Film Review: The Queen Of Black Magic

The Queen Of Black Magic is an Indonesian horror film, which is a loose remake of the 1981 film of the same name. Directed by Kimo Stamboel and written by Joko Anwar, it follows a group of families who return to the orphanage where the husbands all grew up in so they can meet the caretaker, who become very ill and bedridden. When they reach the isolated orphanage, any hope for a peaceful night is quickly gone. One by one, each person begins to experience something strange. But as the night goes on, it soon becomes clear something is after them, and it might be connected to their past in the orphanage.

It doesn’t take long for things to get uneasy. In an early scene, Hanif (Ario Bayu) is driving Nadya (Hannah Al Rashid), and their three kids over to the orphanage, and within a moment he gets his eyes off the road, he hits something. He exits the car to find a dead deer, and drives off. The film then reveals a little girl hidden just off the road. The film brings this detail back later on, even answering on how the girl fits into the narrative. The film is patient with its big scares, but once things start going, it goes really hard.

The scares are rooted in the supernatural, as the big mystery involves the possible presence of Murni, a caretaker who died under strange circumstances, and has seemingly been involved in black magic. Why Murni has begun making her presence known and doing awful things to everyone is the big question, which offers a smart and interesting payoff. But before that, we get treated to some wild imagery. There are lots of gore shots, but there is even an element of body horror and some gross out stuff that involves bugs going in and out of stuff, the less you know the better.

For folks who have followed Indonesian genre cinema, you might remember Kimo Stamboel as one half of The Mo Brothers with Timo Tjahjanto, who have made the films Macabre, Killers, and Headshot together before going off on their own. Stamboel knows how to work with this kind of material, and he is working off a really solid and tightly constructed script by Joko Anwar, who has also made some great films recently like Satan’s Slaves, Impetigore, and Gundala. The film also continues an interesting trend between these filmmakers in exploring themes of patriarchy, childhood trauma, abuse, and confronting one’s past, which are a set of motifs that has popped up in many of their films.

The performances are really solid all around. After a while, it doesn’t demand too much of its cast aside from screaming. Though, when it gets to making its big reveals, folks like Ario Bayu, Tanta Ginting, and Miller Khan do delve into some really complicated emotional ground that works well. Eventually, the star of the show really ends up being the visual effects and special effects, which are all fantastic, so oozy and gooey and creepy, and so striking that it will burn some images into your head long after seeing the film.

The Queen Of Black Magic is a thoroughly enjoyable and often unnerving horror film. Genre fans have rightfully put more attention towards Indonesia’s film industry in the past decade, and with films like this, it’s satisfying to see that filmmakers over there are not only not showing signs of loosing steam anytime soon, but also that their work is being appreciated around the world. Kimo Stamboel crafts a suspenseful and spooky affair that knows how to utilize a familiar bag of tricks, and form an experience that is equally as fun as it is harrowing. If you’ve already seen Timo Tjahjanto’s two May The Devil Take You films, and are looking for another gnarly Indonesian supernatural horror film, this is one you don’t want to miss.

The Queen Of Black Magic hits Shudder on January 28th.