The Shadow Strays – Review | Netflix (3/5)

THE SHADOW STRAYS on Netflix is an action-thriller about assassins battling each other and not just their targets. A truly wild ride with the most intense fight sequences. Read our full The Shadow Strays movie review here!

THE SHADOW STRAYS is a new Netflix movie from genre filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto. This one is a real hybrid with action, thriller, and crime as the main genres. Also, martial arts play a huge role as you’ll see from the impressive action and fight scenes.

This is a movie from Indonesia just like the iconic The Raid. And yes, this movie can actually live with that comparison. Probably due to stunt choreographers ​​Muhammad Irfan and Trisna Irawan, longtime collaborators of Timo, who have also worked on The Raid.

It is, unfortunately, too long with a runtime of nearly 2½ hours. Mostly due to the many long (and impressive) action sequences.

Continue reading our The Shadow Strays movie review below. Find it on Netflix from October 17, 2024.

You don’t stray from The Shadows

As revealed just before the opening scene, this movie is about a syndicate of assassins known as “The Shadows”. As the title indicated, this movie ends up being about those who stray from this group as well, and you do not leave a syndicate of assassins.

Just look at Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The only way out of such a “group” is to die. Or, to be exact, either you die on the job or they put a hit out on you when you try to leave.

In the case of The Shadow Strays, the latter is the case.

However, before we get that far, we follow an assassin known as 13. She’s only 17 years old, but clearly has years of experience already. On a mission in Japan, things become much messier than intended and she’s suspended for the time being.

This offers free time to notice things around her in the “normal” world. Of course, this world also has a lot of crime, and when she meets the 11-year-old Monji, she becomes protective of him. Especially as criminals murder his mother.

Then Monji disappears and it looks like her colleagues are somehow involved, so now she needs to go against them to help the boy.

Watch The Shadow Strays on Netflix now!

Timo Tjahjanto is the writer and director of The Shadow Strays and has managed to create a brilliant action, crime, and thriller experience out of the ordinary. Previously, Timo Tjahjanto also directed May the Devil Take You as well as segments of V/H/S/94 and Portals.

Also, as part of The Mo Brothers alongside Kimo Stamboel, he also made Killers (2014), Headshot (2016), and the slasher horror Macabre (2009). For The Shadow Strays, Timo Tjahjanto also offers gruesome and grotesque gore.

I loved how many of these assassins are women, who shock their victims each time they discover that a woman just bested them. Also, they are insanely gifted martial artists, and each action scene – while often very long – is gorgeously choreographed.

Aurora Ribero plays “13” and Hana Malasan is her mentor, Umbra. Both deliver impressive performances in terms of both action and the more heartfelt dramatic scenes. Obviously, if you’re an experienced 17-year-old assassin, there’s a sad and dark story that goes before that.

The Shadow Strays premiered at TIFF during the Midnight Madness program in September 2024, and now you can enjoy it on Netflix.

The Shadow Strays premieres on Netflix on October 17, 2024.

Details

Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Writer: Timo Tjahjanto
Cast: Aurora Ribero, Hana Malasan, Ali Fikry, Adipati Dolken, Andri Mashadi, Kristo Immanuel, Taskya Namya, Sebastian Sero