The Siege at Thorn High

The Siege at Thorn High

Year: 2025

Runtime: 1 h 58 m

Language: indonesian

Director: Joko Anwar

ActionCrimeDramaThriller

Set in a remote school built for the most troubled youths, the story follows a resolute teacher who is intent on imposing discipline. In this hostile environment, educators are forced to do more than teach— they must also fend off the lethal assaults launched by the very students they aim to reform.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen The Siege at Thorn High yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – The Siege at Thorn High (2025)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Siege at Thorn High (2025). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1998, 2009, 2027

The narrative moves through three key moments: the May 1998 riots targeting ethnic Chinese communities, the 2009 high school events that shape Edwin’s mission, and a chaotic 2027 Jakarta where discrimination persists and violence erupts within schools. These periods anchor the story in a long arc of prejudice, memory, and survival. Each era reveals how history informs present-day choices and collective identity.

Location

Jakarta, Indonesia, Chinatown, Jakarta, Bukit Duri Senior High School

The film unfolds across a densely populated Jakarta, including its crowded streets, Chinatown districts, and the classrooms of Bukit Duri Senior High School. The city is depicted as a battleground where past riots echo into present-day tensions between communities. The school serves as a focal point for student life, authority dynamics, and the clash between violence and hope within an urban landscape.

🌆 Urban Jakarta 🧭 Ethnic tension 🏫 Educational setting

Last Updated: January 06, 2026 at 10:48

Main Characters – The Siege at Thorn High (2025)

Meet the key characters of The Siege at Thorn High (2025), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Edwin (Morgan Oey)

A seasoned substitute teacher in 2027 Jakarta who uses his position to uncover family ties and protect students amid escalating unrest. Calm, resourceful, and stubbornly principled, he navigates danger with careful strategy and growing resolve to solve Silvi’s mystery. His empathy for the vulnerable drives him to confront violence rather than flee from it.

🧭 Protagonist 🧑‍🏫 Teacher 🌆 City-resilience

Silvi (Lia Lukman)

A victim of a brutal crime in 1998 whose legacy haunts Edwin’s mission to locate her child. Her memory motivates characters to confront prejudice and protect the vulnerable, serving as a moral center for the story. She embodies the long arc of suffering that resilience must reckon with.

💔 Victim 🕊️ Legacy 🧭 Memory

Panca (Emir Mahira)

A student from the past era whose romance with Silvi informs Edwin’s present-day resolve. In 2027, his adult self remains a touchstone for family, loyalty, and the dangers of unchecked anger. He embodies the personal stakes that connect generations of Jakarta’s communities.

💌 Romantic lead 🕵️‍♂️ Confidant 🧩 Mystery

Khristo (Endy Arfian)

A talented student whose drawings reveal a keen observational mind. Born abroad and connected to Edwin through contested memories, Khristo’s identity challenges assumptions about kinship and belonging. He becomes a crucial link in deciphering the cryptic clues surrounding Silvi’s past.

🎨 Artist 🧭 Identity clues 🌐 Diaspora

Rangga (Fatih Unru)

A high-spirited student with a protective instinct for his friends and family. His fate in the violence-laden climax underscores the human cost of mob rule and the fragile line between courage and danger. He embodies the innocence caught in the crossfire of political and social turmoil.

👦 Student 🛡️ Innocence 💔 Loss

Jefri (Omara N. Esteghlal)

A gang leader whose brutality escalates during riots and school confrontations. He is quick to exploit fear and aggression to assert control, making him a primary antagonist whose actions precipitate tragic outcomes. His arc exposes how prejudice can be weaponized by those in search of power.

🗡️ Antagonist 🕶️ Gang leader 🧨 Violence catalyst

Diana (Hana Malasan)

A school staff member who becomes Edwin’s ally and a quiet mediator between different groups. She embodies resilience in the face of chaos, offering mentorship and support to students in need. Her presence helps anchor moments of humanity amid rising violence.

👩‍🏫 Ally 🕊️ Bridge-builder 🧭 Guardian

Gerry (Dewa Dayana)

A brutal enforcer whose actions escalate the danger within the auditorium and laboratories. His confrontation with Edwin and Kristo highlights the merciless edge of vengeance when prejudice is fused with power. His downfall underscores the consequences of unchecked aggression.

🔪 Assassin 🧨 Violence catalyst 🏚️ Shadowy figure

Sim (Florian Rutters)

A fellow student whose fate mirrors the perilous environment surrounding the school. Sim’s presence adds complexity to the dynamics of the gang’s influence and the turmoil affecting the student body. His experiences reflect the broader assault on youth during civil unrest.

🎨 Student artist 🕳️ Victim 🧭 Clue bearer

Culap (Raihan Khan)

A student associated with the Bukit Duri crowd whose actions illustrate how peer pressure can escalate conflict. Culap embodies the pressures felt by adolescents under a culture of intimidation and retaliation. His choices emphasize the consequences of belonging to a gang under threat.

