Impetigore

Something about Southeast Asian horror is extraordinarily fascinating. These movies have uniquely creative stories, often using paranormal elements, and know how to terrify audiences in ways that most Western horror films do not.

It’s mind-blowing knowing that Impetigore had a budget of less than one million dollars. Although some scenes are computer-generated, such as one of the newborn babies that had slightly off-colored to its surroundings, the effects are generally excellent considering the tight financials. This critique also applies to the blood in the movie; the drippings from Dini, while hanging upside down, were abnormally slow yet still believable.

I cough sometimes so the spirits on this bus won’t bother the passengers.

Impetigore sets the horrifying tone from the beginning, and the pacing doesn’t ever feel like a slog to get through. The flashback in the final act left more to be desired and could have revealed what happened years before with more subtlety, but the content of the flashback makes up for it.

I can’t end this brief review without mentioning the chilling sound design throughout the film. Each scene felt tense and suspenseful, but the added audio made it petrifying. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes well-made folk horror, especially those who don’t want a good night’s rest.