I've always been amused by the notion that religious faith (also known as good magic) and the forces of evil (black magic) were actual, physical powers that could rain blows upon one another. That's what it's really all about, right? Knocking each other around? This is a theme that comes up again and again in Asian horror films from the '70s and '80s, especially productions from China and Indonesia. Monks, priests and holy men fight zombies, vampires and black magicians, shooting beams of energy back and forth, like boxers imbued with the otherworldly talents of Marvel characters.In The Queen of Black Magic (Indonesia 1979), a scorned woman becomes the Karate Kid of evil, so she can wreak revenge on the man who wronged her, as well as his fellow villagers. Several scenes of eye-popping gore spice up the well-executed (!) drama, and an interview/studio tour with the effects designer for the film makes a nice extra on the DVD. This is exactly the kind of obscure, cultural skulduggery that we count on the great Mondo Macabro label to dust off and bring to our DVD screens.
download choice audio>>The Queen of Black Magic - Initiation Scene
No comments:
Post a Comment