Joko Anwar, one of Indonesia’s most celebrated directors and an expert in the horror genre, is the man behind Netflix’s latest horror series, Nightmares and Daydreams. The seven-episode anthology is thematically connected. From monsters and angels to demons and creatures, Anwar explores every supernatural possibility here. The series is entertaining, but every episode doesn’t quite hit the mark. In this article, the seven episodes and thematic connections between them are discussed in detail.
Spoiler Alert
Episode 1: Old House
Every time Panji Suwono dropped Nurse Siti off at the posh nursing home, he felt deeply regretful for not having the means to admit his mother there. She was gradually losing her memory, and it was becoming difficult for him to look after her. When Panji inquired about the nursing home, Nurse Siti advised him to never bring his mother to the facility. She further added that it was Panji’s responsibility to look after her. Even though Nurse Siti had strictly warned him not to bring his mother to the facility, he showed interest when Nurse Naya offered him a discount. Panji could admit his mother for free at the facility, and his wife, Rara, was surprised at the possibility. But even then, she was not comfortable sending her mother-in-law away. She somehow managed to convince Panji to look after her, but their decision changed immediately after their little son, Hagi, went missing. Panji’s mother carried Hagi to the terrace without even realizing the risk of it. She was not in her senses, and she left Hagi there all alone. Thankfully, Rara reached the terrace on time, and she managed to rescue her son. They immediately decided to admit her.
While Panji was waiting at the reception, a man named Bambang warned him that the place was suspicious. It was run by the elites, and he had come to believe that they conducted illegal business behind the doors. People like him and Panji were targeted since they were poor and desperate. Panji did not pay heed to the suggestion, and he went ahead and left his mother at the facility. But whatever Bambang said continued to haunt Panji, and in the middle of the night, he decided to bring his mother home. He was surprised to see people partying at the nursing home, and Nurse Naya explained that the sons and daughters of those admitted often gathered there. Panji seemed convinced after Naya confirmed that his mother was doing alright and that he must visit her after a week. Panji pretended to leave, but he re-entered the premises through the back entrance. He soon found out that the place belonged to a cult. The ones who had gathered to party walked into a secret chamber wearing black hooded cloaks with red lights on them. Panji ended up in the ceremonial room, and he was bewildered to see the cult perform an experiment using strange alien creatures capable of turning the old people young. For the experiment, they required both the parent and their offspring, and they transferred the youth from their offspring to their parent.
The cult found Panji’s phone in the ceremonial room, and they searched for him. Nurse Siti offered Panji her cloak to protect him from the Banished (those who resisted the experiments turned into strange creatures). Panji grabbed hold of his mother and tried to escape, but he was stopped by the cult. Panji and his mother were brought in for the treatment, and both of them resisted it. His mother advised him to run for his life. Panji tossed his lighter at the alien creatures whose breath was flammable, and it resulted in a massive fire. Panji managed to escape, and even though it seemed it was the end of the cult, at the very end of episode one, we see a hand with four fingers reaching out of the rubble, indicating that one of them survived and they would continue with the strange practice.
Episode 2: The Orphan
Iyos was tired of living in poverty, and he was desperate to earn money by any means. He and his wife, Ipah, earned their living by scavenging and doing odd jobs, and they were months behind in paying their rent. Iyos had heard about an orphan boy who brought wealth into the lives of his adoptive parents, but there was a catch: the man who had adopted him died within a week of bringing him into his house. Bagas used to be a poor man, but when he died, he had a magnificent house to his name. Iyos was convinced that it was because of the orphan, and his theory was proved right when he and Ipah adopted Syafin. Ipah and Iyos spoiled Syafin with love, attention, and gifts after they brought him home. Iyos was over the moon when he discovered money lying around his house. His plan had worked, and all he had to do was wait for the seventh day to kill Syafin before the curse became effective. Unlike Iyos, Ipah had grown attached to Syafin, and she allowed him to call her “mom.” She had lost her son, Rian, and she accepted Syafin as her own. Ipah did not like the way Iyos treated Syafin when the free cash stopped coming his way, and she tried to protect her son from him. One day after an accident at the landfill, Iyos and Ipah were surprised to find themselves at a luxurious house. Ipah was ready to sacrifice her life to protect Syafin, and the house was the reward for it. While Ipah looked after Syafin (he was suffering from fever), Iyos came up with a plan to kill the orphan.
