A ferocious, over-the-top action thriller with standout choreography, relentless momentum, and a strong lead performance. It’s especially rewarding if you want extreme violence, kinetic set pieces, and a grimy underworld story that keeps escalating.
52% ★★★☆☆ (41,891)
The Shadow Strays
Where to watch: Netflix
Movie · Action · Crime · NC-17
2024 · 2h 25m · ★ 52% (41.9K)
Violence is her only option.
Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Starring: Aurora Ribero, Hana Malasan, Andri Mashadi
Overview
Skilled in the art of killing, a young assassin defies her mentor to save a boy from a ruthless crime syndicate — and she'll destroy anyone in her path.
Director
Timo Tjahjanto
Production
Frontier Pictures, XYZ Films
Cast
Aurora Ribero, Hana Malasan, Andri Mashadi, Adipati Dolken, Kristo Immanuel, Ali Fikry, Taskya Namya, Arswendy Bening Swara, Chew Kin-Wah, Agra Piliang, Daniel Eka Putra, Tanta Ginting, Yayan Ruhian, Eva Celia, Mawar Eva De Jongh, Hiroaki Kato, Nobuyuki Suzuki, Naomi Christy, Jesyca Marlein, Candace Gabriel Bianca
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A ferocious, over-the-top action thriller with standout choreography, relentless momentum, and a strong lead performance. It’s especially rewarding if you want extreme violence, kinetic set pieces, and a grimy underworld story that keeps escalating.
Best for
fans of hyper-violent martial arts action
viewers who like female-led revenge or rescue missions
people who don’t mind long runtimes if the action keeps delivering
Skip if
you’re sensitive to graphic gore and limb-crunching violence
you prefer tightly paced action over sprawling mayhem
you want a grounded crime thriller with minimal spectacle
you get bored by thin plotting between big set pieces
Overview
The Shadow Strays is pure escalation: a rogue assassin, a kidnapped boy, and a criminal ecosystem that keeps getting uglier the deeper the film goes. Timo Tjahjanto leans hard into his strengths here, delivering a bruising mix of martial arts, gunplay, and splatter that rarely lets up once it gets moving.
Worth noting
What makes it work is not just the carnage, but the physical commitment behind it. Aurora Ribero gives the movie a fierce center, and the action has enough clarity and invention to make the violence feel punishing rather than random. The film’s emotional material is thinner than its bloodshed, but the momentum is strong enough to carry it.
Bottom line
This is not for the squeamish, and it can feel overextended if you’re not already on board with its excess. But for viewers who want a modern action movie that goes for broke, it’s a loud, nasty, often exhilarating ride.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Joe A (4.5★) · 1028 likes
2 hours of bones shattering and moments that make you say “oh they are really doing this”. I live for these types of movies.
Sydney🚀 (4★) · 643 likes
My brain: Timo Tjahjanto has directed one of the best actioners of the year, a bloody descent into the underworld that can get tiresome with the 2.5 hour runtime but always returns to the palpable grit and kinetic energy that defines it. Indonesian action teams are doing some of the best work in the genre. My soul: women killing people & wielding swords😍
Patrick Willems · 573 likes
Two hours and twenty-five minutes of me leaning forward, gasping, clutching my head in disbelief. This rocked my shit so hard.
matt lynch (4★) · 464 likes
I'm fond of the term "facemelter," (which believe it or not I helped popularize) but this movie has both a face-melting and a face-ripping, so maybe they should have sent a poet instead of me.
cob (4.5★) · 458 likes
it’s like if kill bill, the raid 2 and john wick: chapter 4 had a baby
2016 · Action, Thriller, Drama · 1h 58m · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Hoopla
Shares the same appetite for punishing violence and a damaged protagonist fighting through chaos.
2011 · Action, Thriller, Drama · 1h 33m · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Hoopla, Plex, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads
Lean, physical, and grounded action built around a formidable female lead.