Asian cinema is probably best known, at least internationally, for being especially good at making three types of films: cute cuddly animated films, nightmare-worthy horror films, and brutally physical action films.

The latest film coming out of Indonesia is The Raid, debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend to a very impressed reception.

The first trailer, images, and official synopsis for the film have been released, Collider report, and they all makes the film look and sound pretty damn immense.

“In the heart of Jakarta lies a rundown apartment infested with druggies and drifters. It’s ruled by a ruthless drug lord who uses the tenement to shelter his junkie customers, pushers, enforcers and brutal killers. The apartment block is considered untouchable by even the bravest of police—until one early morning when, cloaked under dawn’s darkness, an elite SWAT team, led by officer Rama ([Iko] Uwais), raids the peril-filled structure.  As Rama’s squad races between the maze of rooms and floors, encountering a barrage of gunfire, machetes, and ruthless hand-to-hand combat around every corner, the stakes get higher and higher building to an explosive crescendo and an ultimate battle.”

I must admit, my knowledge of martial arts films is lacking significant depth, but The Raid looks like an epic film to me, interestingly written and directed by the Welsh Gareth Evans. The poster’s tagline, “1 Ruthless Crime Lord. 20 Elite Corps. 30 Floors of Hell,” pretty much says it all, giving an indication of exactly what we can expect.

THR also report that Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has signed on to re-score the film’s music for its wide release, which is definitely a great addition to the awesomeness already surrounding the film. It’s not the first time Shinoda has worked on a film, with Linkin Park’s 2009 single, New Divide, being written specifically for Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It will, however, be the first time he’s working on an entire film score, and doing it by himself, and I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with. Keep your fingers crossed for a new Linkin Park or Fort Minor song slipping in there somewhere.

As with quite a few films debuting at Toronto, there’s no word yet on a release date for this here or in America, but it will be coming out on 19th January next year in Indonesia, and hopefully it won’t be too long after that until we get it here. Without further ado, here’s the first trailer, the first poster, and the first official images from the film. In that order. As usual, click to enlarge. (Be warned, the trailer earns its Red Band rating and then some, so if you’re at work or have kids nearby, you’d better come back to watch this later.)

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWlmhMSnVdM’]