🧒 Student 🕸️ Peer pressure 🧩 Gang member

Dotty (Satine Zaneta)

A secondary character whose presence underscores the wider social network surrounding the school. Dotty’s interactions reveal how rumors, loyalties, and alliances shift as danger intensifies. She helps map the social terrain in which Edwin and his allies operate.

✨ Side character 🕊️ Messenger 🧭 Social link

Jay (Farandika)

A younger student whose behavior mirrors the chaotic environment of the school. Jay’s actions illustrate how youth become entangled in the cycles of violence and how some seek a path away from aggression. His arc adds texture to the ensemble of Class 3F.

🏃‍♂️ Student 🪬 Influence of peers 🧩 Rising tension

Last Updated: January 06, 2026 at 10:48

Major Themes – The Siege at Thorn High (2025)

Explore the central themes of The Siege at Thorn High (2025), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🧧 Racial Tensions

The film centers on enduring ethnic prejudice in Indonesia, showing how stereotypes about wealth and ethnicity can explode into real-world violence. It traces how Chinese-Indonesian communities are repeatedly marginalized by mobs, with individuals paying personal prices for inherited bias. Through the intertwined fates of Edwin, Silvi, and their peers, the story exposes how discrimination corrodes trust and fuels cycles of retaliation. The theme argues that recognizing history is essential to breaking the pattern of violence.

🧭 Identity

Identity drives much of the characters’ decisions as they navigate a city that stigmatizes their backgrounds. Edwin’s search for his familial connections and his role as a teacher bridging divides highlight how belonging is negotiated through acts of care and courage. Kristo’s ambiguous origins and his Malaysia-born background complicate notions of kinship and loyalty. The film uses personal quests to question what it means to belong in a society defined by division.

🩹 Trauma

The story treats trauma as a living memory, resurfacing across generations through flashbacks and present-day violence. The 1998 and 2009 events leave invisible scars that shape trust, fear, and response to danger. Characters carry the weight of past injuries as they face new threats, highlighting how communal wounds persist when justice is elusive. The narrative suggests healing requires acknowledging the pain rather than suppressing it.

⚖️ Power

Power dynamics emerge through mobs, school authority, and private motivations that drive violence and protection. The characters confront those who exploit unrest to control others, while Edwin and Diana attempt to safeguard their students and peers. The climactic confrontations reveal how authority can be corrupted or reimagined through courageous collective action. The theme interrogates who holds power and at what cost to human life.

Last Updated: January 06, 2026 at 10:48

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Institutional siege thrillers like The Siege at Thorn High

Tense stories of characters trapped and fighting for survival within a crumbling institution.If you liked the high-stakes tension of The Siege at Thorn High, you'll find more movies here where characters are trapped in a pressured environment. These stories feature brutal survival scenarios, moral decay, and a relentless fight for control within confined spaces.

claustrophobictensebrutaldesperatechaoticoppressivegritty

Narrative Summary

These narratives typically begin by establishing a volatile or failing institution. A catalyst event triggers a violent takeover or lockdown, trapping a diverse group inside. The plot escalates through waves of conflict, strategic standoffs, and brutal acts of violence, exploring themes of authority, survival, and the breakdown of order.

Why These Movies?

Movies in this thread share a claustrophobic setting, high-intensity pacing, and a focus on the psychological and physical toll of a prolonged siege. They deliver a consistently tense and often brutal viewing experience.

Movies about bleak vengeance and societal collapse like The Siege at Thorn High

Gritty stories where personal revenge unfolds against a backdrop of societal decay.Fans of The Siege at Thorn High who appreciated its heavy themes of racial violence, societal breakdown, and a bittersweet quest for retribution will find similar films here. These stories are emotionally heavy, dark, and offer little comfort.

vengefulcynicalgrittyoppressiveanxiousbrutalbleak

Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a protagonist, often carrying deep personal trauma, who seeks justice or revenge in a world where societal structures have failed. Their journey is morally complex, revealing the cyclical nature of violence. The climax provides a resolution, but it's typically tarnished by immense loss and a bleak outlook on humanity.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared dark tone, heavy emotional weight, and central focus on revenge/redemption amidst a collapsing social order. They leave the audience with a sense of grim clarity rather than hope.

Unlock the Full Story of The Siege at Thorn High

Don't stop at just watching — explore The Siege at Thorn High in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what The Siege at Thorn High is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

The Siege at Thorn High Summary

Read a complete plot summary of The Siege at Thorn High, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

The Siege at Thorn High Summary

The Siege at Thorn High Timeline

Track the full timeline of The Siege at Thorn High with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

The Siege at Thorn High Timeline

The Siege at Thorn High Ending Explained

What really happened at the end of The Siege at Thorn High? This detailed ending explained page breaks down final scenes, hidden clues, and alternate interpretations with expert analysis and viewer theories.

The Siege at Thorn High Ending Explained

The Siege at Thorn High Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of The Siege at Thorn High that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

The Siege at Thorn High Spoiler-Free Summary

More About The Siege at Thorn High

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about The Siege at Thorn High: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About The Siege at Thorn High