absolutely NO doubt about that 😊

So, this is one of those very rare cases where, even though I didn't exactly 'enjoy' all aspects of it, I felt the film was conceived and made really well and most definitely created a very foreboding and disturbing atmosphere. For example, without giving anything away, when the main protagonist is feeling anguish and disgust, you most definitely will feel it too, which means the movie is accomplishing precisely what it is supposed to do. Just for me personally, I found it a tad too dark and disturbing in some areas and it just doesn't quite fit my idea of a 'Fun' movie. But, the film is so effectively made, for those who do like their intensity levels quite high, this will probably be the kind of movie for you.

A fine psychological horror and a slap for other Indonesian horror.

[Ramuna · 7/10 · 24 October 2011]

I have just recently had the opportunity to watch this movie even though I have noticed the surround positive reviews of the movie for some time. And after watching it just yesterday, it would be fair to say that this picture by far is the best modern picture made by Indonesian filmmaker.

It is a bold, horrifying, intense and mean noir psychological horror. The horrid surreal atmosphere and chilling gore very much remind me of Lynch's and Aronofsky's style which is outstanding. Watching this movie really gives you a more complex horrid feeling than any kind of Indonesian horror with excessive portion of demon and ghost appearance more than you beg for of which you can't help but to smirk. And fairly said, this movie has put back faith in me that indeed Indonesian filmmaker can so do much better than only of those sex exploit movies and series of ridicule horror.

Finally said, this movie is very recommended as an introductory to a fine piece of Indonesian modern cinema. And despite the plot may not be very original at all and at some point the gory scene may need a little extra stomach to bear, but to skip this modern horror experience would be a sin to every horror/thriller movie lover.

Interesting and thought-provoking thriller

[Lior34 · 8/10 · 29 November 2018]

This film is a wonderful thriller which manages to hold both its mystery parts and grizzly parts to a high standard. It details the life of a successful sculpturer and his descent into madness as he tries to unravel multiple mysteries in his life. Different topics are explored within the plot such as self-fulfillment and interpersonal relationships which affect the main character while also exploring abuse, voyeurism and violence through its various conspiracies.

The film keeps a good pace, unraveling its mysteries without having dull moments or unnecessary filler. While it deals with harsh subjects, it manages to be tame with its violence, with a few exceptions made to keep the viewer tense throughout. The lack of significant gore in the movie makes the climax much stronger. It takes a sudden turn into the gory extreme (compared to the rest of the film) which succeeds in shocking the viewer.

This paragraph contains spoilers: The film does rely on a cliche ending of "it was all in his mind" type of twist. It could be considered a fitting ending though. The film has multiple cases of foreshadowing towards the ending, symbolism and other artistic qualities which are too often missing from other thrillers or films which use this type of ending.

Overall, "The Forbidden Door" is a great film. With solid acting, interesting premise and great execution it is truly a joy to watch. It manages to be interesting through its entirety with its compelling and interesting story. It left me pondering about it after the end, which is pretty rare, and only goes to show it is much more than a mindless thriller.

A good and original thriller.

[superstradivariusboys · 7/10 · 31 March 2022]

A less horrific thriller than I would have expected, and so much the better, the film shines with its unusual themes and mystery.

Although some elements of the plot are predictable or even dont make sense even after the end of the movie, it is a real pleasure to see the evolution of the main character until the end screen, which even if it disappoints me slightly, remains an interesting point of view.

I've just watched it!!! It's great! I love everything about this movie!

[Neptune165 · 7/10 · 5 August 2022]

It really is a good film! Loved this movie, Gambir is such an awesome character, great hair too lol. Another one of Marsha Timothy's masterpiece performance is in Marlina the Murderer in 4 Acts (dir. Mouly Surya) You should watch that! I love this film so much!!! The scene at the table was quite something. This is one of the movie that I never get bored to watched so many times and still gives me pleasure.

Brilliant...the Best Indonesian Thriller Movie

[wito1006 · 10/10 · 6 February 2009]

Pintu Terlarang (aka the Forbidden Door) is a brilliant film, plain and simple. Joko Anwar, the director, did a fabulous job constructing the imagery of the psychological thriller with magnificent scoring, impressive casts and smart plot line. Though the film, itself came from the best-selling novel by Sekar Ayu, I found that it only took major plot from the novel. To be honest, I did not know about the ending until it was revealed. Quite a shock! Both Fachri Albar and Marsha Timothy gives one of the best performances of their career, the powerful performances with complex emotions. Some scene are quite disturbing but it helps the film to build intense in beautiful cinematography, the Joko Anwar's style. You may go and see this film again to realize why the end is such a surprise, or so many twists that you want to get them clearly…or you could rush out to watch it again purely because it's an almost perfect example of it's genre, as I did it three times. Brilliant.

