Indonesian action flick The Shadow Strays follows a pretty simplistic premise involving a global assassin syndicate, an amnesiac killer on the road to redemption, a bloody quest for vengeance, and cathartic reconciliation—every major action movie trope you are probably all too familiar by now. But you don’t invest your time in movies like The Shadow Strays for the plot; you do so to get a taste of masterful fight choreography, innovative action sequences, brilliant cinematography, and a violent, blood-soaked, adrenaline-pumping roller-coaster of a ride that leaves you breathless throughout the movie’s runtime. If the Raid movie series is your jam, then you are already familiar with Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto’s gory feature The Night Comes for Us, who amps up the scope of violence even further with his latest feature, The Shadow Strays.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did 13 Decide To Help Monji?
The Shadow Strays begins with an introduction to the dreaded group of assassins, simply known as the Shadows, and soon enough, we see how well they live up to their reputation as, on a snowy night, at Onori Yakuza stronghold, a seventeen-year-old assassin, simply known as 13, assassinates Yoshinori, the chief of the clan. As hordes of Yakuza foot soldiers, led by Yoshinori’s second-in-command, attack her in retaliation, she proceeds to effectively paint the arena with their blood. However, 13 is still a newbie in this profession, as she accidentally ends up shooting an innocent person—a geisha—to death and gets momentarily incapacitated while being distracted. 13’s mentor, Umbra, comes to her rescue and wipes out the remaining members of the Onori clan.Â
As Umbra expresses her displeasure with 13’s lack of proficiency, it is revealed that the young assassin is deeply dissatisfied with the rigorous, emotionless, grueling lifestyle she has been subjected to to become an assassin. 13 also cannot remember her real identity and is given medication by Umbra, which presumably suppresses her memories and emotions. As per Umbra’s command, 13 is sent to a secretive Shadows facility in Jakarta for psych re-evaluation, where she comes across her neighbors Mirasti, an ailing mother, and Monji, her caring son. 13 can’t help herself from getting involved with situation that don’t concern her after a local gangster, Haga, threatens Mirasti with her life, and the next day she is found dead. 13 has fleeting memories of her childhood, her association with someone close—and despite not being able to connect with her younger self, she can relate to Monji’s misery from a shared feeling of losing a loved one. She tries her best to comfort the little kid and tries to help him recover from the trauma of losing his mother by going out together. The parental feelings 13 feels for Monji stem from her own tribulations. However, as Monji gets abducted by Haga’s men, 13 decides to take matters in her own hands, and by forcing one of Haga’s lackeys, Jeki, to take her to Haga’s nightclub, she begins her search for Monji. The search involves killing Haga and running a gauntlet through hordes of his henchmen, until the cops arrive and prompt 13 to flee with Jeki. One of Haga’s associates, a corrupt cop named Prasetyo, learns about the events and informs their common friend, Ariel. As it turns out, Ariel, son of a local political hotshot, Soemitro, had sexually assaulted Mirasti, who used to work in Haga’s nightclub, and to cover up his crime on the verge of election, Ariel ended up killing her with Haga’s help. Soemitro chastises his son for not taking care of his own mess, and with Monji as his captive, Ariel lets out his pent-up frustration by beating up the kid brutally.Â
Rogue Agents of Shadows
On the other hand, Umbra goes on her own mission to Cambodia and is taken aback after realizing that her former Shadows associate, Volver, is her present target. Volver has found a life outside the Shadows, as she is revealed to be pregnant—much to Umbra’s disbelief, as it is hinted that the members of the Shadows are supposedly turned infertile as part of their inhumane training regime. Umbra hesitates to kill Volver despite having the chance and decides to let her go, but one of the dreaded members of the Shadows, Troika, ends up killing her anyway. The Shadows don’t take prisoners, especially if they are rogue agents of the organization.
Was 13 Able To Save Monji?
Prasetyo and his lackeys begin terrorizing Jeki, considering him to be 13’s collaborator, and 13 arrives just in time to launch a vicious assault on them. After killing numerous of Pras’ men, 13 gets captured as Ariel decides to join the party as well, but even in her captive state, 13 manages to brutally kill Pras right in front of Ariel. Pras begins to torture 13 by bringing her to his basement lair, where he has kept a brutalized, bloodied Monji captive as well. Soemitro turns out to be impressed by 13’s skills and wants to use her as his killing machine. In order to do so, he keeps Monji as his failsafe to force 13 to comply with his commands. Soemitro and Ariel bring 13 and Monji to a meeting with an influential drug dealer, Kabil, as they plan to use 13 to kill Kabil’s crew and take over his territory. However, the injuries sustained by Monji prove fatal, as the poor kid breathes his last, prompting Jeki, who has decided to defect from his gang at long last, to inform 13 about the situation. Filled with anger and hatred, 13 avenges Monji’s death by killing Ariel, while Soemitro dies after Kabil’s men turn him into a bullet-pincushion. 13 and Jeki turn out to be the only survivors, but soon enough they get abducted by Umbra, Troika, and their handler.Â
Did 13 Learn Her True Identity?
13 is apprehended by the people of her organization because of gross insubordination, meddling in a mess that didn’t concern her, and making a huge ruckus by killing the Indonesian politician and his son. Drawing unnecessary attention will jeopardize the secrecy of the Shadows, which is why Umbra and Troika are here along with their handler to kill 13. As the fight breaks out, Jeki is killed, much to 13’s dismay. However, Umbra has trained her protégé a little too well, as she manages to kill Troika before facing her mentor for a final showdown. Despite having the upper hand after a grueling, intense battle, 13 refuses to kill her mentor, rejecting the extremist ideologies of the Shadows. Umbra pins down 13 but hesitates to kill her—perhaps she was affected too much after her former comrade, Volver’s demise at the hands of the Shadows, and doesn’t want her student to meet the same fate. She instead attacks the handler, who fatally shoots Umbra—and 13 ends up killing the handler as well. A distraught 13 embraces her mentor in agony, the only person she could identify as her family is gone as well. In her final moments, Umbra reveals 13’s real name to be Nomi, and in a flashback sequence it is shown that Umbra had killed Nomi’s mother when Nomi was just a kid and adopted her as her own. This twist mirrors the climactic sequence of the Thai martial arts action movie Ong-Bak 2.
What’s Next for Nomi?
Before the credits roll, a battered and bruised Nomi is seen burying Monji, when she is apprehended by 14—another Shadows associate of hers—who brings two lackeys along with her to kill Nomi and take her position in the organization. However, Umbra’s mentor, Master Burai, played by Thai martial arts star Yayan Ruhian, swoops in and kills 14’s accomplices, forcing her to escape as well. Burai seems to be aware of Nomi’s past and that of her own student, Umbra’s, as well, as she reveals that Nomi will be hunted by the Shadows from this point onwards. Burai offers his help to Nomi to stand together against the Shadows, as it is revealed that he too is a rogue agent. In an upcoming continuation, the exciting team-up between Nomi and Burai will be something to look forward to as they take on the dastardly agents of the Shadows.
