Impetigore

Up until nearly the end the movie is a by the numbers ghost and curse folk horror, even though with good direction and great mood, but the end takes the cake for one of the best a most macabre ones I've seen in quiet a while.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Impetigore’:

1. Damn, that got dark.

2. It _also_ got super complicated, enough for me and my sister to draw a family tree mid-watch… but this was a well-thought-out, original story that kept me hooked. There are some solid “aha” moments that harken back to subtle foreshadowing _(including the ending… think about it)_. I loved it!

3. Bravo, Indonesia! I really enjoyed the culture we got to see. I loved the puppet show moments. The scenery and shots were fantastic. Incredibly atmospheric. I equally wanted to visit this village, yet stay very, very far away from it.

The man I marry must be willing to sew our child a skin suit from the bodies of dead girls.

Anywho, I loved this! The sepia look was great, and the cinematography gorgeous. At times I could feel the humidity. The leads did a great job. Loved the best friend relationship - you don't often get to see that kind of relationship between women on screen.

The story of What Really Happened was a bit confusing, though it does all make a coherent narrative. I wish we could have had longer to sit with all that knowledge, though.

I had never seen Indonesian puppetry before this and it was amazing!

I grade movies on a strong down curve, so a 6 means it's pretty awesome.

The last couple minutes though...blech. Blatant sequel setup and just superfluous.

I enjoyed it. The effects were pretty good and there's one scene especially that was pretty freaky.

Low-budget atmospheric and colorful (it is rare to visit the Indonesian wilderness) horror about a disgusting curse lasting 20 years, which the main heroine can remove. But only if he does something. The only trouble is that she, as usual, is not in the know. Not that scary, but unusual

Opinions are divided on this film, it seems.! I didn’t like it however. The story isn’t very original and the film really tries to be scary, sadly it doesn’t work. (Some of them are fake outs which feels cheap).
Together with a couple of exposition dumps near the end and a silly endscene the whole thing left me dissapointed overall.

[Sitges FF] Joko Anwar's greatest virtue is creating an intriguing atmosphere that pushes us into story. Although soundtrack and sound effects destroy instead of building tension. The film continues the line of "Satan's slaves" (2017), but it is more excessive. The first half hour works handling the suspense well, but loses the hypnotic effect as it introduces flashbacks, crazy montage and explanations that confuse more than clarify.