Director: Liliek Sudjio
Year: 1981
Country: Indonesia
Alternate Titles: Ratu Ilmu Hitam; Black Magic Terror; Black Magic 3
Genre: Witchcraft
Plot:
After a strange storm at his wedding, a man convinces the rest of the village that a scorned former lover was the cause and sends them out to kill her, but after surviving the ordeal and learning the ways of black magic sets out to seek her revenge on the guilty party forcing them to stop her.
Review:
For the most part, this one has a lot to like about it. Among its better features is the initial setup that brings about the eventual change in her studies of black magic. With the opening focusing on the ruined wedding and her being scorned by the lover which results in the subsequent banishment from the village, there’s enough of a motivating factor built into the beginning half that serves to initiate her into the black magic realm. Despite the accurate announcement about her being in love with him previously, the idea of accusing her of creating the storm that ruins the wedding simply because of her being scorned without any other additional evidence is more than enough to bring a sympathetic turn. Jumping to that conclusion simply based on the state of their past relationship together is a stretch, and is thankfully brought up but the evidence to do so is still flimsy enough that it brings quite a bit of attention to the overall setup.
With that setup in play, the film comes into its own with the dive into the black magic studies. After her house is set on fire and she’s thrown off a cliff into the conveniently placed arms of the witch doctor, the coercion into using the very same rites and rituals she had been accused of doing for real turns this into a highly enjoyable montage training her. Engaging in the various rituals involving aerobic exercises, ceremonial purification performances, and learning how the spells work creates a wholly intriguing sequence that brings about the knowledge she has in the arts for later on. When mixed with the idea of her throwing it into their face by openly walking around and taunting the villagers that initially killed her while killing them is a fantastic idea of the defiance she has for everyone and the extent of her revenge.
These sequences of her getting revenge on everyone are where the real fun starts here. With sequences of victims being swarmed by a swarm of bees in front of other victims, another dragged into a puddle of mud only to be pulled out seconds later by his friends to reveal their face has been eaten away by worms in a matter of seconds or abducting a baby right out from a crib without anyone noticing, the extent of her powers and desire for revenge is felt. Other scenes, including her commanding one of the villagers to claw at their throat until they finally pull their own head off and have it fly around taking bites out of the gathered masses or a villager becoming pregnant, create several strong points that not only further her sense of power but the use of fantastic special effects to create them. Even with a chance of heart that comes around quite nicely and is set up rather well to give the actions presented here quite nicely, the finale is a nice strong work that’s quite fun. These here all make this one of the better genre features overall.
There isn’t a whole lot to dislike in the film. One of the few drawbacks to be found here is the somewhat shocking manner in which this one jumps to the conclusion that she was responsible for the original actions that plagued the village. The amount of convincing they need to form a lynch mob and set off to capture her is so negligible that it seems curious they never took her on and tried to oust her from the village previously especially since the only evidence was that of a dying shaman claimed it came from a general direction that one said was the same direction where she lived. Otherwise, there’s no other evidence of anything that points to her involvement, and with so little information on their connection with the villagers before or after makes it rather curious why was targeted as she was. That flies in direct opposition to later on where they want to wait for evidence of suspected witchcraft before moving to act on it which is rather curious. The only other issue here is the low-budget displayed here, for as wild as the special effects are it’s quite obvious how cheap they actually are which is part of the charm and doesn’t really hold the film back as much as it should.
Overview: ****.5/5
Equal parts cheesy and silly but also a stellar piece of genre filmmaking, this one is one of the finest Indonesian horror efforts from one of the most prolific periods of their genre output. It’s essential viewing for anyone interested in Asian horror in general or those that appreciate well-crafted genre cinema as well as those that are fans of the remake and curious about the original, while those that aren’t into the style or approach should heed caution with this one.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
Comments
Post a Comment