Ghost in the Cell (2026): US Release Date, Where to Watch, and Is It on Netflix

As of October 15, 2026, there is no way to stream, rent or buy Ghost in the Cell in the US. It opened in a limited theatrical release on October 2, and its widest run was 69 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo. Well Go USA's own page still lists it as in theaters, but on October 15 we found no US showtimes for it in a check of Fandango listings in about ten major US metro areas.

Dread Central reported on October 7, 2026 that the film arrives on digital on October 27, with a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release following on November 17. Well Go USA's page does not list either date yet, so treat October 27 as reported rather than confirmed.

The film is on Netflix in Indonesia, where it was added on August 20, 2026, listed under the Indonesian title Hantu Dalam Sel. Netflix licenses region by region, so an Indonesian catalogue entry says nothing about US availability, and Well Go USA holds the North American theatrical rights. As of October 15, 2026, JustWatch lists no US streaming, rental or purchase option for the film.

This matters more than usual here because the film has been out since April. Search results, social posts and streaming-aggregator pages have had nearly six months to accumulate around the Indonesian release, and a good number of them will tell a US reader the film is streaming, which is true only outside the US.

This page and the film page will be updated when the digital release is live.

Ghost in the Cell had its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026, which ran September 17 to 24 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas, and won Best Picture in the festival's Horror Features competition. The same jury gave Best Director to Nikias Chryssos for Bloody Tennis and a Special Mention to Jordan Downey's The Cycle. In Indonesia, Kompas and Tempo both reported the win.

Austin also gave the film its first set of English-language reviews written for a US audience, about a week before the October 2 theatrical date. Dread Central's review headline called it "expectedly gnarly, surprisingly heart-warming," Daily Dead's called it "an exemplary horror comedy," and The Austin Chronicle and RogerEbert.com also reviewed it. The recurring point is the tone. Anwar's best-known films in the US are straight supernatural horror, and the Austin reviews describe this one as a tonal shift: a prison film with graphic kills that plays more like a comedy, which Dread Central called one of the nastiest feel-good horror films around.

Two other films we are tracking played the same festival. Beware Boiúna opened it and reached US theaters the same day as this one, October 2. The Cycle premiered there before streaming on Shudder from October 23.

The film's own categorisation does not settle this. TMDB files it under horror, comedy and thriller at once. Well Go USA is selling it on gore. The Berlinale programmed it in Forum, the section for films the festival frames in terms of formal and political interest rather than genre.

Writing from the Berlinale on February 27, 2026, Berlin ArtLink described the film as combining horror with slapstick comedy, and read its political commentary on Indonesian corruption as the point of the combination rather than a subtext underneath it.

A film can carry a high Gore score and a low Fear score at the same time. It was released in the US without an MPA rating.

We have not scored Ghost in the Cell, because we score only after watching. When we have, the Fear, Gore, Atmosphere, Intensity and Overall values go on the film page. The film is in Indonesian with English subtitles.

Joko Anwar has directed features since 2005 and is the most commercially reliable horror director working in Indonesia. Kompas reported in April 2026 that Ghost in the Cell made him the only Indonesian director with seven consecutive releases past one million admissions. The run it named is Pengabdi Setan (2017), Perempuan Tanah Jahanam (2019), Gundala (2019), Pengabdi Setan 2: Communion (2022), Siksa Kubur (2024), Pengepungan di Bukit Duri (2025) and this film.

Two of those, released internationally as Satan's Slaves and Impetigore, are the films most US genre audiences will have encountered, largely through Shudder. Neither is in our catalog yet, which is a gap on our side rather than a comment on the films.

Ghost in the Cell sold to 86 territories, a figure the production has used in its own marketing and one Indonesian trade coverage reported through the spring. Well Go USA took North America. The production companies are Come and See Pictures, Rapi Films and Legacy Pictures, with Korean co-production from Barunson E&A. Ical Tanjung shot it and Aghi Narottama scored it, both regular Anwar collaborators.

Abimana Aryasatya, Bront Palarae, Dimas Danang, Endy Arfian, Lukman Sardi, Yoga Pratama and Morgan Oey lead the ensemble.