Porn stars put on clothes for Indonesian films

What happens when porn stars put on clothes?

Turns out some of them can act — or at least, they can try to.

The list of Indonesian horror flicks employing foreign porn stars to generate sales is getting longer.

Basically, sex sells in Indonesia — so long as it's wearing clothes.

U.S. adult film star Sasha Grey, who stars in K2K Production's “Pocong Mandi Goyang Pinggul” (“Shrouded Corpse Bathing While Hip-Shaking”), is the latest addition to the list. She will arrive in Jakarta on April 28 for the film's release, according to the Jakarta Globe.

Previous cameos by foreign porn stars include American porn queen Tera Patrick, Japanese starlet Maria Ozama aka Miyabi, Rin Sakuragi and Sora Aoi, who starred in the campy horror flick “Suster Keramas 2” (“Shampooing Nurse.”)

Despite the growing trend, not everyone is rolling out the red carpet.

Indonesia, which is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, has long been known for its more moderate practice of Islam. In recent years, however, there has been a surge of orthodoxy.

Hard-liner group the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which formally stated its disapproval of Grey's visit, has positioned itself as Indonesia's moral police — a self-proclaimed, 15-million strong “pressure group” — sworn to rid Indonesia of sin. In 2008, Indonesia passed an anti-porn law.

They did their darndest back in 2010, when Indonesian film company Maxima Pictures was planning to fly Miyabi in to promote a second film that had been shot in secret, “Carriage Ghost.” The FPI protested at Maxima’s offices and the airport prior to the Japanese porn star's arrival.

The New York Times reported that a meeting with the FPI at Maxima's offices over the Miyabi matter did not go well.

An FPI leader, Sahab Anggawi, lost his composure, according to the Times: “For destroying this country, you should be thrown out! Or have both your hands cut off! Then have both your feet cut off!”

But of course, not one year later, Sasha Grey is coming to town.

The secret seems to be a balancing act. How to film underwraps while keeping the vigilantes at bay. How to film a sexy movie featuring a porn star in a country that has rigid anti-porn legislation.

And how to accomplish that? Well, it's all about being flexible — as every good porn star knows.