The Queen of Black Magic

Kimo Stamboel isn't a butcher like his brother Tjahjanto, but he sure as hell pulled this off. A group of friends head to the orphanage where they once grew up, but the orphanage has a dark past and it comes to pay its debt. Black magic is a concept we don't see that often in horror films anymore, and Stamboel handles it with grace. Centipedes, worms and caterpillars crawl out of just about every human orifice imaginable and the film is really uncomfortable to watch in places. And a bus full of dead, mutilated children doesn't add to the mood either. After the rather lukewarm first half-hour, the film goes on intensely until the end, with some very nasty and unenviable things happening to everyone involved, including the children. It also has a decent atmosphere, cool make-up effects, a fast pace, and I don't think I've seen anything wilder this year. The setting reminded me in places of their first film Macabre. Story**, Action****, Humor>No, Violence****, Entertainment****, Music****, Atmosphere****, Suspense****. 8/10. (04/05/2020)

It’s worth waiting through the long exposition with multiple characters, because the black magic kicks the movie into high gear. Though the digital centipedes and insects detract from the film’s sense of seriousness, the demonic forces that can douse one in boiling water or make one shoot a child in the limbs will reliably draw your attention. This is back-country horror done the Indonesian way. (10/11/2020)

Indonesia comes with yet another demonic showcase of gore scenes and heavy dark images, to what I say, ‘Bring it on!’ Kimo Stamboel and Joko Anwar drew on the Indonesian horror classic The Queen of Black Magic (1981), changing and updating its theme to a great extent, thus leaving only a few elements from the original, the rest being an entirely new, enhanced adventure. A group of old acquaintances get together in a secluded orphanage to remember the old days, but the past turns out to be much more horrifying than what they want to admit. The horror side of the flick works very well and brings a few seriously disturbing visions. I could maybe just complain about the abusive use of digital effects (those computer-generated insects are really painful); otherwise the atmosphere is very powerful, at times downright hellish. (10/13/2020)

From the trailer, I was expecting a large serving of blood, gore, disgust, bugs and centipedes crawling out of various body orifices, but in addition to that (perhaps to a lesser extent than expected), and to my own surprise, I also found relatively solid performances and a surprisingly firm director’s hand, thanks to which most of it works smoothly as a serious horror flick. I’m not saying it works throughout 100% of its run, but maybe 98%. The final act is an intense horror hell and I’m looking forward to watching it again in better quality. (05/03/2020)