Fantastic thriller

[kevinsutton · 9/10 · 20 August 2009]

This movie is a perfectly executed thriller combining startling and grisly violence with mystery and a foreboding mood. A young artist finds himself drawn into a world of terror against his will and his life begins to unravel. This is a story of a cruel world and of living under the power of others.

The multi-part climax and ending could be described predictable, surprising, (Yes, both of those) as truly epic, and cryptic. I think I've figured what it was supposed to mean, though even had you left the theatre merely confused, you'll appreciate the craft and you will have been affected by the movie.

The acting and direction is top notch, and I can attest that the movie was foreboding even when interrupted by technical difficulties and projector problems as my theatre endured when the movie was screened. (Appropriately enough given the English title, our projector broke in two parts where the main character opened a door at a tense moment)

I would love to see more work by these people.

Boring, predictable and some really disturbing stuff involving a kid.

[Fella_shibby · 4/10 · 17 February 2022]

I cannot stand any movie which shows violence towards kids.

I saw this only cos of its director Joko Anwar but this one is a big disappointment.

There is no tension, no suspense n no atmosphere but just an annoying actor with his annoying hair.

It has some killings but that too towards the end.

Inspite of the movie being a bit dark, there is zero nudity n zero sex scene.

Revisiting John Cusack's Identity is a better option than this.

Big fan of Joko Anwar but now i think he is more of a hit n miss kinda director.

I didn't enjoy The Queen of Black Magic which Anwar didn't direct but he is the writer.

I was generous with his Impetigore which has unnecessary gore n squirmy stuff.

Loved his Gundala.

Enjoyed his Satan's Slaves n found it to be creepy, scary n very atmospheric.

Waiting for Satan's Slaves part 2.

Beautifully Disturbing & Violently Haunting, It's A Ride Of Your Life!

[danieldokter · 10/10 · 7 February 2009]

As another breakthrough in thriller genre that has just grown in Indonesian cinema, Pintu Terlarang (Forbidden Door) goes far beyond the genre's boundaries. Based on the novel by Sekar Ayu Asmara, this psychological mind-thriller has re-shaped with Joko Anwar's very own absurdity. Here, that stylish Indonesian director, Joko Anwar, who brought us Janji Joni and the mesmerizing adventure fantasy, Kala, has once again takes his audience to another world and mind-bending dimension with his absurd way of storytelling, vintage-noir art direction and scores that make you fly with it.

The famous pregnant woman sculptor, Gambir (Fachri Albar) starts losing his world after getting strange same messages from an abused little boy. With everyone around suddenly act strange, his paranoia then leads the shocking findings that may opens the door to his deepest fears.

Beautifully shots, acted and wrapped, Joko leaves his audience wonders, questioning and even arguing every clues he used just like opening the encrypted codes to a secret files. A gory-ness disturbing scenes that comes without compromise, a complex plot that even screw your minds, high-style art directing, intense acting that put the highest credits to Fachri Albar, haunting atmosphere all over the movie, brilliant scores, comes along together as one must-see Indonesian movie of the decades. Just like one movie that could rolls puzzling through your minds, Pintu Terlarang/Forbidden Door is truly, beautifully disturbing and violently haunting. It's a one hell-ride of your life!

Fake reviews

[zee-la · 1/10 · 4 February 2022]

Pretty sure all reviews are fake. Awful film.

From script, acting, photography, grading, score... you name it, pure garbage. It's more like the first draft of a student.

a

[pintu_terlarang · 10/10 · 25 January 2009]

Pintu Terlarang (a.k.a The Forbidden Door) is really, really great and will definitely making you stay in your chair when you watched this greatest movie ever.

Gambir is an artist. He got a beautiful wife, Talyda. Someday, Gambir got some weird message.

Gambir try to find who send that message. And he tell that message to his friends, Dandung and Rio, and they cannot help Gambir.

Gambir still trying hard to find who send that message, when someday he found some strange door in his home. He asked to his wife, Talyda, about that door. Talyda told him to never opened that door.

Gambir finally got an bright way to solved his problem about weird message. There's some secret organization who broadcast some strange video about the kid who tortured by his parents. Gambir trying hard to help this kid, and take him to sadness truth, madness, Talyda's secrets and definitely, that forbidden door.

Once again, Joko Anwar will give you another guilty pleasure when you watch this. Just like Dead Time : Kala (2007), Joko Anwar make this movie so heartbreaking which is making you keep staying in your chair.

