Indonesia’s Screenplay Films starts shooting the feature film version of its blockbuster zombie original streaming series, "Zona Merah", tomorrow (Tuesday, 7 April). 

The move levels up an experiment that gave Indonesia’s largest streaming platform, Vidio, its first zombie drama, and kicks off what could set an expanded path forward for the Jakarta-based production house. 

While ghosts, vampires and shrouded corpses have long been an Indonesian horror staple, the zombie addition is a break from tradition. Film insiders say the expansion signals shift toward more ambitious and visually complex local storytelling.  

"Zona Merah" the series was  released on Vidio in November 2024 and, four episodes in, became the #1 entertainment title for both audience reach and engagement during its initial run. Vidio also said at the time that the series was the top driver of all new subscribers to the platform across both entertainment and live sports over the same period. 

The eight-part series is about a journalist and a female laborer who unite to uncover the truth that will bring down a corrupt governor as the rapidly multiplying universe of the ‘undead’, guided by the sense of smell, close in.

“We see this as the beginning of expanding a world that started as a streaming series into the cinematic space – a first for Screenplay Films,” Wicky Olindo, producer and CEO of Screenplay Films, told ContentAsia ahead of filming. 

He added that the film, if successful, could also be a “potential blueprint for future projects”. 

In the pre-filming press material released ahead of the Easter weekend, Screenplay Films promised “a much bigger scale, a more cinematic look, and a story that pushes the intensity to a whole different level.

The adaptation promises to plunge audiences into “a world that’s bigger, darker, and far more unforgiving. As the story expands, the conflicts become more intricate, the characters more deeply layered, and the sense of chaos spirals to new extremes”. 

Survival, the press pack says, “is no longer just a fight – it’s a desperate, relentless battle against the rising threat of the undead. With the stakes pushed higher than ever, the film delivers [an] experience that goes far beyond what the series could contain”.

“We want audiences to feel unsafe in their cinema seats – darker and more unsettling than anything we’ve created before,” said writer and director Sidharta Tata. 

Co-director is Fajar Martha Santosa, who also leads the overall development process. 

Both filmmakers have proven action and horror track records. 

“Zona Merah already has a strong foundation in its world-building and storytelling from the series. With the film, we aim to elevate everything to the next level—emotionally, in terms of conflict scale, and in the overall visual experience,” Tata said. 

Series stars Aghniny Haque, Andri Mashadi, Maria Theodore, Devano, and Lukman Sardi reprise their roles for the film.

New characters include Luna Maya, who also takes on a role as executive producer, along with Bryan Domani, Shindy Huang, Myesha Lin and Derby Romero. 

The shoot runs to May. The release date has not been confirmed.