Mystics in Bali (1981)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

'Mystics in Bali' - sometimes known as 'Leák' - this Indonesian horror film focuses on an American woman whose research into black magic leads her Bali where she gets more than she bargained for upon befriending a local witch. With her constant cackling, unusually long fingernails and snake-like tongue, the local witch makes for a genuinely creepy character and all her scenes are divine. The low budget special effects also work more often than not, with gooey transformation effects, lots to like in the sheer bizarreness of a floating human head with entrails attached and a highly unsettling bit in which the said head confronts a pregnant woman. Whether the film has much to offer beyond its sheer weirdness is debatable. The protagonist's romance with a local Bali man lacks sparks and comes off as under-developed (does she really love him or is she just using him since he can help her with her research?). The acting is hardly top notch here either. There is, however, enough zany and offbeat imagery on hand that the film engages the whole way through. Quite a few aspects of the plot resonate too, especially how quickly she becomes a victim of the very black magic that she is trying to disprove and how her sheer skepticism makes her all the more vulnerable. The film almost in fact works as a cautionary tale regarding the risks of dabbling in things that one does not properly understand.

This movie is full of all manner of bizarre and offensive imagery and yet I was bored to tears by it. This is because while it is certainly insane, it lacks the commitment to go completely insane in the manner of films such as Lady Terminator.It has been said that there is a version of this movie that is 30 minutes longer. Egads! I do not use that word often, but I felt I had to use it now. I could not imagine this movie being any longer than it already is. It may run under 90 minutes on the US DVD but it feels like it is several hours long.I have given it a 5 mainly for the pig people as they made me laugh. As for the rest of the movie, once you've seen the head fly around once you've seen it enough. I'm sure there is a way to make a version of this movie that is a blast but this is not it.Watch it if you must humans. You may be slightly amused.

An American woman named Cathy asks her Indonesian boyfriend Hendra to help her investigate Balinese black magic known as 'Leyak'.Leyak is the most powerful black magic there is and she soon begins to pay a terrible cost when she turns into a flying head that feasts on unborn babies.I have seen my share of crazy Indonesian horror cinema and "Mystics in Bali" is perhaps the most known of 'em all.It is based on Indonesian mythology and for a supernatural culture largely undiscovered by Western movie fans.The special effects are incredibly cheesy and inept,the dubbed dialogue is absolutely hilarious,still there's a flying head which has the body's internal organs trailing behind,along with a little foetus eating and an evil sorcerer for all of you fans of Indonesian trash.The main actress Llona Agathe Bastian is incredibly wooden-in fact she was never an actress at all,but a German tourist spotted in Bali by one of the producers.Give this amusing trash a look.7 out of 10.

Finally tracked down a copy of this gruesome horror story about a young woman who wants to learn the black arts of Bali. She does and becomes a vampire in the process.To be honest this isn't a very good film. Its okay, and were it not for the vampire, this film would be long forgotten. The first 40 or so minutes are mostly endless talk as the woman finds a teacher and then learns the magic. When the master sends her out in her vampire form to get the blood of newborns for her, all hell breaks loose. These sequences are the reason the movie exists, the very non-western vision of a vampire on the prowl. They are creepy. There is something disturbing about the sequences even when you can see how they were done (which is very obvious).After this the film plods along for another 50 minutes as teacher uses her pupil for vile ends while her boyfriend and his family try to free her from the evil. That sounds more interesting then it is. Its rather dull with only the magic/vampire scenes being of any real interest. Frankly while they are low or no budget, they are effective and make this film worth renting for those who love horror films. Just don't expect to be feeling scared or singing the praises of anything other than the beasties.6.5 out of 10