La reine de la magie noire

I recently watched the Indonesian film 🇮🇩 The Queen of Black Magic (1981) on Shudder. The storyline follows a woman who is cast aside by her lover and thrown off a cliff, presumed dead. A mysterious man finds her, nurses her back to health, and persuades her to learn black magic in order to seek revenge. As she begins her journey into witchcraft, one has to wonder-who is this man, and what are his true intentions?

This picture is directed by Liliek Sudjio (Lover's Tears) and stars Suzzanna (Samson and Delilah), W. D. Mochtar (Hell Raiders), and Alan Nuary (Beggars and Rickshaw Drivers).

This is one of those films that starts off slow but really picks up-and once it does, it far exceeded my expectations. The backdrops, costumes, and setting immerse you in its eerie universe. The lighting, cinematography, and camera angles are surprisingly artistic (even if you know there's a trampoline behind the mountains, that scene was still awesome). While the acting is a bit overdone at times, it's generally solid and suits the tone of the film.

The kills start off fairly tame, but about halfway through, the practical effects go up a notch. There's a blistering skin scene and a decapitation sequence that I absolutely adored. The corpses were also impressively done.

In conclusion, The Queen of Black Magic is a creative, visually engaging horror film that I'm really glad I watched. The originality was dialed up to ten. I'd score it a 7/10 and recommend it to horror fans looking for something different.

'The Queen Of Black Magic (1981)' is an Indonesian horror film in which a woman is accused of using black magic to ruin the wedding of her ex-lover and, after being thrown off a cliff, is subsequently taught black magic by a mysterious stranger who wants her to get revenge on those that did her harm. It's a bit of an odd film, with a serious tone that's offset somewhat by its often silly surrealistic visuals. Still, it works well enough for what it is. What it lacks in atmosphere and compelling characters it makes up for with pulpy special effects and a straightforward plot. It more or less just sees its protagonist pick off her wrongdoers one by one, until it moves into its final third and it starts to focus more on the fact that she doesn't want to keep hurting people. There's a really weird and unnecessary plot twist near the end that doesn't do anything other than make things really uncomfortable and, in general, the picture is only ever so compelling. However, it's generally enjoyable and features some entertaining special effects. It's a solid effort. 6/10.

Contemporary horror flicks coming out of Hong Kong, including from such esteemed studios as The Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, tended to draw significantly on black magic for their material. In what could have been and were intended to be gnarly effects extravaganzas, however, it didn't always feel like the full potential was being met. Thankfully, the same is not true of this Indonesian classic. It comes across in no small part that filmmaker Liliek Sudjio and/or screenwriter Imam Tantowi conjured the scenario particularly with a mind for filling it with as much striking imagery and as many effects sequences as they reasonably could. Working from the premise of a woman who was horribly mistreated, and who is taught black magic to exact revenge, 'Ratu ilmu hitam' ("Queen of black magic") is flush with imaginative, wild visions to keep us entertained. It isn't necessarily absolutely perfect, yet there is superb, enduring value here that shows Indonesia isn't to be counted out as a source of terrific genre cinema.

The practical effects and stunts are uniformly outstanding, from blood and gore to wire work, fire, explosions, and more. Even setting aside such specific, twisted violence, however, we're given an array of splendid, creative sights that lend tremendous dark flavor to the tale. From art direction to props, even the costume design, and not least the casting of spells, in the spectacle is represented a bounty of vibrant, colorful delights, all equally fantastic. Everyone working behind the scenes is to be congratulated for conjuring such a great treasure, to say nothing of the filmmaker and writer who give the proceedings such obvious, welcome focus. There's a point to be made that just as like-minded fare out of Europe or the United States leans on opposition to Christianity, this is a tad heavy-handed in how it weaves in Islam as a panacea for the ills facing the village, though as far as that goes it's not as gawky about it as some other Indonesian horror. One might also argue that the picture isn't as dark as it could have been, and maybe in turn not as satisfying, but as far as I'm concerned 'Ratu ilmu hitam' is so strong that any such questions are resolved for me.

With the film being given such a strong center, everyone involved is able to gladly do their part to bring it to vivid life. The cast are to be commended for their admirable performances of nuance and range, with Suzzanna obviously standing out most as beleaguered protagonist Murni. From editing and cinematography to Sudjio's direction, the title is shaped in every manner to let the story play out meaningfully, but more so to elevate the intended spectacle - to superb results! The filming locations are gorgeous, the hair and makeup are lovely, the sets in general are swell, and in every regard this is well made and enjoyable. We're all here for one thing, though, and the participants knew it, and 'Ratu ilmu hitam' does not disappoint. As a matter of personal preference this won't appeal to all comers, but I'm inclined to believe anyone who appreciates the genre will find something to like here, even if they're not as wholly taken with it as I am. In my opinion this meets or surpasses the standards set by some similar works, and it's a pity that it's not more well known. This is one horror classic that's well worth seeking out, and I'm pleased to give it my heart recommendation!

When Baedah,daughter of the wealthy village headman, is plagued by horrifying visions on her wedding day,her husband Kohar suspects that black magic is at work.Convinced that the source of the hallucinations is Murna played by '70s Indonesian horror queen Suzzanna,the poor girl he seduced and then abandoned for Baedah,Kohar rallies a mob to burn down her house and throw her into a ravine.Murna is rescued by a magician,who helps her seek revenge by teaching her the black arts.She then returns to her village and gruesomely kills several of her persecutors,saving Kohar for the last and most hideous death."Queen of Black Magic" is a classic of Inodnesian horror.The dubbing is terrible and the acting is pretty bad,but it offers some gory deaths including the demise of Kohar,who pulls off his own head in a fountain of arterial gore.If you enjoy watching wild Indonesian cinema "Black Magic Terror" is a blast.

Tasty Indonesian horror babe Suzzanna plays Murni, a woman seduced and spurned by the man she loves, wrongly accused of witchcraft, and then thrown off a cliff by an angry mob who aren't too bothered with minor details like due process of law. Narrowly surviving her ordeal, she is nursed back to health by an old man who urges her to seek revenge on those who tried to kill her using the powers of black magic. Having killed several villagers, and made her ex-lover tear off his own head, Murni feels avenged, but the old man who taught her all of her evil tricks has his own agenda and wants her to continue with the slaughter.

If weird and wonderful whacked-out world cinema horror is your kind of thing then this supernatural Indonesian/Japanese/Philippino co-production from 1979 should fit the bill nicely: it's not exactly great film-making, but with terrible dubbing, awful acting, some truly bizarre moments (my favourite bit being when Murni takes up smoking—quite literally!), and gruesome deaths aplenty (including an attack by bees, strangulation by scarf, drowning in a paddy field, the wonderfully bloody self-decapitation, lots of erupting veins, and an exploding head), it's almost impossible not to enjoy.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the flying head and Murni's hilarious fall off the cliff, hitting a tree halfway down and landing straight into the arms of the old man.