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Impetigore (Indonesian: Perempuan Tanah Jahanam, lit. 'Woman of the damned land') is a 2019 Indonesian horror film written and directed by Joko Anwar. The film stars Tara Basro, Marissa Anita, Christine Hakim, Asmara Abigail, and Ario Bayu. The film follows Maya (Basro), who travels with her friend Dini (Anita) to her remote ancestral village seeking an inheritance, after being mysteriously attacked.

Impetigore
Theatrical release poster
Indonesian	Perempuan Tanah Jahanam
Directed by	Joko Anwar
Written by	Joko Anwar
Produced by	Shanty Harmayn Tia Hasibuan Aoura Lovenson Chandra Ben Soebiakto
Starring	Tara Basro Marissa Anita Christine Hakim Asmara Abigail Ario Bayu
Cinematography	Ical Tanjung
Edited by	Dinda Amanda
Music by	Bemby Gusti Tony Merle Aghi Narottama
Production companies	Rapi Films Base Entertainment CJ Entertainment Ivanhoe Pictures
Distributed by	Rapi Films (Indonesia) Shudder Originals (United States)
Release date	17 October 2019 (2019-10-17)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	Indonesia
Languages	Indonesian Javanese
Budget	<$1 million[1]
Box office	Domestic: Rp 71.8 billion[2] ($5.13 million) International: $10,717[3]

Almost a decade in development, the film was announced in 2011 but was initially shelved. Seven years later, Impetigore was secured as an international co-production between Indonesian, South Korean and US-based production houses.[4] Filming took place on location at various sites in East Java, facing challenges due to the remoteness of the main village location and Anwar being hospitalised with dengue fever.

Impetigore premiered in Indonesia on 17 October 2019 and internationally at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It was later acquired by Shudder for international streaming.

The film was a box office success in Indonesia and received favourable reviews internationally, with critics praising its cinematography, sound design and use of Indonesian folklore. It was selected as the Indonesian official entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[5] At the 40th Citra Awards, Indonesia's top film honours, the film received a record-breaking 17 nominations and won 6, including Best Picture, a second Best Director for Anwar, and a third supporting actress and ninth overall win for screen veteran Christine Hakim.[6]

Plot

Best friends Maya and Dini work as tollbooth collectors in Jakarta. On a night shift, Maya is attacked by a man wielding a golok, claiming to be from a village called Harjosari and calling Maya "Rahayu". Maya's aunt gives her an old photograph showing a young Maya - identified in the photograph as Rahayu - with a couple in front of a large house. Following an inscription on the photograph, Maya and Dini travel to the remote Harjosari village to look for the house in the hope of securing it and selling it as inheritance.

In Harjosari, the pair encounter cold, suspicious villagers. They witness funerals for children taking place daily and observe that many headstones in the cemetery belong to newborns. Dini is lured away by villagers, who slit her throat and flay her, mistaking her for Rahayu, whose parents Donowongso and Shinta owned the house. While looking for Dini in the evening, Maya spies village chief and dalang Saptadi drowning a skinless newborn infant. She finds out from sympathetic villager Ratih that 20 years ago, Donowongso, a rich dalang, was rumoured to have made a pact with the devil and murdered three girls to heal his daughter Rahayu, who was born without skin. Since then, all babies in the village have been born skinless.

The ghost of one of the murdered little girls reveals to Maya that the true way to end the curse is to bury the slain girls' skin, which had been made into wayang kulit puppets by Donowongso, together with their bones. The ghost also reveals that Rahayu was born skinless because Saptadi's dukun mother Misni had cursed her for having been conceived from an adulterous affair between Saptadi and Shinta, who was desperate after her efforts to conceive with Donowongso had been unsuccessful. Donowongso, who himself was a dukun, sacrificed three girls to cure Rahayu's skin and, in doing so, cursed the entire village. Saptadi, who had been jinxed by Misni to forget about his affair, posed as Donowongso, killed Shinta and an entire group of wayang musicians during a performance, then killed Donowongso after framing him for the massacre. Misni convinced Saptadi and the villagers that the curse can only be undone by flaying Rahayu and making puppets out of her skin. Rahayu was then evacuated by her 'aunt', who in fact was one of Donowongso's servants, and renamed to conceal her identity.

Maya and Ratih bury the puppets made from the three girls' skin in their grave and their spirits are pacified. Misni arrives with the villagers and reveals that Saptadi and Donowongso are actually half-brothers, as Donowongso's father had an affair with her. Maya is tied up for sacrifice and begs for her life, and when Misni moves to flay Maya, the distraught and ashamed Saptadi grabs her hand and uses it to slit his throat instead. Horrified, Misni slits her own throat to join her son. As a healthy baby is finally born in the village after 20 years, Maya escapes.

