
Maestros of action film making are as revered by lovers of action as those trading punches and firing bullets on-screen.
Some even become true legends of telling the most spellbinding tales of on-screen combat, be they John Woo, Yuen Woo-ping, Gareth Evans, or Chad Stahelski.
Though martial arts movie lovers already know Timo Tjahjanto well, “The Shadow Strays” is arguably his crowning achievement of enthralling action with slasher movie seasoning.
This is proof positive that Timo is officially among the greatest action movie directors to ever walk the Earth, “The Shadow Strays” is also a powerful martial arts movie debut for Aurora Ribero, who already looks poised to become the next Michelle Yeoh or Jeeja Yanin.
Trailer
Cast
Aurora Ribero portrays the young heroine of “The Shadow Strays”, 13, with Hana Malasan portraying her fellow assassin and mentor Umbra.
Corrupt cop Prasetyo is played by Adipati Dolken, and Ali Fikry plays a young boy who becomes 13’s friend, Monji.
Kristo Immanuel also plays 13’s impromptu ally Jeki, with Andri Mashadi playing the sinister Ariel, while Taska Namya portrays Soriah and Agra Piliang also appears as Haga.
Plot
Life as an assassin is the only life ever known to 13, a 17-year old member of the clandestine ring of assassins known as the “Shadows”. However, 13’s latest mission in Japan doesn’t go as planned, leading to 13 being placed on suspension.
Already grappling with feelings of self-doubt and moral qualms about her life as an assassin, a chance meeting with an orphaned boy named Monji gives 13 even more uncertainty about her life as a Shadow.
However, 13 soon finds both her skill set and her renewed outlook on life put to the test when Monji is kidnapped, leading 13 to pick up her swords to rescue her young friend, in the full knowledge that doing so will put her and her fellow Shadows on course for a showdown that only one can survive.


Action
If the first twenty minutes of “The Shadow Strays” can be summarized in one sentence, nothing would do it greater justice than “Navy SEAL Ninja Silat Warriors invade a Yakuza compound in the dead of winter”. On its own, that opening earns “The Shadow Strays” the distinction of being one of the best action movies of the last two decades.
Kicks Off Strong, but Takes Time to Breathe
Timo Tjahjanto’s gloves off philosophy of action moviemaking is the stuff of legend after his work on “Headshot” and “The Night Comes For Us”, and “The Shadow Strays” hits the ground running with a bloodletting battle of swords and bullets that establishes the Shadows as the modern day evolution of ninjas, and ninja movies, that somehow never came after “Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear”.
For as energetically as it starts, “The Shadow Strays” just as quickly takes a breather to zero in on the humanity of its heroine 13 and her mentor Umbra.
Timo Tjahjanto might be more renowned for bloodshed and severed limbs than any other contemporary action filmmaker, but the heartfelt nature of his style of storytelling has gotten far less recognition than it should.
Like “Headshot” and “The Night Comes For Us”, “The Shadow Strays” is a redemption story, but it’s much younger protagonist also gives it something different in 13’s journey as an assassin paradoxically imprisoned in a dark version of childhood. And talk about perfect casting…
Aurora Ribero: An Action Star is Born!
It’d be easy to count on one hand the number of action classics in which the protagonists haven’t even celebrated their 20th birthday, and fewer still where they’re portrayed by someone completely new to action films and martial arts.
Then there’s Aurora Ribero’s tour-de-force performance as 13. Ribero’s 13 is a young woman dominated by a swirl of guilt, desperation, and resignation, simultaneously yearning to be free of her life as an assassin but terrified of leaving behind the only life she has ever known, and in disappointing her already frustrated surrogate mother Umbra.


