FANTASTIC FEST 2020: Queen of Black Magic (2020)

Director: Kimo Stamboel

Notable Cast: Hannah Al Rashid, Ario Bayu, Adhisty Zara, Muzakki Ramdhan, Ari Irham, Ade Firman Hakim, Sheila Dara Aisha, Tanta Ginting, Miller Khan, Imelda Therinne, Salvita Decorte, Giulio Parengkuan, Shenina Cinnamon, Yayu A.W. Unru, Ruth Marini

 

When they announced that Kimo Stamboel’s solo directorial effort, Queen of Black Magic, would be one of the films I had the opportunity to watch at the virtual Fantastic Fest this year, my heart skipped a beat. Quite frankly, it was probably the film I was most eager to see. A loose remake of the 1981 bonkers horror classic, the combination of one of the Mo Brothers and writer (and fantastic director in his own right) Joko Anwar was easily a lethal combination that warrants excitement. To put it bluntly, Queen of Black Magic lives up to the expectations. It’s a raucous cinematic experience, powered by a potent balance of atmospheric tension, gag worthy gore, and effective bent narrative storytelling. For fans of either Kimo’s work, solo or with the Mo Brothers, or Joko Anwar, then Queen of Black Magic cannot be recommended enough.

 

Gundala (2020)

Director: Joko Anwar

Notable Cast: Abimana Aryasatya, Tara Basro, Bront Palarae, Ario Bayu, Lukman Sardi, Fariz Fadjar, Aqi Singgih

Not to make any mass assumptions, but I would venture to guess that a large swath of our readers here are like me, relatively unfamiliar with Indonesian comic book heroes like Gundala. This is not to say that there are not those who are very familiar with multi-decade spanning ‘Son of Lighting’ hero who can speak on length to the history, context, and commentary of the famous superhero, but it’s not me. My introduction to this hero is through this latest film incarnation, Gundala, and it’s essentially through the famous Indonesian director Joko Anwar that brought it to my attention. As a fair warning, I just wanted to make it clear that my knowledge of the character, his stories and his history is very basic and I will solely try to review this latest film on its own merits.

Although Gundala is not the first film version of the character, from my understanding there is one that was released in the early 80s, having a major director like Anwar and a major star like Abimana Aryasatya attached to this latest rendition only bodes well for the film. Some strong marketing, including a solid US trailer for the film, essentially puts the hero and this film firmly on the international stage. In an age where the superhero film rules all, it’s quite a fantastic idea to introduce an entire generation (internationally) to the character.