Black Magic Woman

My review was written in April 1991 after watching the film on Vidmark video cassette.

An unusual cast makes this a bit different from current erotic thrillers. Basic story is overly predictable, as Mark Hamill cheats on his girlfriend Amanda Wyss when voluptuous Apollonia Kotero visits the art gallery where they work and quickly seduces him. Their whirlwind relationship results in plenty of sack time, but the callous antihero drops her as soon as business at the gallery picks up. Scorned woman Apollonia segues into familiar "Fatal Attraction" territory, even destroying a valuable sculpture during one violent confrontation with Hamill at the gallery.

Pic moves into supernatural horror territory as Hamill becomes victimized by black magic and voodoo rites. All the evidence points against Apollonia, but the police keep an open mind.

Careful viewer may guess who the real baddie is, but the final revelation still packs a wallop.

Use of Santana's hit title song helps the film's atmospherics and punches up the sex scenes. Fans accustomed to uninhibited nude performances by Shannon Tweedand Tanya Roberts may be slightly disappointed, as Appolonia avoids nudity to emphasize the tease. Her scenes are steamy, however, and won't need editing for the tv broadcast version.

The film itself and the acting in the film were very good. The whole story idea behind it was very interesting and intriguing. The problem with the film was that the editing was not very good. By the editing not being good it affected the over all look of the film. The acting, directing, writing, and complete film were good. The editing killed the whole thing for me because it was too choppy and made it difficult to follow becase of all the weird splicing everywere. But besides that I'd give this film an 8, 10 being best.

"Diane Abbott" (Amanda Wyss) and "Brad Travis" (Mark Hamill) are an unmarried couple who work together in an art gallery. As it so happens, one night at an art exhibit Brad meets a young woman named "Cassandra Perry" (Appolonia Kotero) who seduces him the next night. Eventually, however, he breaks off his affair with Cassandra and as might be expected this infuriates her. It's then that he learns that Cassandra is a powerful witch who has placed a terrible curse upon him that makes him extremely ill. Having already sought medical help with no results he is then taken by his maid "Carlita" (Abidah Viera) to a practitioner of black magic who subsequent cures him. Unfortunately, he warns Brad that the person who placed the curse upon him is extremely powerful and that he doesn't have the knowledge or experience necessary to help him afterward if that person chooses to continue. And it's then that he discovers that Cassandra is far from finished with him. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was one of those films that had potential but didn't quite have the actors or direction necessary for the task at hand. For starters, although Appolonia was definitely attractive her scenes involving an erotic nature were never fully realized. Likewise, neither Mark Hamill nor Amanda Wyss appeared to fully demonstrate the right emotional ingredient necessary for their characters. At least, that is how it seemed to me. That being said, while I don't consider this to be a terrible film by any means, I thought it could have been much better and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Black Magic Woman is a thriller in the vein of Fatal Attraction ala Tales from the Crypt. Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Corvette Summer) stars as Brad. Brad runs a successful art gallery with his girlfriend Diane, played by Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Better off Dead).

One evening during an art show, a mysterious woman appears at the gallery and catches Brian's eye. Cassandra, Apollonia (Purple Rain), flirts with Brad a bit and makes Diane jealous. Brad and Diane have a client in New York who's interested in possibly negotiating a deal to buy some art. Diane goes to New York to meet with the client while Brad stays behind and has a steamy encounter with Cassandra.

Cassandra comes into the gallery after Diane returns from her trip, and has a jealous outburst. All of the sudden it seems that someone has put a curse on Brad and people around him are starting to die, making Brd appear to be the main suspect. Could a jealous lover be responsible?

Brad (Mark Hamill), a womanizing art gallery director, is cursed with hoodoo after he has an affair with a beautiful woman (Apollonia Kotero). Brad's girlfriend (Amanda Wyss) is both clueless and helpless to save her developmentally-arrested boyfriend.

BLACK MAGIC WOMAN has few real thrills, but is still fun to watch, especially when we see Luke Skywalker being worked on by a hoodoo exorcist! His grimaces as he writhes on the carpet are epic entertainment!

In addition, there are blood-filled eggs and a housekeeper in the fridge! Yes, there's a big, dark twist at the end, but it's too late to stop the laughter...