Punishing Pelakor: Female Catfight in Two Indonesian Horror Movies Sijjin and Pemandi Jenazah (Corspe Washer)

Abstract

Women have historically been positioned as central characters, mostly as female ghosts or evil subjects within the landscape of Indonesian horror films. One of recurring issues in the narrative is pelakor, a term referring to a woman perceived as disrupting marital relationships and portrayed as a threat to marriage. This study analyses the representation of female characters accused of being pelakor in two Indonesian horror films directed by Hadrah Daeng Ratu titled Sijjin (2023) and Pemandi Jenazah (Corpse Washer) (2024). By utilizing cultural studies approach, this research employs qualitative textual analysis as the main method to critically investigate how the pelakor is constructed within female director’s perspective which is academically still underexamined. The study draws upon Barbara Creed’s concept of the monstrous-feminine and Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection to explore how female desire, sexuality, and transgression are portrayed as sources of horror. The findings posit that both films position women in direct rivalry, emphasizing female catfight narratives while neglecting the role of male subjects or husbands in infidelity. The pelakor is depicted as an abusive, morally corrupt, and ultimately monstrous subject deserving punishment for her immoral acts without considering the complexity of this unfaithfulness. Additionally, this study demonstrates how horror cinema functions as a cultural arena in which anxieties about female sexuality and marital stability are symbolically negotiated and reasserted.