The point is, this movie will make you forget the world, and after saw this movie, I promise, that your brain will full with your own idea about the ending, because, baby, the ending is so cool. You can put some point of view about the ending.

Fachri Albar give a bad-ass performance. He is really great. And, Marsha Timothy can act well too. She can act as a wife who is really mysterious with really great.

The art direction is totally awesome. And the music score is really, really make you wanna jumped out from your chair.

Just watch this movie, watch the Christmas dinner scene and you will forget anything! Trust me.

A movie that will leave you contemplating long after you left the theatre

[inatassa-1 · 10/10 · 12 February 2009]

I've been a fan of Anwar's movie since he was said to have reached a monumental achievement in Indonesian cinematography by directing Kala, a noir film unlike any others. And I believed then that it was going to be hard for any film director to top that, until Anwar arises again with Pintu Terlarang (Forbidden Door). I came watching the movie with high expectation, since I've read the book from where it was adapted and totally fell in love with the story, and also because Anwar's previous masterpiece Kala. Not surprisingly, though, not only Pintu Terlarang met my already high expectation, it has also managed to surpass it in many ways: cinematography, angles, and a brilliant adaptation of the original storyline (I only wish that someday I would have the chance to see the uncut or director's cut version). Pintu Terlarang is not merely a depiction of a psychological battle and conspiracy at its very core, thus providing us with countless opportunity to respond to each scene biographically, it ialso provide us with incredible shock-and-awe effect that will leave the audience contemplating inside their head long after they leave the theatre. This is a movie that belongs in the same class as any films that Stanley Kubrik and Quentin Tarantino have had us the pleasure of enjoying.

I wish I never opened that door...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 24 January 2023]

I had never heard about the 2009 Indonesian movie "Pintu Terlarang" (aka "The Forbidden Door") prior to now in 2023, as I had the opportunity to watch it. And of course I opted to watch it as it is an Asian movie that I hadn't already seen.

However, writer and director Joko Anwar failed to impress me with this 2009. The movie is listed as a horror mystery thriller. Right, well scratch the horror aspect from that equation, because there was nothing scary about the movie, aside from how boring it was. Mystery? Well, sort of. Thriller? Hardly so in the proper sense.

The storyline in "Pintu Terlarang" seemed to follow no particular red thread, and the movie felt incredibly random and chaotic, as if writer and director Joko Anwar was just making things up as they were filming the movie scene by scene.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "Pintu Terlarang", nor could I claim that I was impressed with what I saw on the screen.

"Pintu Terlarang" was a swing and a miss, especially since I was expecting it to be a horror movie. The storyline was just simply too boring and erratic.

My rating of "Pintu Terlarang" lands on a two out of ten stars.

This movie is a beautiful gem!

[Jdidalot · 10/10 · 5 August 2012]

Joko Anwar. That's the name of the director who made such an impact on me that I will never forget his name.

When I came across this movie, I was very bored and though the title "The forbidden Door" was pretty cliché for a horror/ thriller movie, I decided to take a quick look at it and discard the viewing within the 10 first minutes if it failed to catch and maintain my attention.

I am sure glad I stumble across this movie. I was in for a nice surprise to the point that when I finished watching it, I played it and viewed it again to appreciate all the details.

So here we go: you have this guy, Gambir, who is a well-known sculptor, specializing in making as large as life sculptures of pregnant women in different positions. He has a beautiful wife, two best friends, a mother and a Manager.

Gambir, played by a fascinating and excellent actor named Fachry Albar, received messages by phone, by writing in his yard grass, by hand written notes, by writing in the street, by TV …from a young boy. They all say "Help Me".

Gambir will evolve from a shy, submissive man to a fanatic, action man.

That's it! I don't want to tell you more. You have to watch the whole movie because it's so good! In fact it's one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.

The Christmas dinner scene, at the end, is gruesome but well worth it. Fachry Albar gives an Oscar performance.

This is not horror for the pleasure of it and just to captivate the blood thirsty audience but it's a horror movie full of feelings, questions, and just beautifully made. The horror is everywhere to be found: in ideas, in thoughts, psychologically, physically, in the eyes, in the touch…Each scene leaves you wondering and pondering.

Watch the credits entirely, because the last scene is after the credits: a less than 30 seconds scene that wraps up the whole movie like a ribbon that you want to undo to open and watch this movie all over, again.

Needlessly complex & ultimately unsatisfying

[Sankari_Suomi · 5/10 · 14 February 2022]

Joko Anwar explores the darker aspects of Indonesian society in this slow burning retro styled psychological neo-noir thriller.

Gambir, a gifted sculptor, wins fame and fortune with his realistic statues of pregnant women. Over time, however, he becomes disillusioned and even concerned by the monotony of his work. Yet his ambitious wife and manager compel him to go on, and its not long before cracks appear in their relationship.