Ipah had fallen asleep, and when she woke up, she could not find Syafin. As it turned out, Iyos had tied the orphan and was already digging his grave. Ipah freed Syafin and took him to their old house. Iyos followed them. Ipah was left with no choice but to kill her husband to protect her son. Ipah never thought this day would come, and she could not help but blame Syafin. Before succumbing to the wound, Iyos realized that he never should have chased wealth because he was simply happy living his life with Ipah. At the very end of episode two, Ipah stabbed herself. Syafin begged her to not leave him; he had accepted her as his mother, and he was apologetic for the chaos that he brought into their lives. Syafin removed the knife from Ipah’s chest, and what followed after can only be described as supernatural. The ending of “The Orphan” suggests that Syafin revived Ipah, and we can assume that she is no longer a human. Syafin was not an ordinary boy; he had special powers, and he used them to test his adoptive parents and curse them if they failed. In the end, Syafin did find a mother who was ready to make sacrifices for his sake, but will Ipah remain the same?
Episode 3: Poems and Pain
Rania had recently released her second book, but her audience was not impressed by it. They often compared it with her debut book, Poems and Pain, and according to her publisher, they could make far more profit if she agreed to come up with a sequel. Tired of the criticism, Rania decided to write what her readers desired—a sequel to Poems and Pain. The narrative revolved around a victim of domestic abuse, and it ended with the protagonist accepting her fate. Rania remembered how deeply she could relate to the pain of her subject, which was why writing the sequel was not an easy decision. When Rania finally sat down to write, she blacked out, and she woke up with a pain in her back. She had bruises on her body, and when she checked her laptop, she was surprised to find out that she had already written thirty pages. Her publisher was happy with the progress, but Rania was not sure if she wanted to continue with it. Rania decided to give it another go, and once again she blacked out and ended up with bruises. She was transferred to the protagonist’s world, and she experienced the abuse firsthand. Laras was married to an obsessive-possessive man who kept her locked in his basement. She lived with her daughter, Asti, who had never seen the world outside. Rania was desperate to save Laras, and she willingly hypnotized herself to enter Laras’ mind. She had Hendra watch her in case things went out of hand. Even though it seemed like a terrible idea, Hendra could see Rania’s desperation to save the victim. When Rania was transported to Laras’ world, she encouraged Laras to fight back. The bruises got worse with time, and Rania realized that the only way she could help Laras was by finding out more information about her to track her down in the real world. There was no mirror in the basement, and Rania finally saw Laras’ face in a puddle of water. Laras looked exactly like Rania, and the only explanation was that Rania had a twin sister she did not know about. Upon questioning her parents, they regretfully informed her that Laras was her sister and that they had given her up for adoption. A year later, they regretted their decision and thought of bringing her home, but they could not find her.
Rania found out that Adrian worked at the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, and with a quick search on the internet, she found his address. His house was luxurious, and surprisingly, there were no security guards. Rania found out that Adrian had a wife and children, and he kept Laras and Asti in the basement of his study room. By the time Rania reached the secret room, Laras was taking her final breath. She always thought Rania was her imaginary alter ego, and she was glad to finally see her in flesh and blood. Rania was devastated to see the lifeless body of her sister, but she did not have the time to mourn because she had to rescue Asti. Rania left the house with Asti, and Adrian’s wife was completely shocked upon finding his secret.
Rania was confident that Adrian would rot in prison, but to her surprise, she was told that, according to the surveillance footage, Adrian was completely innocent. The study room was gone, and there was no proof of the crimes committed by Adrian. Rania realized that Laras was right; Adrian was not a human but a species from a different world altogether. Adrian had the power to hypnotize, and Rania had seen a glimpse of the actual being behind the human mask. We can assume that Adrian had hypnotized Laras, and that was how she fell in love with him and ended up in his basement. It seemed Adrian belonged to a world named Agartha, and his kind had infiltrated the human world and was gradually gaining dominance.
