Luna Maya
Maira
Overview
A toy manufacturer and his wife are terrorized by a demon after their orphaned niece tries to call her late mother's spirit.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Unseen Guest at the Table
I’ve seen enough haunted-house movies to know the drill: creaky floorboards, flickering lights, a child who insists someone is standing in the corner. The formula is comforting in its predictability—until it isn’t. Sabrina (2018), directed by Rocky Soraya, tries to subvert that familiarity, but ends up trapped in its own rules. It’s not a bad film, exactly.
It’s just that the demon at its center feels less like a terrifying presence and more like an uninvited dinner guest who won’t leave, no matter how many times you hint that the last train leaves in ten minutes.
The setup is classic: a wealthy couple, Aldi (Christian Sugiono) and Indah (Luna Maya), take in Aldi’s orphaned niece, Sabrina (Richelle Georgette Skornicki), after her mother’s death. Sabrina, grieving and isolated, begins dabbling in the occult to contact her late mother. Soon, the house is alive with whispers, objects move on their own, and a shadowy figure—tall, gaunt, with a face like a stretched mask—starts appearing in reflections.
The trouble isn’t that Sabrina fails to deliver scares; it’s that the scares it does deliver feel like they’ve been borrowed from a much better movie.
Take the opening act. The film spends a surprising amount of time establishing the family’s wealth—luxurious interiors, designer clothes, a sprawling Jakarta mansion that feels more like a hotel lobby than a home. It’s an odd choice, because the horror that follows doesn’t seem to care about class.
The demon (if that’s even what it is) doesn’t target the rich for their sins; it just wants to play. And that’s the first misstep: the film can’t decide if it’s a social commentary or a supernatural thriller. The result is a story that’s neither fish nor fowl, neither biting nor truly frightening.
The middle act is where Sabrina comes closest to finding its footing. There’s a sequence where Indah, alone in the house, hears a child’s laughter echoing through the halls. She follows the sound, only to find Sabrina standing in the middle of the living room, her back turned, humming a tune.
Audience Opinions
Broad evidence
Audience 5.2/10
"A horror-thriller with moments of tension but ultimately feels like a derivative effort with uneven execution."
Viewers appreciate the eerie atmosphere and some standout horror sequences, particularly those involving supernatural elements. However, the plot is criticized for being predictable and overly reliant on tropes from more established horror franchises, leaving many feeling underwhelmed by the lack of originality. latestnetflix.com's view is that the performances, while not universally panned, are seen as inconsistent, with some actors struggling to elevate the material.
What viewers praise
- Atmospheric horror The movie creates a consistently eerie and unsettling tone, especially in its supernatural scenes.
- Strong horror set pieces Some sequences, particularly those involving supernatural threats, are praised for their tension and creativity.
- Luna Maya's performance The lead actress is highlighted as a standout, bringing depth to her role despite the script's limitations.
Common complaints
- Derivative plot The story is frequently compared to *The Conjuring* and other horror franchises, with many calling it a ripoff.
- Predictable twists The narrative follows familiar horror tropes, leaving little room for surprises or fresh ideas.
- Uneven acting While the lead performance is praised, supporting actors are seen as inconsistent or underutilized.
- Weak character development Side characters feel thinly written, making it hard to invest in their fates.
Recommended for
Indonesian horror fans Supernatural thriller lovers Luna Maya enthusiasts Atmospheric horror seekers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsThe Sabrina that sold 1.3 million tickets was not the teenage witch.
Netflix already had a Sabrina in 2018. That one rode a broom. This one is a doll with a stare Polygon compared to Annabelle, sitting in a rich Jakarta house with maids, iPads, and a Charlie Charlie board. Rocky Soraya directed and produced for Hitmaker Studios. Luna Maya returns as Maira, the widow from The Doll 2, now remarried to toy manufacturer Aiden, played by Christian Sugiono. latestnetflix.com's read is that their orphaned niece Vanya tries to call her dead mother.The spirit that answers is not mom. 
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A million seats in twelve days, then a museum plaque.
The film opened in Indonesian cinemas on 12 July 2018. Hitmaker posted 1,001,650 tickets after twelve days. Sugiono had told Fimela his dream was to crack one million on his first horror. ANTARA later put the total at 1.3 million. In January 2019, Museum Rekor Indonesia handed Soraya a MURI plaque for four consecutive million-plus titles he directed and produced. The Doll 2 at 1.2 million. Mata Batin at 1.2. Sabrina at 1.3. Suzzanna: Buried Alive at 3.3. Jaya Suprana said nobody in the country had done that streak as both director and producer. Soraya said he hoped it would push him past horror. He kept making haunted objects. , ,
Polygon treated the movie as an unofficial Conjuring sequel that also, in its best stretches, plays like Crazy Rich Asians with jump scares. Netflix did not sell it as part of a franchise. Previous viewing is not required. Laras, the psychic played by Sara Wijayanto, keeps getting called to possessed dolls anyway. Vanya uses an entity detector app on an iPad. The Charlie Charlie challenge, the 2015 pencil game that panicked parents, is how the door opens. Then the film pivots into couple-exorcists, family greed, and a knife fight with a demon. Rafael Motamayor wrote that it zips through its best ideas and then ends several times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6XunixW6_Y
Hitmaker's own trailer billed it as "The Next Terror In The Doll Series." IMDb files it as a spin-off of The Doll 2. TMDB keeps the 12 July 2018 date, Indonesian language, and the toy-manufacturer synopsis. Indonesian Wikipedia logs 1,337,510 domestic tickets and a theatrical run through Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and Brunei. By November, Polygon was already scrolling past it on Netflix horror rows, next to every other haunted doll. Search bars still offer the witch first. This doll still has the eyes. , , , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.