Review: ‘Impetigore’ is Indonesian Horror at its Best

Impetigore review
Shudder
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Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar’s Impetigore, a Shudder exclusive film that released this week, tells the tale of Maya and Dini, two friends living the dangerous life of working late night toll booths. After a close call with death and a reminder of her past, Maya decides to return to the village of her childhood to unveil any knowledge about her family and collect any inheritance owned. Upon arrival, Maya and Dina stay at Maya’s old house, to the dismay of the local villagers. After touring the village and witnessing some of the village’s customs, they realize they are opening doors to a much darker than expected trip down memory lane.

I won’t go into too much detail about the plot, because I want you to watch this film. Joko Anwar does a brilliant job creating a horrifying story, chock-full of cultural highlights, spooky folklore, and intense moments. His popular mystery/horror film Satan’s Slaves (also available on Shudder) clearly paved the way for something even better. When horror films lack good writing, you can tell right away. They shift the focus of the film to something else, be it jump scares or gore porn. Conversely, when a horror film has good writing, it elevates every other part of the movie. We’re more emotionally invested, we’re more scared, we always want more. I won’t give you any more than that. The writing of this film elevates every aspect of it. Anwar wrote Impetigore in 2009, based on a vivid nightmare he had. Ten years later, it stuck with him so much that he turned it into a movie.

On top of the great story, the camera work is top-notch. Darkness was used in all the correct areas and environmental shots are gorgeous. Somehow Anwar makes us feel claustrophobic outside in the middle of a jungle. He makes us feel like we’re being watched. Both the atmosphere and pacing are great. Impetigore hits us with intensity right off that bat, and we never really get to a point where we feel safe enough to let our guard down throughout the entire film. I thought I would be able to predict the next scene. I couldn’t, and that makes me ecstatic. I can’t gush enough about the set. Creepy village seemingly lost in time? Check. Spooky graveyard mysteriously filled with children’s graves? Check. Ominous fog? CHECK!

The acting was strong from start to finish. Everyone did their parts and did them well. Dialogue flowed well and chemistry felt real. In horror films, rarely do all the roles come together. Even in some of the best recent horror films, we seem to get actors that don’t fit. Extra kudos to Tara Basro for playing the Final Girl role to T. Her character was brave, intelligent, empathetic and once again, well-written.

The gore effects were awesome. Full body makeup, throat slash effects, squibs, prosthetics, and pretty much anything else a fan of practical effects could possibly want. There wasn’t much CG usage, at least in the most visual moments. Let’s just say if the director used CG, I couldn’t point it out by memory. Something I particularly loved was the usage of Wayang (Indonesia shadow puppet theatre) to not only have a major place in the story, but also be used to tell the story.

If you can’t tell, I enjoyed Impetigore a lot. I’ve been on somewhat of an Indonesian film kick lately after loving The Raid and The Night Comes for Us, and this film just makes me want to watch more, including Joko Anwar’s other features. Overall, I highly suggest watching Impetigore. Put your fear of subtitles aside (its been proven to enhance our literacy and reading skills anyway – win-win!) and embrace one of the spookiest and wild film releases of the year.


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