Joko Anwar’s supernatural prison film Ghost In The Cell turns corruption into a blood-soaked comedy

Ghost In The Cell (M18)

106 minutes, opens on April 30
★★★★☆

Fans of hardcore horror are spoilt for choice, with Lee Cronin’s The Mummy in cinemas and the upcoming release of Ghost In The Cell from Indonesian scare specialist Joko Anwar. Like The Mummy, Joko’s film is made by a horror fan, for horror fans. In February 2026, it screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in the Forum section, which often showcases films with political themes.

Investigative journalist Dimas (Endy Arfian) is imprisoned for killing his boss. The timid man becomes easy pickings for the mostly blue-collar inmates. Anggoro (Abimana Aryasatya), a man respected for his principles, protects him.

But malevolent forces find their way into the prison and soon, inmates and wardens are found dead, their bodies turned into grisly art installations. A supernatural force is stalking the prison. Who it wants to kill, and why, is anybody’s guess.

In its florid visuals and murder-mystery suspense, Joko owes a debt to serial-killer drama Se7en (1995). But the prison thriller plot and absurd jokes are all Joko’s.

The prison reflects social inequality in miniature – billionaires serving ludicrously light sentences for crimes that affect thousands are confined in cells more luxurious than a five-star suite, with prison wardens serving as butlers and waiters.

Joko’s ferocious messages about corruption and crimes against the poor would mean nothing unless they were matched by storytelling skill and a mastery of gory surprises, which he possesses in spades. For those who found The Mummy nasty and nihilistic, Ghost will feed horror fans’ taste for the macabre while providing plenty of political themes to think about.

Love Me Tender (R21)

134 minutes

French film-maker Anna Cazenave Cambet’s second feature examines the belief that a woman’s identity as a mother is viewed as sacred and non-negotiable; societal blame follows any woman who refuses to conform to the image of the “good mother”.

Lawyer Clemence (Luxembourgish-German actress Vicky Krieps) has been separated from her husband (French actor Antoine Reinartz) for three years and shares custody of their eight-year-old son Paul (French actor Viggo Ferreira-Redier). When he discovers that she now has relationships with women, he becomes vindictive, using every legal means to deny her access to the child.

A review in American trade magazine Variety says that at over two hours, the 2025 film is “a little too long”, but saved by Krieps’ performance. As a woman trying to live a normal life while fighting a desperate legal battle, she “inhabits the role completely”.

The drama was selected to screen at the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Love Me Tender is the French selection at the 35th European Film Festival, presented by the European Union Delegation to Singapore. It is also screening as part of the Voilah! France Singapore Festival, which runs from April 25 to June 20, and is organised by the Embassy of France in Singapore.

Where: Filmhouse, 05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road
MRT: Nicoll Highway
When: April 25, 8pm
Admission: $16.50 standard, with concessions for students and seniors
Info: str.sg/JUJCn

Linka Linka (PG)

100 minutes

This drama is directed by Kangdrun, the first female film-maker from Tibet to release a fiction feature.

Featuring Mandarin and Tibetan dialogue, Linka Linka (2025) follows Samgyi (Tsering Yangkyi), a budding film-maker from Tibet who returns to Lhasa after years spent in Beijing. She reconnects with friends and family, hoping to find closure on painful events from her adolescence and searching for a narrative for a film.

But after reconnecting, she finds that memory is a slippery thing – when speaking of the same events, each person has a different recollection.

“Linka” means a traditional picnic in Tibetan and it refers to Samgyi’s remembrances of time shared with loved ones in the outdoors, interludes that formed her attitudes towards the past.

Linka Linka won the Firebird Award for Best Film in the Young Cinema Competition at the 50th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), held from April 1 to 12, 2026. At the HKIFF, it also earned the FIPRESCI Prize (International Federation of Film Critics).

In interviews, Kangdrun spoke about her desire to break stereotypes of Tibet in films, where it is shown as a scenic land of mountains and valleys. Her Lhasa is a normal town filled with young people, she said.

The FIPRESCI jury at the HKIFF praised the film for its “original depiction of urban Lhasa, capturing the unique spirit of the linka way of life”.

It is screening as part of the 14th Singapore Chinese Film Festival, organised by the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and Singapore Film Society (SFS), at Golden Village Bugis+ on May 3 at 11.30am.

What: Singapore Chinese Film Festival
Where: GV Bugis+ (05-01, 201 Victoria Street) and GV Funan (05-01, 107 North Bridge Road)
MRT: Bugis/City Hall
When: April 24 to May 3, various timings
Admission: $16; $15 for SFS members, SUSS staff/students/alumni and GV Movie Club members. Tickets available at Golden Village box offices and gv.com.sg
Info: scff.sg