There’s something deeply unsettling about family in horror, especially when home starts feeling like a trap with better lighting. And if anyone knows how to twist that knife, it’s Joko Anwar, the mind behind Satan’s Slaves and Impetigore.

Now he’s circling back with something a little more intimate. And by intimate, I mean ‘your childhood trauma just pulled up a chair and ordered another round’.

sMOTHERed is set to hit Shudder on May 29th, dragging an old Indonesian folktale into the modern world and giving it a fresh coat of dread. The film riffs on the legend of Malin Kundang, a story that already comes preloaded with guilt, curses, and the kind of motherly affection that doesn’t exactly end with a hug.

After surviving a brutal accident, micro painter Alif returns home with his memory in pieces. Not misplaced your keys pieces, more like your entire past is now a jigsaw puzzle missing half the corners. Then an elderly woman shows up, calmly claiming to be his mother. No big deal. Totally normal. Nothing to see here.

Except, of course, it isn’t.

What follows is Alif digging into the truth, peeling back layers that probably should’ve stayed buried, and uncovering a legacy tied directly to the Malin Kundang myth. And if you know that story, you already know this isn’t heading somewhere warm and fuzzy.

Behind the camera, first-time feature directors Kevin Rahardjo and Rafki Hidayat step up, working from a script co-written with Anwar and Aline Djayasukmana. This is fresh blood, but with a seriously sharp set of knives.

On the screen, you’ve got a cast led by Rio Dewanto, alongside Faradina Mufti, Vonny Anggraini, Jordan Omar, Sulthan Hamonangan, Gambit Saifullah, Nova Eliza, and Tony Merle—which means when things go bad (and they will), there’s plenty of talent on hand to sell the horror.

Mark May 29th in your calendar.

Because nothing says a good night in like a fractured mind and a folktale that’s been waiting patiently in the darkness.