Ratu Ilmu Hitam
2019 / 99m - Indonesia
Horror
3.5*/5.0*
The Queen of Black Magic poster

Watches

October 15, 2020

3.5*/5.0*

The Mo Brothers are back in full force, except they're both doing their own thing now. Kimo Stamboel released no less than two horror films in 2019, this loose remake of an Indonesian cult classic (by the same name) being one of them. I haven't seen the original, but this remake was a pretty fun ride.

The story is nothing special. Three families gather at their old orphanage as their caretaker is about to die. It doesn't take long before strange things start happening, which are of course tied to some tragic events that happened in the past. Once the story is set up, Kimo's focus shifts to delivering some actual horror.

Performances are somewhat mediocre and the first half is a bit slow, the drama in particular isn't all that interesting. Luckily the horror bits are pretty tasty. The gore isn't over the top, but the haunts and kills are surprisingly nasty. When it comes to more overt horror there's been a bit of a drought recently, so it was nice to see blood, guts and creepy crawlers returning to the forefront again. Good fun.