At the same time, Gambir is haunted by strange experiences that seem to hint at a lurking danger. Combined with the guilt of his hidden past, this mysterious threat weighs heavily on his fragile mental state, leading to a catastrophic event that will change everything he knew!

While there's no denying the bold ambition of Anwar's work, Pintu Terlarang fails to satisfy. It is oddly directed, with unusual cuts that only distract from scenes that would otherwise be impactful. This is made worse by an unnecessary number of twists and turns in the plot, which inspire more irritation than intrigue.

Thematically, Pintu Terlarang is all over the place. Anwar has scooped up a bunch of social issues, thrown them at the wall with no particular enthusiasm, and waited to see what sticks. The result is as messy as you'd expect. When the big reveal finally occurs, there's not much reason to be excited about it.

I rate Pintu Terlarang at 16.65 on the Haglee Scale, which works out as a lacklustre 5/10 on IMDB.

PINTU TERLARANG sucks.. at being bad..

[rangga1312 · 10/10 · 5 February 2009]

The movie is so good that I just know it would finish last if there was a competition on sucking, or perhaps this movie would be disqualified even before the sucking competition started :P I think the thriller genre hasn't been getting any proper treatment from most Indonesian creators, what with the "supernatural horror" movie euphoria that's been sweeping the world. Let's face it, suspense thrillers just ain't what it used to be.

Then a movie comes along which brightens up your day and assures you that the Indonesian movie scene is alive and well, albeit riddled with ghosts and sexual mischief. A thriller that not only leaves questions but also a psychological mark within our minds. A brave move, I should say, to go against the mainstream market mindset and simply be different. And being different, in this case, is good.

The movie is about the sculptor, Gambir, who is tired of making statues of pregnant women. But his mysterious wife, Talyda, doesn't want him to stop making those statues, because that's where the money comes. While drowning in his past guilt and suspicion, Gambir gets a distress call from an abused child who keeps finding ways to write "Help Me" notes wherever Gambir goes.

Gambir becomes even more paranoid of those around him. And his wife is behaving more and more strangely. Does she have something to do with the abused child? What about the forbidden door in their house? Where does it lead? The dinner scene near the ending will blow your mind away. After that, Gambir will find the truth behind the forbidden door, and his life will never be the same. And neither will our life.

So, let's all thank the cast and crew of PINTU TERLARANG for bringing hope back into the fray with this latest offering from ex-movie-critic-turned-auteur Joko Anwar. Great. Simply a must-see movie if it happens to be playing in theaters near you.

I'm Speechless.. AWESOME!!

[kanz-livpool · 10/10 · 7 February 2009]

this is a very brilliant movie at the beginning of this year.. exhilarating yet awesome at the same time.. I've never seen such a thriller movie from Indonesia before.. it's a trend-setter, and it's a sign for the wake-up of Indonesian film industry..

i wont give spoilers, because it will loosen the atmosphere when watching it..

and the rules are simple: 1. don't find information about this movie, just watch it. 2. don't get up from your chair until the end of the credit title. 3. no question.. use your imagination.. (hahahaha)

I'm sure you'll never regret watching this movie.

shaking

[bloomyred · 9/10 · 27 April 2021]

This movie was so perfect for thriller movie.

You makes me shaking while i watch this.

After this i wanna watch your horror movie (Pengabdi Setan) i've been read all the reviews and make me so curious. Stay tune for my review at your other movie!

At the end i like your film.

An exceptionally creepy thriller - and a pretty disturbing one

[Sir_AmirSyarif · 8/10 · 5 April 2020]

Playfully weird and yet so skillfully constructed, 'Pintu Terlarang' proves Joko Anwar's capability of building a dark, layered, enigmatic mystery like few other Indonesian directors. An exceptionally creepy thriller - and a pretty disturbing one.

an amazing thriller

[lucianaburimanto · 9/10 · 22 April 2021]

The story makes me heart beating, but i like the story a alot, so surprising unpredictable thriller!! Great job joko!! I like all your movie. The genre and the idea was amazing! Can't wait for your next movie!!

scared me....

[durianmontong · 10/10 · 27 April 2021]

I kinda like this move, this movie was unpredictable also so dark thriller. BUT I ADORE THIS MOVIE SO MUCH. VERY RECOMMENDED! YOU REALLY HAVE TALENT JOKO!

WHAT A GREAT THRILLER

[kuncenganteng · 9/10 · 29 April 2021]

Joko Anwar you are amazing! I like your movie, i freaking like this thriller. You will never be forgotten.