[wp-svg-icons icon=”user” wrap=”i”] Anton Sutandio [wp-svg-icons icon=”envelop” wrap=”i”]
Department of English, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 1, January-March, 2022, Pages 1–12. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n1.14
Abstract received: 13 March 2021 | Article received: 30 April 2021 | Revised: 20 July 2021 | Accepted: 9 Sept 2021 | First Published: 05 February 2022
(This article is published under the Themed Issue Contemporary East and Southeast Asian Literary and Cultural Studies)
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Skinned Performance: Female Body Horror in Joko Anwar’s Impetigore
Abstract
This article discusses the 2019 Indonesian horror film, Impetigore (Perempuan Tanah Jahanam) directed by Joko Anwar. In 2021, Impetigore became the first Indonesian horror film to represent the country at the Academy Awards. This article focuses on the film’s mystification of the female body, which points towards gender relations. This research utilizes the concept of body horror, particularly relating to the skin, gender relations, and wayang mysticism. The findings show that the film metaphorically underlines the ongoing disconcerting perspective of contemporary Indonesian society on women’s embodied agency. The film’s portrayal of non-traditional female characters suggests an attempt to challenge the mainstream patriarchal narrative in contemporary Indonesian horror cinema, and at the same time hints at the perpetuating subjectification of woman’s bodies as a threatening yet desirable agency.
Keywords: body horror, mystification, female body, Impetigore, Indonesian horror film