The Queen of Black Magic – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Indonesia, 1981
Director: Liliek Sudjio
Writer: Imam Tantowi
Cast: Suzzanna, W.D. Mochtar, Alan Nuary, Siska Widowati, Sofia W.D.

Release Date: May 12th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 89 Minutes 58 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Indonesian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.99

"The story is set in the exotic countryside of far-off Indonesia. A wedding ceremony goes dreadfully wrong and the groom suspects black magic. He seeks out the woman he believes is responsible and she is hurled to her death over a high cliff. She is rescued from the dark jungle by a strange hermit. He tells her that she must seek revenge. They accused her of black magic—now she must learn to use that magic against them and become the Queen of Black Magic." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

The Queen of Black Magic comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 27.8 GB

Feature: 25.5 GB

The bulk of this transfer looks excellent; that said, there are still some instances of minor source damage. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity and compression are solid, and black levels fare well.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Indonesian), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Indonesian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. That said, the Indonesian track sounds more robust than its English language counterpart. Included are removable English subtitles for the Indonesian language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an introduction by filmmaker Joko Anwar (7 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles) and an interview with SFX creator El Badrun (10 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Indonesian with non-removable English subtitles).

Summary:

A young woman is accused of witchcraft by her former lover, who blames her for the strange events that disrupted his wedding. With the aid of superstitious townsfolk, he attempts to eliminate her by throwing her body off a cliff. An old man residing in the canyon below discovers her and nurses her back to health. After the young woman recovers, the old man persuades her to seek revenge on those who attempted to kill her using black magic.

The Queen of Black Magic is a supernatural folk horror film that perfectly embodies 1980s Indonesian genre cinema’s anything-goes attitude. The premise takes the familiar superstitious locales that wrongly accuse a person of practicing black magic, leading to their death. From there, the narrative becomes a tale about revenge, where the victim, who's also a woman scorned and whose main target is the man who left her for another woman, takes action. Besides black magic and revenge, other themes explored are abandonment of faith and how that is the root cause of the evil festering in the village.

The main draw of The Queen of Black Magic is Suzzanna in the role of Murni, a woman accused of being a witch. When it comes to Indonesian horror cinema, no actor or actress is bigger than Suzzanna, who's known as the queen of it. She delivers an exemplary performance that has intensity that makes you cheer for her as she gets revenge against those who wronged her. Another performance of note is W.D. Mochtar (Mystics in Bali) in the role of an evil wizard who trains Muri in the fine arts of black magic.

A reason why the premise works as well as it does is because of the quality of the special effects. Although the practical special effects belong to a bygone era, they consistently deliver a strong impact. A few of the inventive ways people die at the hands of black magic are a swarm of bees, exploding flesh, and self-deception.

While the opening setup effectively establishes the foundation for the story, there is a brief lull before the action intensifies. One area where The Queen of Black Magic excels is in its visuals, which are rich with atmosphere and captivating moments that enhance the overall mood. Ultimately, The Queen of Black Magic is one of the high watermarks of 1980s Indonesian horror cinema.

The Queen of Black Magic gets a solid release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and pair of informative extras. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer