[1] The film tells the story of a group of friends headed to the airport who meet a woman claiming to have been robbed and needs a ride home, which begins a dark turn of events.

After they drive from Ladya's workplace, they see a confused beautiful woman named Maya on the road.

Her mother, Dara, has a very young and lovely face with an eerie expression and mysterious body language.

The four police officers search the house; one of them finds a video containing the clip that was seen at the start of the film.

Shocked, he accidentally drops a collection of photographs, depicting Adam, Arman, and Maya, strangely dated 1912.

Dara finds the dying Maya and breaks her neck to end her daughter's suffering.

Adjie pours a liquid over his head and uses Ladya's lighter to set Adam on fire.

Eko is slashed by Dara with a chainsaw while Ladya and Adjie attack a severely burnt Adam.

Adjie forgives her and dies after he asks Ladya to care of her nephew (his newborn son).

In 2007, Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel wrote and directed Dara, their first work as the directing duo The Mo Brothers, which originated the characters featured in Macabre as well as the basic concept used to develop the film's screenplay.

[4] She increased her weight by 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) and underwent a fitness regime to prepare for the role.

[5] It struggled to gain attraction in its home country of Indonesia and only received a theatrical release the following year on January 22, 2010, titled Rumah Dara.

[5] Following its festival run in 2009, the film's distribution rights for North America and Europe were picked up by the Paris-based Overlook Entertainment.

[6] In 2013, the film was released on VOD platforms as part of the Bloody Disgusting Selects line.

[3] In 2020, Timo Tjahjanto commented that while the film received positive reviews and has since gained a cult following, it did not perform well financially.

Anton Bitel of Little White Lies praised the film for "its realist opening" that leads to "multiple orgasm[s] of a horror climax that just keeps delivering again and again and again.

"[10] Derek Elley of Variety wrote that the film "starts leisurely but delivers in the final reels, thanks to some real shocks amid the ankle-deep blood and an eerie perf by Indonesian actress Shareefa Daanish.

"[11] Ken W. Hanley, a reviewer for Diabolique, called it "a bizarre, bloody masterpiece of madness.

"[13] In February 2020, Timo Tjahjanto posted on his Twitter account hinting at a sequel to Macabre.

[14] In a podcast with fellow Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar in April 2020, Tjahjanto shared that while the movie was a hit on the festival circuit, it was not as successful financially and that he and Stamboel will only do a sequel if they have a story that fits their ideals.