The Shadow Strays team—writer-director Timo Tjahjanto, plus stars Aurora Ribero and Hana Malasan—share their four favorite films. 

“Every filmmaker should have that one film that kinda always connects them to childhood and innocence,” says Timo Tjahjanto, reflecting how he’s passed his longtime love for Danny DeVito’s Matilda down to his daughters. 

Childhood and innocence might not be the first things to come to mind when thinking of the Indonesian filmmaker’s reliably adrenaline-fueled and bloody genre fare. But back at the TIFF premiere of The Shadow Strays, star Hana Malasan similarly rewound to simpler times with a Studio Ghibli staple, My Neighbor Totoro. “That’s like my childhood thing, and I like the idea of humans needing to [be] in sync with nature,” she says.

Of course, warm and fuzzy feelings can also come from the most unexpected of places as her co-star Aurora Ribero reminds us, dubbing Hereditary “a comfort movie.” She then recalls the first time she watched Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden, saying, “I stared at the wall for like 30 minutes after but it’s totally worth it, right?” We certainly think so. 

Watch the video above to find out their full lists, including an Akira Kurosawa from Tjahjanto and a rom-com classic from Malasan. The Shadow Strays is now streaming on Netflix.