The Elixir, original title: Abadi Nan Jaya (literally Eternal and Glorious) for Indonesian market, is a 2025 Indonesian Zombie Apocalypse film written and directed by Kimo Stamboel, with additional writing by Agasyah Karim and Khalid Hashogi. The movie stars Mikha Tambayong, Eva Celia Latjuba, Donny Damara, among others. The movie was released by Netflix on 23 October 2025.
A Dysfunctional Family runs a well-known herbal medicine company. One day, the company produces a new kind of Jamu (a traditional herbal drink) which ends up triggering a zombie outbreak across the rural Java.
Preview: Official Trailer
The Elixir contains examples of:
- Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene:
- Kenes, separated from her son after the outbreak, is comforted by Bambang, who assures her that everything will be alright.
- Police officer Rahman talks to his fiancée, Ningsih, promising that he’s going to save her.
- Dysfunctional Family:
- Kenes has her fair share of problems. She wants to divorce her husband, Rudi, after catching him cheating, and she’s fighting to get custody of their son, Raihan. She also caught her (now ex-) best friend, Karina, has been sleeping with her father, Sadimin.
- Bambang, being jobless and an Extreme Doormat to his dad, never earning a shred of respect from him.
- Elixir of Life: The titular Elixir, the Jamu that Sadimin dubs Abadi Nan Jaya grants the drinker a younger appearance, something he tests on himself. Unfortunately, the elixir also contains a hidden zombie pathogen, turning Sadimin into the Patient Zero
- Furniture Blockade: When a swarm of zombies surrounds the police station, the survivors have to barricade the door with cupboards and chairs to keep them out.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the final act, Kenes realizes she’s been infected. She says goodbye to her son and friend, then distracts the zombies to buy their escape before taking her own life rather than turning feral.
- Improbable Infant Survival: Raihan, the youngest character, manages to survive multiple zombie attacks. And he even makes it out alive in the end. Subverted by a group of truck passengers, including children, doesn’t survive the zombie attack
- Last Wish Marriage: As Rahman and Ningsih are surrounded by zombies and realize it’s the end, Rahman finally takes out the wedding ring and puts it on Ningsih’s finger. They share their last moment together before being devoured.
- Mercy Kill: Rudi has to kill Mbok Sum, their family nanny as she has been infected and attacked him. He’s left devastated and grieving over what he had to do.
- Not Using the "Z" Word: The movie never actually calls the undead “zombies.” Since the story takes place in a rural Indonesian village steeped in superstition, the locals refer to them as kesurupan (meaning possessed)
- Sequel Hook: There was another sample of Jamu which was delivered to Jakarta and consumed by Grace, hinting that the outbreak is going to spread to the capital city of Indonesia.
- Taking You with Me: As the police station is overrun by zombies, Bambang makes his Heroic Sacrifice when he’s trapped under the rubble. He urges his family to escape, then detonates the last remaining firecrackers to set the station ablaze, taking as many zombies with him as he can.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The story begins with a police officer struggling to confess his feelings to his fiancée in a rural village, while a family from the city visits their herbal medicine tycoon father in the same area. As the outbreak unfolds, their stories gradually intertwine.
- We Need a Distraction: When the cast discovers that the undead can be drawn away by loud noises, they use firecrackers to divert their attention and make their escape.