“Impetigore” Film Review
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter)
Indonesian director Joko Anwar follows up his terrific 2017 chiller Satan’s Slaves with another winner, the creepy, rural-set Impetigore. Anwar is one of the finest horror writer/directors going today, and the atmosphere alone in his films make them worth seeking out.
In Impetigore, toll collector Maya (Tara Basro of Satan’s Slaves and Anwar’s 2019 superhero film Gundala in a fine lead performance) is attacked by a motorist who she thought was stalking her. She seems correct: the man certainly seems to know who she is. After surviving the ordeal, she decides to seek out more information about her past. Raised in the city by an aunt after being orphaned, Maya was actually born in the countryside and it stands that she may have claim to her parents’ house. Accompanied by her friend Dini (Marissa Anita, also of Gundala), Maya travels to the far-off village of her birth. As seasoned horror fans might guess, many dark secrets await the two young women.
The villagers are, naturally, suspicious of Maya and Dini, but equally off-putting for the non-locals is the fact that there are no children in the village — unless you count the three little ghosts that Maya sees on their journey into the area. Secrets are slowly uncovered, but not before the two friends are targeted as part of a gory plan to rid the village of a curse.
Anwar crafts an unsettling feature dripping with otherworldly weirdness — the rural Indonesian setting perfectly places viewers in a claustrophobic, unfamiliar world that gives off truly eldritch vibes. Many set designs and shots reminded me of classic artwork from the 1950s EC Comics horror titles.
Anwar kicks Impetigore off with a nail-biting opening sequence and keeps the suspense ratcheting up throughout the film’s running time. He also beautifully balances psychological and familial horror with supernatural surprises and some discomfiting, gruesome gore gags.
Impetigore is worth a watch for many reasons, including the sinister atmosphere, the uncanny story, and some blood-soaked set pieces that would be a crime to spoil. Anwar is a modern master of horror, and he and his fear-fare films deserve to find a wide international audience.
Shudder Original Impetigore is now available exclusively on Shudder (in the U.S.), Shudder Canada, and Shudder UK.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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