One of the most common critiques of the countless horror movies out there is that they rely too much on jump scares, essentially neglecting any other kind of filmic aspect. In the case of Indonesia however, a country whose production is dominated by titles of the category (60 out of the 204 for 2024) the filmmakers seem to wear this criticism with pride, essentially indulging in it as much as possible. “The Queen of Witchcraft” is definitely one of those films.
The Queen of Witchcraft is screening at Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival
Mirah, a rather beautiful woman, is about to get married to the man she loves, but during the makeup process, something unusual seems to take place, as terrifying visions begin to plunge both her and the people around her. A bit later on, her husband is found dead under mysterious circumstances, with Mirah soon becoming a pariah, as her mother-in-law in particular is quite intent that she is responsible for her son’s death. Similar incidents happen in a small factory she works in, where is shunned by the workers, and taken in by a higher-up, who also shares the fate of her husband
Eventually she seeks refuge in a Padang restaurant owned by Bana, who falls in love with her. Her curse, however, seems to still linger, while the story becomes even more complicated when her step-sister, Putri, becomes part of the equation.
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What becomes evident quite quickly here is that the leading to the abundance of the jump-scares, and the sequences that entail them is the main driving point of the story. As such, the pacing is really bad, the flashbacks rather misplaced, the character as paper-thin as their motivations, and the comments about crime-and-punishment, regret, and the cycle of violence as on-the-nose as possible, essentially forced into the story in an effort for some context. Lastly, the way the concept of love is presented, particularly in the end, is rather cheesy, in yet another problematic aspect of the movie.
And yet, and while one would expect for the “Queen of Witchcraft” to be completely unwatchable considering the above, the result is not exactly as such. For starters, the quality of the production, as mirrored in the impressive cinematography of Aga Wahyudi, the coloring and particularly the reds, and the sound and image SFX, is definitely top notch, resulting in a series of scenes that are both terrifying and visually astonishing.
Furthermore, the presence of Didik Hadiprayitno, an Indonesian dancer who always impersonates women during his performances of traditional Javanese and Balinese dance, adds a very appealing sense of ritualism to the narrative, that definitely adds to the overall aesthetics. That the ending scene consists of him dancing for the most part concludes the movie in the best way, cementing his show-stealing performance. Add to all that the design and implementation of the creatures that appear and the quality of the violent scenes, and you have the backbone of the pros of the movie.
Raihaanun as Mirah has some issues with her acting, in a role that is not particularly well written, with the same essentially applying to Clara Bernadeth as Putri. Both however, are quite pleasant to watch, while their fighting scene will definitely stay on mind.
It is not easy to establish if the the sum of pros and cons of “The Queen of Witchcraft” leans towards the one or the other side. I feel, however, that fans of horror movies will have a good time with this one, particularly if they can leave logic out of the cinema, where the movie definitely deserves to be watched.