Episode 4: Encounter
Wahyu had only one goal in life—he had to save enough money to visit his mother in Saudi Arabia. The villagers often expressed their frustration with Wahyu, especially Rusman. He thought it was unfair that while the rest of the men protected the village, Wahyu gathered shells and earned more money than them. The villagers were threatened with eviction since they did not have any legal documents to prove that the land belonged to them. Wahyu had almost gathered his target amount to travel to Saudi Arabia, but his wife, Dijah, thought Wahyu would not find his mother after all these years. Wahyu did not pay heed, and he continued to work hard until one night he saw an angel in the sky. He had taken a photograph of the angel, and he was instantly deemed a prophet by the villagers. They looked up to Wahyu for solutions, but he was completely clueless. Wahyu was heartbroken when he discovered that his wife had run away with a fellow villager, Ohim, and she had taken with her all his savings. He assumed this was the end of his dream, but to his surprise, a reporter offered him enough money to travel to Saudi Arabia in exchange for the photograph. Rusman had overheard the photographer’s proposal, and he decided to steal the photograph from Wahyu to get the money. Out of frustration, Wahyu destroyed the photograph, and he lied to the villagers, saying that he had not seen an angel and had fabricated a story in the hopes of becoming important to the villagers.
Wahyu was all alone in his room; he did not have the money to visit his mother, and the villagers had lost respect for him when all of a sudden his house started to shake vigorously. A strong beam of white light caught Wahyu’s attention, and he realized that the angel had come to visit him again. The angel looked like his mother to make the process easier for Wahyu. The villagers were right; Wahyu was chosen by the Supreme Being, and he was blessed with knowledge of the world. The angel advised Wahyu to share the knowledge he had gained to protect the world from evil. At the very end of “Encounter,” when the villagers and the military were about to break into a violent fight, Wahyu stood between them. Everyone dropped their weapons and kneeled before him when they saw him levitate off the ground. Wahyu was given a purpose far more important than anything in the material world, and the ending suggests that he will carry on his duty with all honesty.
Episode 5: The Other Side
Dewi and Bandi were happily married and madly in love with each other. Bandi used to be a ticket collector at a film theater, but he lost his job after it got shut down. Bandi used to make hand-painted film posters, and even though his income was barely enough for the family of three to survive, Dewi never complained. One night, when Bandi left to buy medicine for Dewi, he stopped the bus to check out the old film theater. Even though the building looked abandoned from the outside, Bandi was surprised to see that it was still warm and beautiful inside. He was bewildered to see his boss there, and the prospect of getting his old job back made him feel hopeful. While it seemed too good to be true, Bandi was convinced that it was indeed real. By the time Bandi made it out of the exit door and went back to his apartment, two years had already passed. Bandi tried to explain his experience to Dewi and Marhan, but they found it difficult to believe him. Later, when Dewi noticed the paint mark while washing his clothes and the currency bill from their first date, she realized that Bandi was telling the truth.
Dewi, Bandi, and Marhan went out for dinner one night, and Bandi left to buy a cigarette. He promised to return soon, but once again, he disappeared. Bandi was a witness to a murder, and he ran for his life and ended up at the old film theater. He could not leave, fearing the goons waiting for him outside, and his only choice was to get back to his old job. His bosses, Domi and Rama, advised him to stay at the theater because it was his only chance at living his dream life. The world outside was far from rewarding, and Domi instilled the idea that maybe his wife and son were better off without him. Bandi stayed at the theater for a few more hours, and when he finally left, several years had passed by once again. Bandi tried to reunite with Dewi and Marhan, but she had remarried and they had moved to a new house. Bandi was surprised when his son mentioned that the old movie theater had been torn down. It seemed impossible, and when he went there the next day, it was still the same shiny place he had always known. Domi welcomed him with open arms once again, but even though Bandi tried to be happy with his job as a ticket collector, he could not help but miss Dewi and Marhan. Domi was upset when he refused to give up on his family, and everyone at the movie theater started attacking Bandi.