One year later, a villager suffers a violent miscarriage as it is shown that Misni's ghost has extracted the fetus and devoured it.

Cast

Production

Development

Director and writer Joko Anwar described the film's concept as originating from a story his older brother had told him as a child; that the leather for Indonesian shadow puppets came from human skin. To form the concept for the film, he combined this with the idea of a strong but intimidating maternal character (inspired by his own mother), and various Indonesian social and political issues.[7]

In 2011, Anwar revealed a poster for the film, one of several planned films announced simultaneously.[8] A Twitter account for the film was also created around this time.[9] The project was later cancelled due to the large number of films produced by Lifelike Pictures, which was initially on board to produce.[10] Anwar also said difficulties finding a filming location that matched the script and a lack of budget led to the project being shelved.[1] He later said he "kept fixing the story each year while at the same time also searching for the right partner to make this film".[11]

The project was revived seven years later, when Ivanhoe Pictures announced a three-film collaboration with Anwar which includes Impetigore, Ghost in the Cell, and The Vow.[12] The film was an international co-production between Indonesia's Rapi Films and BASE Entertainment, South Korea's CJ Entertainment and the US-based Ivanhoe Pictures.[4] CJ Entertainment had previously had major international success with Crazy Rich Asians (2018), and intended to increase their presence in Southeast Asia.[13] Anwar announced on Instagram that the film would be called Perempuan Tanah Jahanam on 31 December 2018, and that it will be different from his previous horror film Satan's Slaves (2017).[14][15] In February 2019, Anwar announced the cast members, including frequent collaborators Tara Basro, Marissa Anita, Asmara Abigail, Ario Bayu, and Arswendi Nasution.[16][11] Christine Hakim's casting, announced at the same time, represented the first time she had appeared in a horror film in her 46-year career.[16]

Filming

Filming began in March 2019,[11] and was primarily shot on location in Banyuwangi, Lumajang and Ijen in East Java.[9] The film crew spent three months searching for a village that matched the location described in the script. The village chosen, which was established in 1941 for workers on Dutch plantations, was so remote that the crew had to construct a path for vehicles and equipment to reach it.[1] Anwar said that "due to the difficult terrain, the entire crew and cast members had to stay in the village throughout the filming. [Fortunately] the villagers warmly welcomed us, even cooked every day for us."[17] Many local villagers appear as extras in the film.[1]

Filming was expected to take 29 days, but experienced difficulties when Anwar contracted dengue fever on the first day and was hospitalised for 8 days. Anwar later reflected that he had almost died during the illness, and that the shoot was "probably the most adventurous time" of his life.[1] The film crew had to construct the village's first toilets themselves, as well as the house that was used for the main set. After filming, this infrastructure was left by the crew for use by village residents, with the house set converted into a public library with books provided by the crew.[1]

Post-production

Sound mixing was conducted by the same team used by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul.[18] BASE Entertainment announced that production had wrapped by April 2019.[11] A teaser poster[17] and trailer were released in August 2019.[18] Titled Perumpuan Tanah Janah in Indonesia, the film's internationally marketed name Impetigore is a made-up word to name the disease suffered by the children in the film.[19]

Release

Impetigore was released in Indonesia on 17 October 2019.[17] Plans to screen the film for free at abandoned 1920s cinema Bioskop Grand Senen in Jakarta, as part of an effort to revive historic Indonesian cinemas, were later abandoned due to permit issues; demand was so high tickets had sold out within five minutes of the announcement.[20] It was screened at the Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2020,[21] and later at the Rotterdam and Gothenburg Film Festivals.[22] It also had theatrical releases in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Macau and Myanmar.[22]

In May 2020, it was released for streaming on GoPlay[22] and was released in the United States, Canada and the UK on horror streaming service Shudder on 23 July 2020, after its distribution rights were acquired by the network as a Shudder original.[13][23][24] This marked the second collaboration between Anwar and Shudder, after Satan's Slaves became one of the network's biggest hits.[13]

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was created with the involvement of composer Rahayu Supanggah, and musical arrangers Aghi Narottama, Bemby Gusti and Tony Merle.[11]

