Impetigore (2019) Review: Folk Horror in the Blood

Is Impetigore worth watching?

Yes. Impetigore is one of the best Indonesian horror films of its generation, a folk horror tale that is as handsome to look at as it is merciless to endure. Joko Anwar builds dread with real patience, from a superb opening sequence to a village steeped in secrets, and his cast commits fully. The reservations are a final stretch that leans too heavily on explanation and violence that some viewers will find gratuitous.

What is Impetigore about?

Impetigore, released in Indonesia as Perempuan Tanah Jahanam, follows Maya (Tara Basro), a young woman scraping by in the city with a night job in a highway toll booth. After a frightening encounter with a stranger who seems to know more about her past than she does, she learns that she may have been born in a remote village in Java and may be entitled to a large family house there.

Hoping that selling the property could fund a small clothing business, Maya persuades her outspoken best friend Dini (Marissa Anita) to travel with her. The village they find is poor, silent and deeply wary of outsiders; its children seem to be cursed, and its people are organised around a revered puppet master and his mother. Joko Anwar writes and directs this Indonesian production in Indonesian and Javanese, and it runs 106 minutes.

An opening that sets the bar

The toll-booth prologue is one of the most effective openings in recent horror. Anwar uses the cramped booth, the empty night road and the rhythm of passing cars to create a claustrophobic set piece that establishes Maya’s vulnerability and the film’s willingness to be brutal, all within a few minutes. It is a promise of craft that the next hour largely keeps.

Once the story reaches the village, the horror slows down and deepens. Ical Tanjung’s cinematography turns dense forest, crumbling houses and misty paths into a landscape that feels ancient and hostile, and the sound design makes every silence feel occupied. Shadow puppetry is woven into the imagery, and Anwar uses it to evoke a place where old stories still govern daily life.

Tara Basro and Marissa Anita as a double act

Tara Basro, who also led Anwar’s Satan’s Slaves, is a compelling lead, playing Maya’s desperation and growing unease with a naturalism that keeps the more lurid material grounded. Marissa Anita provides the film’s welcome streak of humour as Dini, whose scepticism and big-city bluntness make their friendship believable.

The villagers are equally memorable. Christine Hakim, one of the great Indonesian actors, and Ario Bayu bring a disquieting gravity to key roles, and the supporting cast of watchful, withholding locals gives the village a sense of shared guilt. The film’s interest in inheritance, poverty and the sins that pass down through families gives the scares a sociological edge.

Where the spell weakens

The final act is where opinions split. Having built so much mystery with images and atmosphere, the film turns to a long stretch of explanation, laying out the village’s history in detail that drains some of the tension it has accumulated. The violence also escalates sharply, with scenes of gore that feel less like dread and more like shock. The ideas remain strong, but the storytelling becomes blunter just when it should be most precise.

Who should watch Impetigore?

It is essential for fans of folk horror, Southeast Asian genre cinema and slow-building dread with a hard payoff. Viewers who are sensitive to graphic violence, body horror or harm to children and infants should be cautious, as the film does not look away. At just under two hours, it is a tight watch best experienced late at night with the lights off.

If you want more, try these:

• Satan’s Slaves, Anwar’s earlier hit and a more classical haunted-family chiller.
• Pengabdi Setan 2: Communion, his sequel, which takes that story into a tower block for bigger, louder scares.
• Sewu Dino, another Indonesian horror hit rooted in Javanese curses and black magic.

The verdict

Impetigore is gorgeous, terrifying and thematically rich, with a toll-booth opening worthy of any horror anthology and a haunting sense of place. Its explanatory last act and graphic excesses stop it from being flawless, but it remains a landmark of modern Indonesian horror.

Rating: 4/5