Timo Tjahjanto is a gift. The Indonesian director has carved out a career minting propulsive, relentless action at every filmmaking price point. 2018’s The Night Comes for Us was a major breakthrough on Netflix, kicking off a deal that has made him a low-key star on the platform — and his next thriller is headed to the platform this fall. If you love sword fights, tight-corridor throwdowns, chaotic shootouts, and other assassin revenge movie shiz, The Shadow Strays must be on your radar.
Indonesian actor Aurora Ribero stars as 13, a member of the assassin organization known as “The Shadows.” During some downtime, she bonds with a young boy who recently lost his mom in a crime syndicate hit. When the boy goes missing, 13 jumps into action — but finds herself at odds with The Shadows. Slicing, dicing, and cracking skulls ensues.
The first teaser for The Shadow Strays, which is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, is all adrenaline, as it should be. Ribero seems to have gone Full Keanu in transforming herself into a rip-roaring martial arts machine. And it looks all true to Tjahjanto’s style. The director has swung between the ’80s HK action throwback vibes of The Night Comes for Us to blunter horror in May the Devil Take You and V/H/S/94 and wacky comedy in Netflix’s recent The Big 4, but his through-line is a commitment to angular filmmaking and expert choreography in the action department. The Shadow Strays stays the course.
Tjahjanto feels due for a big break, and if The Shadow Strays doesn’t blow up on Netflix, his next move might: David Leitch and his 87North action studio plucked Tjahjanto to direct the upcoming sequel Nobody 2 with Bob Odenkirk. The best in the business have taken notice — you should too.
The Shadow Strays premieres on Netflix on Oct. 17.
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