Reception

Box office

Impetigore was a box office success in Indonesia. It opened in first place in the local box office with an audience of 117,000 on its opening day[26] and attracted 700,000 admissions in its first week of release.[27] At the end of its domestic theatrical run, it ended up with 1.7 million admissions, making it the seventh highest grossing domestic film in 2019.[28]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 92% approval rating based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Impetigore uses its folk horror setting as the brutally effective backdrop for a supernatural story that sinks its hooks into the viewer and refuses to let go."[29]

In The Jakarta Post, Reyzando Nawara gave a positive review, commenting on the film's relevance to Indonesian society, saying it "makes a very compelling argument about the evils of abused power and the danger it presents" across multiple generations.[30] In Kompas, Mohammad Hilmi Faiq described the film as a new peak for Anwar.[31] Dennis Harvey wrote a positive review in Variety, praising the film's production design and sound, calling it a "handsome and atmospheric production" and "good, sometimes grisly fun that’s not terribly scary, particularly once hectic climactic events prove less suspenseful than the slow-burn buildup". However, Harvey critiqued the film's later acts, saying that the "convoluted later mix of chase scenes and explanatory flashbacks [feel] more like an awkward pileup of miscellaneous genre tropes".[4] On RogerEbert.com, Peter Sobczynski gave the film 3 ½ out of 4 stars, commending film's style and use of Indonesian folklore, but criticising some elements of the ending. He particularly highlighted the film's opening sequence, calling it "electrifying" and "absolutely spellbinding".[32] In Screen Daily, Wendy Ide commended the film's atmosphere but critiqued its use of exposition, calling it "entertaining, pulpy horror, [that] focuses more on incorporating Indonesian cultural elements rather than delivering neatly packaged scares".[33] The Independent called the film "a must-watch for fans of scary films".[34]

In a more mixed review, James Marsh in South China Morning Post rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and said the film was "unevenly paced and fails to capitalise on its grisly premise", but praised Basro's performance.[35] Al Jazeera highlighted Impetigore as part of a new wave of low-budget folk horror films bringing attention to Southeast Asia's film industry, alongside Malaysian film Roh.[36]

Accolades

Impetigore received a record 17 nominations[37] and went on to be the biggest winner at the 2020 Indonesian Film Festival, the first for a horror film in the history of the Citra Awards. In accepting the award for Best Director, Anwar expressed his hope that the Indonesian film industry could raise its international profile, and said he believed that the COVID-19 pandemic had halted its progress when Indonesian film was "at its peak".[19]

In November 2020, it was selected as the Indonesian official entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[5] When announcing the submission, Garin Nugroho, head of the Indonesian Academy Awards Selection Committee, cited the film's showcasing of Indonesian values and culture, as well as for its direction and script.[9]

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref
2019	8th Maya Awards	Best Feature Film	Impetigore	Nominated	[38]
		Best Director	Joko Anwar	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Christine Hakim	Nominated
			Marissa Anita	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Joko Anwar	Nominated
		Best Editing	Dinda Amanda	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Frans X. R. Paat	Won
		Best Original Score	Aghi Narottama Bemby Gusti Tony Merle Mian Tiara	Nominated
		Best Sound	Mohamad Ikhsan Syamsurrijal Anhar Moha	Nominated
		Arifin C. Noer Cup for Best Brief Appearance	Teuku Rifnu Wikana	Nominated
2019	3rd Tempo Film Festival	Best Director	Joko Anwar	Nominated	[39]
		Best Supporting Actress	Christine Hakim	Won
		Best Screenplay	Joko Anwar	Nominated
2020	Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival	Melies Award for Best Asian Film	Impetigore	Won	[40]
2020	40th Citra Awards	Best Picture		Won	[6][19]
		Best Director	Joko Anwar	Won
		Best Actor	Ario Bayu	Nominated
		Best Actress	Tara Basro	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Kiki Narendra	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Christine Hakim	Won
			Marissa Anita	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Joko Anwar	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Ical Tanjung	Won
		Best Editing	Dinda Amanda	Won
		Best Art Direction	Frans X. R. Paat	Nominated
		Best Original Score	Aghi Narottama Bemby Gusti Tony Merle Mian Tiara	Nominated
		Best Sound	Mohamad Ikhsan Syamsurrijal Anhar Moha	Won
		Best Theme Song	"Pujaan Hati" by The Spouse & Tia Hasibuan	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Isabelle Patrice	Nominated
		Best Makeup & Hairstyling	Darwyn Tse	Nominated
		Best Visual Effects	Abby Eldipie	Nominated

See also

• List of submissions to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Indonesian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
• Indonesian horror

References

External links

• Impetigore at AllMovie
• Impetigore at IMDb
• Impetigore at Rotten Tomatoes

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