The Forbidden Door

The life of a successful sculptor is turned upside down when he begins receiving mysterious messages from someone who asks for his help.

Directors Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel, collectively known as The Mo Brothers, made cameo appearances as patrons of the art gallery Herosase while costume designer Isabelle Patrice appeared briefly as a doctor at the abortion clinic.

The film is Anwar's third feature releases following 2005's Joni's Promise and 2007's Dead Time: Kala. According to Anwar, while the story is based on an existing material, he added elements of his own into the screenplay by touching on his personal disdain of people who conceive children to conform to society's expectations without any real plans.[2]

The Forbidden Door (soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	2009
Genre	Pop, rock, jazz

The film's original soundtrack consists of 18 tracks divided into two parts: part one consisting of songs performed by various bands and part two consisting of the film's score composed by Aghi Narottama, Bembi Gusti, Gascaro Ramondo, and Zeke Khaseli.[3]

The film was released on January 22, 2009 in Indonesia followed by screenings at several international film festivals, including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, and Jakarta International Film Festival.[4]

The Forbidden Door received widespread acclaim from critics.

Calling it a film that would make "would make [Alfred] Hitchcock and [Pedro] Almodóvar proud", Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter named The Forbidden Door "the most polished genre film of its kind in recent Indonesian cinema".[1] The New York Asian Film Festival's website described the film as a "19th century gothic novel adapted by Alfred Hitchcock and directed by David Lynch", calling it "one of the sickest, kinkiest movies".[5]

John Leal of Bloody Disgusting rated the film 8 out of 10 and wrote that the film "is a highly recommended Indonesian effort whose storyline gives us a very unique experience that comes well written and with plenty of horror to offset and in fact complement the drama. Anwar’s direction is equally amazing, giving us a full-frontal approach to the well-executed horror sequences that set this film apart from most of what I have seen in recent time."[6]

Similarly, Twitch Film's Ard Vijn also praised the film, noting that "Anwar wants to keep his movies accessible for the general public while telling them an outrageous story at the same time, and like with Kala it's amazing how well he succeeds.[7] He also noted that the 4 out of 5 stars audience rating the film received during its screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam indicates that "maybe people are used to a lot more gore than I expected."[7]

• The Forbidden Door at IMDb
• The Forbidden Door at Rotten Tomatoes
• Official Website