Affliction (2021) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The film takes place in Indonesia, primarily in Hasan's rural hometown in Central Java before shifting to Jakarta as the family seeks care for Dayu. The story moves between Dayu's home and a remote house where dark secrets are buried, contrasting the quiet countryside with urban danger.

• setting
• locations
• central java
• jakarta
• indonesia

Affliction is set in modern-day contemporary Indonesia. The present-day setting allows modern domestic dynamics, technology, and urban living to intersect with superstition and unresolved trauma from the past.

• time period
• modern day
• contemporary
• indonesia

The film explores four major themes: the paranormal elements that emerge through Dayu's worsening dementia, the fragility of memory and how it drives mistrust, hidden secrets that fracture the family, and the destructive violence that erupts when truths finally surface.

• themes
• paranormal
• memory
• secrets
• violence

Dayu, called Oma, is Hasan's mother whose mysterious dementia worsens throughout the film. Her condition and the strange events in her home become the catalyst for uncovering long-buried family secrets. Her home conceals dark past events, including human bones buried in a tree facing the Qibla.

• dayu
• oma
• grandmother
• dementia

Hasan is a Jakarta-based psychologist and family man who brings his wife Nina and children to care for his mother Dayu. He becomes obsessed with impressing Dayu using a past friendship with Dimas, which fuels manipulation and secrecy. He harbors violent tendencies that emerge when confronted with family secrets.

• hasan
• psychologist
• husband
• ibnu jamil

Nina is Hasan's wife and mother to Tasha and Ryan. She arrives at Dayu's home grieving her own mother's death and fears that Dayu's dementia may mirror her mother's decline. She becomes entangled in the family's secrets and must fight to protect her children when Hasan's violent nature is revealed.

• nina
• wife
• mother
• raihaanun

Dementia defines Dayu's presence and becomes a mirror for the characters' memories and guilt. As Dayu's condition worsens, strange whispers, shadows, and occult clues surface, pushing the family into a fear-driven spiral. The deterioration triggers Hasan's and Dimas's past obsessions to resurface.

• dementia
• memory
• deterioration
• mental health

The supernatural elements are woven through Dayu's worsening dementia and eerie happenings in her home. Strange whispers, shadows, and occult clues gradually reveal that supernatural influences may be connected to the family's buried secrets and the dark past that haunts the household.

• supernatural
• haunted
• paranormal
• spirits

Hidden pasts emerge as Nina uncovers human bones buried in a tree and the truth about Hasan's friendship with Dimas. These unlocked secrets fracture the family and reveal dangerous dynamics rooted in pride and denial, ultimately driving the plot toward violent confrontation.

• secrets
• buried bones
• past
• hidden truth

Narsih is Dayu's caretaker who informs Nina about the worsening dementia and the supernatural undertones surrounding Dayu's condition. She holds key information about Hasan's past relationship with Dimas and the secrets hidden within Dayu's home.

• narsih
• caretaker
• dea panendra

Dimas is Hasan's friend who shares their misguided obsession to impress Dayu. He becomes entangled in the dangerous dynamic between the two men, and his fate exposes the violent consequences of their shared past actions.

• dimas
• friend
• fajrul ravi ahmad

The settings build tension around family secrets and a haunted past through contrast between quiet countryside life in Central Java and the urban danger of Jakarta. The shift from Dayu's rural home to the city creates a backdrop for the unfolding mystery and supernatural elements.

• rural
• urban
• contrast
• tension
• setting