A woman inherits a house in her ancestral village, but she’s unaware that members of the community have been trying to locate and kill her to remove the curse that has plagued them for years.
The folk horror genre has its notable entries, and “Impetigore” deserves a spot up there with the best of them. Joko Anwar’s latest film returns the director to his specialty: horror. Anwar delivers on a film that, despite its near-miss at the end, delivers on suspense. It ratchets up the horror until its big reveal, simultaneously mixing in a carefully timed gory reveal with an emotional pivot. While the title itself is a play on Impetigo and gore, there’s a surprising (and satisfying) lack of either of those. Instead, “Impetigore” keeps the audience bolted to their seats with a slow burn of revelations before its gory finale. Given its measured storytelling and strong visuals, I’ll happily forgive for something so strong. “Impetigore” employs deftly timed shock with long—winding suspense to keep the tension going.
Tara Basro plays Maya, a tollbooth attendant who gets attacked one night while on the job. The mysterious attack prompts Maya and her friend Dini (Marissa Anita) to investigate Maya’s obscure origins, taking both of them to Harjosari village. While investigating the mysterious mansion Maya’s family has ties to, they discover a graveyard full of child graves, daily funerals, and a mysterious village elder who practices Wayang Kulit (the Javanese tradition of shadow puppetry.) Their investigations turn dark as they discover the shocking secret of a terrible curse placed on the village; one that puts Maya at the dead center of it.
The whole movie centers on shadows. More often than not candlelight brightens every dark corner and casts shadows on every surface. These same shadows propel the art of shadow puppetry, an ancient tradition. This emphasis on tradition contrasts smartly with the characters Maya and Dini. They embody a divide seen throughout the course of the film, demonstrating this movie isn’t just shock and awe but also layered with context and meaning.
The distant rural setting of the village adds a large boost to the tense atmosphere. In the village, there are no paved roads. The foliage falls across every surface as the natural world tries to reclaim every building inside. Most notably, the house at the center of the story embodies the sense of rural ruin and moral decay of the village. Its wide-open rooms, lit purely by candlelight, mold and fester. One of my favorite locations is a small stone temple, squat and square, covered in vines and roots. Black magic is practiced within the temple and its teetering walls loom over the camera to great effect. Anwar makes use of its setting by framing them in wide-angle shots or in mediums. At times the camera glides through hallways, whipping around to glance in the direction of a sound.
Basro’s performance anchors the film in its central sense of dread, but Marissa Anita gets all the comedy. Anwar utilizes these two elements fantastically to balance the early half of the film. In this half there’s more atmosphere and mystery, so a little light-heartedness goes a long way. A more prominent shout out goes to Christine Hakim. She takes on a LOT for her role as the village elder’s mother. She nails the performance without pause and I bought every single beat.
There’s a point in the movie where the shoe drops and the whole movie gets incredibly tenser. I don’t want to give it away because it really did amplify the film. After a pivotal moment, roughly forty-nine minutes in, the movie picks up speed, almost too much speed. Just when the mystery’s unraveled the movie reaches a fever pitch and subsequently sidelines itself with a weighty flashback. I understand its purpose and see its necessity but that doesn’t prevent it from being a huge burden right at the climax of the film. It gains its momentum back but wastes time digging itself out of its own hole.
I loved the movie. It doesn’t waste a moment of gore. Instead of berating the audience with gore effects it delicately layers in its goriest moments for pivotal scenes. The largesse of its violence is seen off-screen in a very impactful manner. Even if we don’t see the violence, camera moves, shadows, and sound effects sell the efficacy of the violence. I applaud Anwar’s deft use of his effects team to get the maximum amount of energy from their work. It takes a clever director with a strong sense of patience and pacing to pull off that effect.
Fans of “Midsommar” should definitely see this movie. They will get what they are looking for when they come to this flick. It starts off strong and lulls a little after but that’s only to service the more ambitious back-half. With very adult themes, this movie can conjure up gruesome imagery without having to show it and that earns my respect most of all. Check this movie out for its own sake. Streaming on Shudder now!
Now available to stream on Shudder
