A TORTURED WOMAN USES THE DARK ARTS TO GET REVENGE
★★★☆☆ (Good for One Viewing)
Director: Kimo Stamboel
1981
Murni watches as wealthy Baidah prepares for her wedding to Kohar, who once promised to marry Murni after they slept together. In this rural village in Indonesia, losing one’s virginity is no small thing, so Murni is technically a ruined woman—but that’s the least of her problems. A few strange occurrences (maggots in the food, a man levitating) has the locals thinking witchcraft and Kohar figures he can kill two birds with one stone by accusing Murni of being the culprit. If this is because her presence makes him feel guilty, we’ll never know. Kohar is an exaggerated villain who really could have used a backstory to explain how he became someone who would steal Murni’s virginity, kill her mom, burn down her house, and have the village idiots throw her off a cliff. All these horrible happenings reminded me of that great line in Romancing the Stone: “That was the end of Grogan…the man who killed my father, r*ped and murdered my sister, burned my ranch, shot my dog, and stole my Bible!”
Don’t worry about poor Murni, though. She was saved at the bottom of the cliff by an old man who really does know black magic—and there’s gonna be hell to pay.
The Queen of Black Magic has all the silly and creative effects you expect from vintage Asian horror, and you don’t have to wait long because during Murni’s quick road to justice, she wields her newfound magic powers to punish her killers in delightfully imaginative ways. Most of them are men whose ignorance led to the hysteria that caused them to accuse the first single woman they saw and toss her to her death. Just when you think the plot has run out of steam, we’re introduced to a traveler named Permana, whose religious devotion is used as a weapon to fight these evil forces and save the villagers.
I’m surprised by Murni's actions because, having long lived in a world where conservatism dominates the Muslim religion, this is such a feminist and risqué film. I mean, come on. The girl sucks a toe while doing that voodoo she do. The Queen of Black Magic doesn’t focus blame on Murni for losing her virginity, women own businesses and snap at men, and the black magic teacher willfully takes the wronged girl on as a student. During one sad moment for our heroine, she declares, “All men are liars!” and the movie still has sympathy for her as she battles Permana.
In a film with such a simple premise, the once niave Murni’s arc is solid. As her Kill Bill bloodlust subsides, she goes from vengeful to conflicted, especially after she discovers that yet another man is manipulating her—even The Queen of Black Magic isn’t immune from a double-cross. Though we’ve all had fantasies about revenge, Murni has to decide whether hers is worth losing her soul and someone truly worth loving (I’m going to avoid the ick factor on that). This satisfying, girl-power storyline makes The Queen of Black Magic a great gateway movie for anyone out there who want to try out body horror for the first time. And maybe live vicariously through Murni’s vengeance. Just a little bit.
GENRES: Atmospheric, Body Horror, Diverse Characters, Feminist-Friendly
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