Ribero’s performance as 13 sees her embody a nigh-unstoppable assassin, a devoted older sister to her young friend Monji, and a vengeful warrior with nothing to lose, and Ribero brings a compelling mix of fury and warmth to her portrayal of 13.
Ribero also brings a level of physicality and sheer strength to “The Shadow Strays” that is a sight to behold.
Martial arts newcomer or not, Aurora Ribero is by far the best new-to-the-game female action star since Veronica Ngo’s debut in “The Rebel”.
Despite the tender innocence 13 is introduced with, there’s never any doubt that she’s a lethal killing machine, and Ribero’s commitment to fight scenes that leave her black-and-blue is beyond astonishing.
With “The Shadow Strays”, Aurora Ribero already earns the title of an overnight martial arts movie legend…
The Shadow Strays Goes Insane in its Third Act!
The consistency of action balanced with heart in “The Shadow Strays” boils over into a raw and thoroughly awe-inspiring battle royale in its last 40 minutes, of which 13’s baseball bat smackdown with Andri Mahshadi’s vicious Ariel is both a home run worthy of The Raid 2 and still just the warm-up round.
The subsequent double-header of 13’s back-to-back battles with Daniel Ekaputra’s hulking Troika and Umbra herself both deliver, but the latter is the real one-on-one highlight of “The Shadow Strays”.
At close to nine minutes, 13’s showdown with Umbra is a microcosm of “The Shadow Strays” as a whole, a thunderous hurricane of kicks, blades, bullets, and explosives with tragedy and redemption both playing complimentary roles in both the story and the definitively Indonesian style of action at the center of the movie.


So, About THAT Cameo & The Future of The Shadow Strays…
And just when you think a young assassin’s coming-of-age story being told over the course of 145 minutes of ridiculously captivating martial arts action would be how “The Shadow Strays” makes its mic drop, Timo has one more surprise up his sleeve with a last minute cameo by a certain Indonesian action movie legend – one who shall remain nameless for the purposes of this review, but whose presence and the scene in question quite clearly indicate that “The Shadow Strays” has only just begun.
In the interest of avoiding spoilers, and said cameo teases this new character as both a frenemy and mentor of sorts, and is handled with all the gravitas of a surprise superhero cameo, or that of Jason Statham stepping out of the car at the end of “Fast & Furious 6”.
It might sound like hyperbole to label it the best cameo of 2024, but coming at the end of the action-packed assassin revenge epic that is “The Shadow Strays” and with the promise it makes for more, not bestowing that honor would be quite mad indeed!
Summary
If there’s a better way to describe “The Shadow Strays” than an action masterpiece, the English and Indonesian languages should be expanded upon to accommodate that.
Martial arts and action movie lovers will find everything their hearts crave and then some in the war of Silat ninjas kicking and slashing amid a snowstorm of bullets that is “The Shadow Strays”.
Timo Tjahjanto’s command of delivering incredible action wrapped in a tale of redemption and selflessness keeps the movie as engaging as it is economical, while Aurora Ribero starts her martial arts movie career off with the strength of someone with decades of training and five genre classics to her name already.
“The Shadow Strays” is as glorious as it gets for Indonesian action fans, and the future it teases at the end lays the groundwork for one hell of a follow-up – especially with who “The Shadow Strays 2” already appears to have on-board for round two!



Trivia
“The Shadow Strays” held its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, being shown during the Midnight Madness portion of the festival on September 10th, 2024.
For “The Shadow Strays”, Aurora Ribero underwent an extensive four-month training regimen. This included training in numerous martial arts disciplines, specifically Silat, Jiu Jitsu, Eskrima, and Kendo. Additionally, Aurora was also trained in tricking, and had to learn to both drive a car and ride a motorcycle.
In “The Shadow Strays” press kit, Timo Tjahjanto shared what inspired him to write story of the movie: “I wanted to prove that action is genderless. If you have a good character, it doesn’t matter if it’s a 30-year old man or an 18-year old girl, you can still make a good action movie.”
Within six days of its debut on Netflix, “The Shadow Strays” was among Netflix’s top 10 movies in 85 countries.
Fight choreographer Muhammad Irfan worked as a stuntman on “The Raid: Redemption” and “The Raid 2”. His other credits as fight choreographer, stunt performer, and stunt coordinator include “Headshot” “Beyond Skyline”, “The Night Comes For Us”, “Foxtrot Six” “Tira”, “Warrior”, and “V/H/S/94”.
Favourite Quotes
- “We are Shadows! No honor, no sleep!” – 13 (To an opponent in a fight scene.)
- “I am more than a number” – 13 (Referring to her title as a member of the Shadows.)

Timo Tjahjanto’s The Shadow Strays is now streaming on Netflix!