Starring - Suzzanna (The Earth Gets Hotter, Pact with the Forces of Darkness), W.D. Mochtar (Revenge of the Ninja, Hell Raiders), and Teddy Purba (Ratu Buaya, Sengatan Kobra)
Release Date - 1981
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "A chilling tale of magic battles and terrifying demons"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
Several weeks ago I was introduced to several films that featured Indonesian horror queen Suzzanna when my friends over at Severin Films sent me a box set featuring several of her films. I was impressed by most of the films and could see myself actually revisiting a couple of them in the near future. Not too long after I got them for review, I received a few films from my friends over at Mondo Macabro one of those films just happened to be another film featuring Suzzanna. The film, 1981's The Queen of Black Magic, was the movie that continuously popped up while I was researching movies for her which really made me excited to check out this release. I want to thank Mondo Macabro and CAV for sending this one over.
The film follows a woman who is suspected of being a witch when her ex and his soon to be bride suffer several inconveniences on their wedding day. They toss her off a cliff where she is left for dead when she is rescued by a stranger. He nurses her back to health and teaches her in the way of black magic so she can get her revenge on those that accused her of being a witch in the first place.
Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about Suzzanna that I haven't already said in the previous reviews of her films. She was an extremely talented actress that is severely underrated when it comes to the horror genre and cinema in general. The Queen of Black Magic is easily my favorite film starring the Indonesian treasure. It may not be her best performance, which it's not, but it's easily her most enjoyable film. The acting in this one is solid enough to make the film work. The characters are very bold which gives the cast a lot to work with. However, they are not as campy or exaggerated as a lot of the other films I've seen of hers with the Bollywood inspiration. I very much enjoyed the story but I would have appreciated it a lot more if it was the first Suzzanna film I had reviewed. Instead, it was very similar to several other films of hers where someone was wronged and came back with the help of demons, the supernatural, or magic. It's not that original by today's standards but I'm sure it was a lot of fun for early 80s Indonesia. Finally, we have some blood and make-up effects but the deaths are not as memorable as I was hoping for. I did like the look of them and how they fit the film but they just did not stand out as I would have liked. The potential was there but not capitalized on. Overall, The Queen of Black Magic is the film that made Suzzanna a household name in Indonesia and an underrated horror star. While the film was underwhelming after binging half a dozen of her films weeks prior, I still enjoyed it and highly recommend adding this release to your collection. Check it out.
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