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Netflix’s newest psychological thriller did not need long to find an audience. The Body, an eight-episode series released on November 11, entered the platform’s global top ten within a day and climbed to No. 2 worldwide on FlixPatrol’s chart of most-watched TV shows, behind only the second season of Keira Knightley’s spy drama Black Doves. It is trending in 86 countries and is No. 1 in six, and “the body netflix” also trended in Indonesia.
What it is about
Created by Quinn Shephard, who co-runs it with Gina Gammell, the series combines a coming-of-age story with supernatural horror. A group of girls at a Catholic school take part in a dark sacrifice ritual, and their lives begin to fall apart. The cast includes Kristina Bogic, Anya Butler, Geena Carling Meszaros and Lisbeth Anderson.
Reviews have been positive. It holds an 83 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes from early reviews, and an unusually high 98 percent audience score. Netflix has not yet renewed it, but Gammell has said the ending sets up where the team “wish to go next season if we’re so lucky to get one.”
My view: why girlhood horror keeps working
The Body belongs to a growing tradition of stories that use horror to talk about the pressures on young women: Yellowjackets, Jennifer’s Body, The Craft and, closer to home, many Indonesian horror films about schoolgirls and possession. The formula is not new, but it works because the metaphor is so clear. Adolescence often feels like losing control of your own body and identity, under rules imposed by institutions such as schools, families and religion. Horror makes that feeling literal.
The religious school setting will connect strongly with Indonesian viewers. Our own horror cinema, from Pengabdi Setan to the many pesantren and boarding-school horror films, frequently uses religious institutions and rituals. What The Body appears to do well, judging by the early reaction, is take its characters seriously as people rather than simply as victims or monsters.
A practical note for parents: the series is rated TV-MA, for mature audiences, with disturbing themes and imagery. It is not for younger teenagers, despite its school setting.
It is also worth noting how Netflix now launches hits. A series can go from release to global No. 2 in two days, driven largely by short clips and recommendations on TikTok and Instagram. For Indonesian producers, that is both a challenge and an opportunity: a well-made local series can find a global audience just as quickly.
Sources: Screen Rant; Netflix Tudum; What’s on Netflix; Rotten Tomatoes.
