Black Magic (1975)

"This love of yours, what is it worth?" - Luo Yin

Three people try to fill their desires by using black magic.
Starring: Ni Tien, Lieh Lo, Lung Ti, Feng Ku, Lily Li, Norman Chu, Ping Chen

Link to IMDB

Lou Yin is a beautiful, rich widow that lusts after a handsome guy named Xu. He's not interested because he already has a fiancée, but this doesn't stop Lou Yin from making her advances on Xu. Meanwhile, a guy named Liang has fallen in love with Lou Yin, but she wants nothing to do with him.

Liang                                    Lou Yin                                  Xu   

Liang hears rumours of a shaman that can cast love spells, so he goes into the jungle to find him. The shaman is Shao-Chiang, and he agrees to help Liang by casting a love spell on Lou Yin. The magic works, but only temporarily, much to the horror of Lou Yin when she realizes she was tricked into having sex with Liang. But now that she is aware of the shaman's powers, she gets an idea on how to win Xu's love.

Shao-Chiang: "Now, about my fee."
Liang: "I don't have it right now."
Shao-Chiang: "You'll regret that."

Shao-Chiang

As expected, Lou Yin gets the shaman to cast a spell on Xu, but this is just the beginning of the trouble that is about to unfold. Shao-Chiang has plans of his own, and he'll use all the evil black magic at his disposal to get what he wants!

Despite the fantastical subject matter, this actually isn't a B movie in many regards. It's really well put together and the story is quite compelling even when it moves a bit slow. It mostly takes itself seriously, which lets it become quite an effective thriller.

I say "mostly" because it still has plenty of gross-out wackiness intertwined into it, but that only adds to the unique and outrageous tone that some of the horror elements have to them.

Robbing some graves

There's almost a Hitchcockian vibe to how the story is presented, while still very much being a product of Honk Kong. Things gets really bonkers in the final act, with all sorts of black magic shenanigans, including a mystical battle between two shamans.

The undercurrent of foreboding doom mixed with sordid exoticism had me hooked from the start, and it makes for quite an interesting watch.

Be sure not to miss:
- A rotting severed finger can be used to count three days, but why not just use a calendar?
- Vagina rice.
- A cemetery for umbrellas.

Internet review:
"Pure genius that reaches a whole new height of insanity." - Haunted Nostril

Should I watch it?
Recommended.

Where can I find it?
The videome link Here.

Black Magic gets...