This week in the crypt we take a look at the new Shudder Original, The Queen Of Black Magic.
You can catch this beginning January 28th on Shudder as well as Shudder Canada, Shudder UK and Shudder AN.
By Adam Holtzapfel
Clocking in at around 99 minutes. Viewers are treated to a slow burn from director Kimo Stamboel (Headshot) and writer Joko Anwar (Impetigore).
The film follows the story of Hanif (Ario Bayu), Anton (Tanta Ginting), and Jefri (Miller Khan) as they, along with their families travel back to the orphange they were raised at to visit the director who has fallen ill.
Once they arrive strange things start to occur as something wants them dead.
Going into this I was expecting the same creepy orphange tale. While there are some familiar tropes The Queen Of Black Magic felt fresh and original. Fans of haunted house/posession/supernatural films are in for a treat with this film inspired by a 1981 film of the same name.
What worked for me was the setting, dialogue, and the story. The film was also very well acted and had some great fx. I feel it does have a rewatchability that some films in the same vein may not. While delivering a strong finish it also touts some good twists along the way.
Where it may fall short for others is with it being and Indonesian film, means it is subtitled. This didn’t bother me as I like a lot of foreign horror. At times the pacing felt off and made it seem a little long in the tooth, but that didn’t make or break it for me.
If you’re a fan of haunted house/possession/supernatural type films pair this with The Housemaid or A Tale Of Two Sisters for a creepy double feature.
“And remember, if you feel a chill, that’s not the cold…you’re in the crypt!”
Adam Holtzapfel is the face behind Reviews From The Crypt and Interviews From The Crypt. Growing up in the 80s on a steady diet of VHS horror, he has maintained a love of the genre since. Loving almost everything from the good, the bad, and the weird he now searches the deepest realm of the Roku to press play on any film he hasn’t watched a million times.