When a devoted husband takes a detour to the cinema where he used to work, it has a devastating effect on his life.

It’s 1997. Indonesia is in the throes of a terrible economic recession brought on by an Asia-wide financial crash. Bandi, Dewi and their son Marhan are squatting in some disused flats in a city where homelessness is now endemic. This is the backdrop for The Other Side, the fifth of Joko Anwar’s excellent Nightmares and Daydreams anthology series.

When Dewi gets ill, Bandi takes the last of their money to get some essential medicine, passing the old cinema where he used to work in happier times on the way. The building is derelict, long since closed, but when he opens the door, he finds it busy with stylish customers, the deco interior as plush as ever.

To say any more would be to spoil what follows, but with subtle echoes of The Shining, The Other Side is a haunting paranormal exploration of social inequality, exclusion and mental illness, with a curlicue of true love for good measure.

As ever with this series, the writing and acting is superb, but similarly the handbrake turn into paranormal overdrive feels unnecessary and left me wanting it just to be a self-contained story in its own right.

Verdict: I’ve been enjoying this series hugely, but The Other Side has more emotional depth and a layering of meaning and ideas that puts it a rung above what has gone before. While I do have reservations, if you haven’t been watching this show, I would implore any SFB reader to take a look. 9/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com