2007–2017: Career beginnings, The Mo Brothers and Citra Award nominee Tjahjanto and Stamboel rose to fame for directing and writing their feature directorial debut
Macabre (known as
Rumah Dara in local market) in 2009. The film is based on their 2007 short film
Dara, which was included in the 2008 anthology film
Takut: Faces of Fear. It stars
Julie Estelle, Shareefa Daanish,
Ario Bayu,
Aming, and
Sigi Wimala.
Macabre received rave reviews and won several awards from international and local film festivals, with Daanish receiving praise for her performance as the titular character. In 2012, he directed a segment in the anthology film
The ABCs of Death alongside other filmmakers which included
Nacho Vigalondo,
Banjong Pisanthanakun,
Ben Wheatley,
Noboru Iguchi,
Ti West, and
Yoshihiro Nishimura. The following year, he worked on 'Safe Haven', a segment included in the horror anthology film
V/H/S/2 which premiered at the
2013 Sundance Film Festival. Tjahjanto co-directed and co-wrote the segment with
Gareth Evans, director of the 2011 action hit
The Raid. The film stars actors from both Japan and Indonesia, including
Kazuki Kitamura,
Oka Antara,
Rin Takanashi,
Luna Maya, Ray Sahetapy, Epy Kusnandar, and
Tara Basro. and received positive reviews upon release with a 73% fresh score on
Rotten Tomatoes. The duo teamed up again in 2016 to release the action film
Headshot with
The Raid star
Iko Uwais and
Maya Award winning actress
Chelsea Islan in leading roles with Sunny Pang,
Julie Estelle,
Zack Lee,
Bront Palarae, and
Ario Bayu in supporting roles.
2018–present: Solo works, further recognition, Maya Award Taking a break from his works with Stamboel as The Mo Brothers, Tjahjanto explored the
supernatural horror genre with
May the Devil Take You in 2018. This marks his first feature film as a solo director. Released to positive reviews, the film saw him reunite with Chelsea Islan, Ray Sahetapy, and Shareefa Daanish. Later in the year, he released
The Night Comes for Us based on a screenplay he wrote as an homage to
Hong Kong 1980s cinema. The film is the first
Netflix original production from Indonesia and received acclaim from critics with a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film stars top action stars
Joe Taslim (
Fast & Furious 6, Star Trek Beyond) and Iko Uwais whom he worked with previously in
Headshot. In supporting roles, he cast actors that have become frequent collaborators, such as Julie Estelle, Zack Lee, Sunny Pang,
Abimana Aryasatya,
Hannah Al Rashid, Shareefa Daanish, and Epy Kusnandar. The film was released in theatres and later on
Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia with
Shudder taking on the American distribution rights. It received mixed reviews from critics. The film earned Tjahjanto
Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations at the 2020
Maya Awards.
Upcoming projects In September 2018, Tjahjanto hinted on
Twitter that he is working on adapting the action-thriller comic book
JITU: Joint Tactical Intelligence Unit into a feature film. The project has not been officially confirmed despite Tjahjanto posting another
teaser on
Instagram in April 2019. Tjahjanto has also confirmed that he has co-written a screenplay for a spin-off film focusing on Julie Estelle's character from
The Night Comes for Us, titled
Night of the Operator, with friend and collaborator Aaron Stewart-Ahn. While no official confirmation has been made, Tjahjanto and Stewart-Ahn teased a poster with Estelle's character in a red background on social media in January 2020. In February 2020, Tjahjanto posted on his Twitter account hinting at a sequel to the Mo Brothers' 2009 hit
Macabre. In a podcast with fellow Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar in April 2020, Tjahjanto shared that while the movie was a hit on the festival circuit, it was not as successful financially and that he and Stamboel will only do a sequel if they have a story that fits their ideals. Following the release of
May the Devil Take You Too, Tjahjanto announced in October 2020 that a follow-up, titled
May the Devil Take You: Dajjal, is in pre-production with Islan and Daanish hinting that they will be reprising their respective roles in response to the announcement. Tjahjanto was announced as director of a live-action adaptation of the
Bumilangit Cinematic Universe film adaptation of
comic book character Si Buta dari Gua Hantu in ''The Blind of the Phantom Cave: Angel's Eyes'' in 2018. Production was set to begin in early 2020, but was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Iko Uwais is rumored to star in the lead role as the titular character. It is part of the
Bumilangit Cinematic Universe film for its Volume 1. In February 2021, Tjahjanto was announced to helm a remake of
South Korean blockbuster hit
Train to Busan with
James Wan producing for
New Line Cinema. In November 2021, he was hired to direct the reboot of
Under Siege for
HBO Max. In February, it was announced that he will directing the sequel of
The Beekeeper. == Personal life ==