The Siege at Thorn High (2025) by Joko Anwar: When the Classroom Becomes a Battlefield
- dailyentertainment95
- Aug 11
- 3 min read
Short Summary – Promise, Peril, and Prisoner of Chaos
In the near-future Jakarta of 2027, Edwin—a substitute teacher driven by a promise to his dying sister—joins Thorn High, a detention school for troubled teens, to find his long-lost nephew. But when anti-Chinese riots engulf the city, the school transforms into a warzone, and Edwin must fight for survival alongside the boy within its besieged walls.
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33479839/
About movie: https://press.amazonmgmstudios.com/us/en/press-release/joko-anwars-ithe-siege-at-thorn-highi-to-stream-gl
Link to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/pengepungan-di-bukit-duri (UK), https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/pengepungan-di-bukit-duri (Canada), https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/pengepungan-di-bukit-duri (Australia), https://www.justwatch.com/fr/film/pengepungan-di-bukit-duri (France), https://www.justwatch.com/it/film/pengepungan-di-bukit-duri (Italy), https://www.justwatch.com/es/pelicula/pengepungan-di-bukit-duri (Spain), https://www.justwatch.com/de/Film/pengepungan-di-bukit-duri (Germany), https://www.amazon.com/Siege-at-Thorn-High/dp/B0FJ8GSNSK/ (US)
Detailed Summary – A School’s Turn from Sanctuary to Siege
Edwin’s mission is personal: his sister's dying wish leads him to Thorn High, a facility for delinquent youth.
The students—brutal and volatile—instantly perceive Edwin as an outsider and a threat.
Just as he locates his nephew, civil unrest morphs into riots, trapping them amid growing violence.
The school hallways become battlegrounds. Edwin and the boy fight back-to-back as students turn into merciless adversaries.
Director’s Vision – A Social Alarm Clock in Action-Thriller Disguise
Joko Anwar frames the story as a cautionary dystopia, set just four years ahead, to reflect on real societal fault lines.
Originally written in 2008, the script was postponed until 2024, when the team felt Indonesia still hadn’t resolved its historic ethnic tensions.
With Amazon MGM’s backing, Anwar crafts his first non-horror film—a high-stakes blend of action, thriller, and allegory.
Themes – Survival, Identity, and the Echoes of History
The unleashed riots mirror the dark legacy of the 1998 anti-Chinese pogroms, reframing historical trauma through a near-future lens.
Thorn High symbolizes a fragile safe space destroyed by societal collapse and institutional failure.
Edwin’s role probes how personal vows and ancestral wrongs compel one t
Critics Reception – Thrills Meet Thoughtful Provocation
Indonesian outlets like Cinemags commended the harrowing prologue and urgent reflection on national trauma.
Republika highlighted its vivid unpacking of violence and discrimination still plaguing society.Overall: Critics underscore how the film turns action spectacle into a mirror on contemporary racism and unrest.
Reviews – Praise, Provocation, and Polarized Perspectives
Adam Putra (Letterboxd): Celebrates it as Joko Anwar’s most daring and complete film, “triggering and disturbing… expertly crafted and brilliantly conceived.”
Keke A: Calls it a waste; argues that complex social themes devolve into surface-level violence and family drama.
Vin (Letterboxd): Values its brutal thematic clarity, even as dialogue feels explicit and exhausting.Overall Summary: Reception is polarized—some hail its fearless storytelling, others critique its execution and narrative focus.
Why to Recommend Movie – Urgency Woven into Brutal Intimacy
Delivers adrenaline-fueled action while refusing to shy away from social consciousness.
Anchors its brutality in emotional stakes rooted in familial loyalty and historical wounds.
Emerging as a distinctive ASEAN thrill melodrama with the global caliber of production and thematic depth.
Movie Trend – East Indies Thriller with a Conscience
Part of a growing trend of Southeast Asian genre cinema that uses action-thriller frameworks as vehicles for confronting regional histories and social fractures.
Social Trend – Storytelling as Reckoning
The film amplifies a cultural trend of confronting unresolved societal trauma onscreen—forcing collective introspection on race, history, and institutional neglect.
Final Verdict – A Siege You Won’t Forget
The Siege at Thorn High packs explosions and survival drama with the resonance of history’s burden. Joko Anwar’s vision turns a derelict high school into a crucible: brutal, unflinching, and riven with spectral echoes of real-world injustice. A film that fights on behalf of past voices—held hostage by time and violence, but finally given a voice.