Seen for the first time in January 2013.
"The Devil's Sword" is some kind of 80's Indonesian supernatural kung-fu revenge film featuring a nympomaniacal crocodile queen, plenty of creative decapitations, some great dubbed trash talk and mythical kitschy monsters straight out of a 10 year old's nightmares. It is pretty great, sexy at times but not salacious, and a whole lot of fun.
The action pretty much never lets up as we watch an honorable warrior help an almost equally skilled female kung-fu fighter rescue her husband from the clutches of the evil crocodile queen, whose lusts, unlike the ocean or the sky, are without limit. To do that, they must first retrieve the devil's sword and defeat the evil warriors who also seek it. I fear understating how great the four way battle between the protagonist and the evil warriors, including a witch is. It is in many ways the highlight of the movie.
It is in some ways like if Kill Bill were a low-budget 80's Indonesian film that also had creatures from a 50's sci-fi movie and great dubbing. A wonderful melange of inspired kitsch. Grade A.
Showing posts with label Indonesian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indonesian. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Mystics in Bali
Seen for the first time in January 2013.
I've dabbled in these '80s Indonesian horror movies a bit. Stuck my big toe in so to speak. The waters warm, but it leaves me indifferent. I read some other reviews of "Mystics in Bali," a practice I usually avoid. A lot of people are enthusiastic about the weirdness of "Mystics," and yeah sure it's weird, but I'm it's a weirdness that I'm indifferent to. I can easily imagine a person getting their strange cinema kicks from this movie. But, personally, I don't get mine.
I guess part of it is that on paper, it's a weird movie, but it really didn't seem that weird to me while watching it. It's an above average low-budget horror film and that's all it is, at least as far as I can tell. Yes, it's an Indonesian movie directed at a western audience, which gives it a few novelty points I suppose. And there's a cackling witch and amateur special effects of a disembodied head sucking a baby straight out of a woman.And there are characters who appear out of nowhere and deus ex machinas. Admittedly it sounds good on paper. It's just underwhelming in execution.
And it is undeniably an above average low budget horror. Which is good despite the fact that so much low budget horror is completely unwatchable. I think my issue is that it's good, but nothing special, by low budget horror standards, but that it's also not particularly weird by those same standards. Grade B.
I've dabbled in these '80s Indonesian horror movies a bit. Stuck my big toe in so to speak. The waters warm, but it leaves me indifferent. I read some other reviews of "Mystics in Bali," a practice I usually avoid. A lot of people are enthusiastic about the weirdness of "Mystics," and yeah sure it's weird, but I'm it's a weirdness that I'm indifferent to. I can easily imagine a person getting their strange cinema kicks from this movie. But, personally, I don't get mine.
I guess part of it is that on paper, it's a weird movie, but it really didn't seem that weird to me while watching it. It's an above average low-budget horror film and that's all it is, at least as far as I can tell. Yes, it's an Indonesian movie directed at a western audience, which gives it a few novelty points I suppose. And there's a cackling witch and amateur special effects of a disembodied head sucking a baby straight out of a woman.And there are characters who appear out of nowhere and deus ex machinas. Admittedly it sounds good on paper. It's just underwhelming in execution.
And it is undeniably an above average low budget horror. Which is good despite the fact that so much low budget horror is completely unwatchable. I think my issue is that it's good, but nothing special, by low budget horror standards, but that it's also not particularly weird by those same standards. Grade B.
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