The ending of “The Other Side” revealed that Bandi was mentally unstable and was currently homeless. His life at the theater was a fragment of his imagination that was controlled by a strange creature. Dewi did not give up on Bandi, and she could not believe her eyes when she came across a group of hypnotized humans in the woods. Bandi was a victim of the creature, and even though Dewi managed to momentarily overpower it, Bandi ultimately surrendered to the vision.
Episode 6: Hypnotized
While every episode deals with a different story, Nightmares and Daydreams is thematically connected. The recurring presence of an alien species is explained in episodes 6 and 7. Ali was colorblind, and he was in desperate need of a job. His applications were mostly rejected owing to his condition, and at one point he decided to rob a woman at the ATM using hypnosis. He learned hypnosis from his neighbor Iwan, and surprisingly, he was pretty good at it. Ali felt immensely guilty for the crime he committed, and strangely, his world completely changed that night. He could see colors, and his wife and children all of a sudden became morally corrupt. He blamed himself for being a terrible example, and as much as he tried to control the chaos at his house, it seemed almost impossible. Ali realized that the old woman at the ATM had hypnotized his family. He promised to pay her back and begged her to release his family. But it was not as easy, and the old woman challenged Ali to find himself if he did not wish to die. Ali soon figured out that everything that he was witnessing was not real, and that it was all in his head. The moment he took control of his thoughts and chose to face his problems instead of running away from them, he could resist hypnosis.
When Ali woke up, he found the old lady, Dewi (from episode 5), standing in front of him. Clearly, after her encounter with the strange creature, Dewi had dedicated her life to solving the mystery behind it. She congratulated Ali on successfully breaking free of the hypnosis. At the end of “Hypnotized,” Dewi revealed that she was in search of people like Ali, who were capable of controlling their minds. She chose him for a delicate yet important mission that involved saving the world, and we get to know more about it in the final episode.
Episode 7: P.O. Box
Valdya was one of the best diamond appraisers in Jakarta, and she was well known for her principles and her dedication to her job. One day, on her way out of the customs office, Valdya came across a strange woman who complimented her eyes and predicted that they would meet again soon. Valdya missed her sister, Dara, who disappeared all of a sudden and was never found. She came across a pen drive hidden behind a framed photograph, and the documents in it proved that Dara had applied for a job as a photographer at a company registered under P.O. Box 888. Valdya tried to find more information, but all she learned was that the PO Box was paid for forty years ago and was rented for a hundred years. She also found information about another woman who was also curious about the company. Valdya met the woman, and she was disturbed to find out that her husband had gone missing under mysterious circumstances, like her sister, and when he returned, he was covered in blood with a hole in his head. His wife remembered how scared he was when he returned, and he had warned them that there was something out there that would try to kill them. He broke down when Valdya showed Dara’s picture, and it was evident that something tragic had happened with the applicants that day. Valdya was desperate to find answers, and when the job opening was announced once again, she applied.
While Valdya had an inkling about what she had signed up for, the rest of the applicants were completely clueless. They found it strange that candidates from every field were called for interviews, but nobody had guessed the horror that was about to unfold. A sudden release of smoke in the elevator left everyone unconscious. When they woke up, they found themselves bound to chairs. Valdya realized that the job opening was to gather talented individuals from every stream, and the interviewers seemed to be a part of a cult invested in consuming body parts most valuable to the individuals. Adrian, from episode 3, was a member of the cult. They were offended when they were compared to cannibals because they believed they were higher than the human race and that they only deserve the best that the human world had to offer. They had hypnotized Valdya and were about to consume her eyes when, all of a sudden, a group of humans dressed in black clothes entered.
As it turned out, Dewi, Ali, Wahyu, Rania, and Panji had teamed up to fight the alien creatures with hypnotic powers. With Wahyu’s knowledge, they had attained superpowers to slay the demons. When a war of hypnosis broke out between the two groups, Lakshmi walked up to Valdya and saved her. The ending of the final episode revealed that each of the survivors from the previous episodes had teamed up together to form the Antibodies dedicated to driving the demonic species away from the world. The demonic species was born below the surface of the earth, known as the Agartha, and they were determined to take over the human world. Valdya joined the Antibodies to seek revenge for her sister and to protect the world.
