Santet

The movie begins nice, giving hope that by the end a big past mystery will be revealed. However, nothing such happens. Overall, the movie has negligible engagement, even Kelly Brook has been left unutilised to arouse excitement.

Skip this one!

Well I guess I have the honor to write the first review for this movie. Not that there is much to write about it, or at least nothing positive. I got drawn to watch this movie by the poster, that looked a bit creepy. Santet (or Black Magic) starts with the statement that it is based on a true story. After watching it I can already tell you this is a complete lie. The story could have been something if you replace all the actors by others as the acting was just terrible. Not only from Kelly Brook but also from the rest of the cast. You constantly have the feeling they took some random people from the streets to come play in a movie, it's just awful. Kelly Brook can't act, that's just a fact. The sound editor should also look for another job. The only thing that can pass for something else than mediocre is the evil spirit. All the rest is just garbage.

This is supposed to be a film about a son and his family returning to Indonesia to care for his sick mother. This happens not long after his father died at home from a fall off a balcony. There is more to the mother's ailments than simply being sick. It is black magic.

This film has some major issues. Let's start with the acting. I am not familiar with Kelly Brook and I don't know that I will ever have the desire to see her in anything else. Nothing about the way she acted came across as natural. It was very easy to see that she was forcing herself to play the part rather than make us believe she was actually her character. It was pretty bad. If I had to name the best actors it would have to go to the kids. They at least showed future potential.

The production quality may be debatable for some but I thought that it was filmed ok. The audio seemed a bit strange to me. I can't really pinpoint what the problem was but it was off. The special effects were not impressive yet there were times where there could've been some semi-horrific stuff thrown in to make this "Horror" movie an actual horror movie.

The story is a hot mess. I don't mind not understanding certain aspects of a story being elusive in as long as it either comes together in the end or it has been set up to add more horror by not understanding the whys.

I'll give my final thoughts on it here because pass this point I'll have some spoilers. This was a film that needed a lot of work. It could've been much better and it is disappointing to see films not reach their potential. It just didn't work for me.

*************************************SPOILERS***************************************

So, we find out that the reason for the black magic may have something to do with a former employe by the name of Amber who worked for the son's father. In the final climatic scene, we learn the family maid, Fatma,(I guess that's what she was or maybe a house manager.) had a relationship with the son's father and Amber was the product of that relationship. It is implied that the son had killed Amber, thinking that she and his dad were having an affair. Fatma had been the one using black magic to exact revenge for the death of her daughter. That's it. No more explanation than that.

Where was the rest of the story? Why did the son think that his dad was having an affair with Amber? How long ago did all this happen? Why did the son dig all the holes in the yard? Was she buried there?

Really?

Wow a current low budget horror film made in the Philippines. Is Kelly Brook nuts? She must REALLY need the money. It's freaking dangerous over there. I guess she's too dense to read the news.

The movie's idea of possession is you scream and can't use your left foot.

No one in this film can act. AT ALL.

The one thing I can say in favor of it, they've learned to make sharp images since the 70's when those grainy, scratched grind house prints were churning out of the Philippines.

A film that depicts a real event and it's good, although it's not so scary, but it's wonderful and wonderful, the most beautiful of Indonesia in it.