The film stars Tara Basro, Marissa Anita, Christine Hakim, Asmara Abigail, and Ario Bayu.

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.

The photograph shows a young Maya, who is identified as Rahayu, with her deceased parents Donowongso and Shinta, in front of a large house.

While looking for Dini that evening, Maya spies village chief and dalang Saptadi attending the birth of a skinless baby, whom he proceeds to drown.

A sympathetic villager Ratih tells her that 20 years ago, Donowongso, a rich dalang, made a pact with the devil and murdered three girls to heal his daughter Rahayu, who was born without skin.

[5] 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, a poster and Twitter account were made to promote the film, which was set to be produced by Lifelike Pictures, but the project was cancelled.

[8][9][10] Anwar also said difficulties finding a filming location that matched the script and a lack of budget led to the project being shelved.

[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.

[1] CJ Entertainment had previously had major international success with Crazy Rich Asians (2018), and intended to increase their presence in Southeast Asia.

[14][15] In February 2019, Anwar announced the cast members, including frequent collaborators Tara Basro, Marissa Anita, Asmara Abigail, Ario Bayu, and Arswendi Nasution.

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.

[23] It also had theatrical releases in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Macau and Myanmar.

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

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.

"[30] 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.

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".

[5] 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".

Distributed internationally by streaming services, Ferrarese highlighted it as one of several recent horror films from the region that received critical acclaim and festival attention beyond their native countries.