As I may have mentioned before, I saw a few crazy Hong Kong martial arts films when I was a kid. Most of them are long forgotten now. I couldn’t even tell you what their names were. I am, however, pretty sure that Black Magic (1975) was not one of them. For one thing, it’s not a martial arts film. It’s more of a weird horror film, with sorcery and… black magic.
The description that I quoted on twitter is not completely accurate. It’s not about an evil magician making a living by casting deadly spells on people’s objects of desire. More correctly, it’s about an evil magician making a living by casting love spells on people’s objects of desire. That makes more sense, doesn’t it? He does also cast deadly spells, but those tend to be on people’s enemies, not their objects of desire.
Like I said, I had never seen this movie, and I really didn’t know much about it. So, I had no previous relationship with it. I had no feelings of nostalgia. I went in completely neutral. And…
…I liked it. Quite a lot, actually. I found it to be completely bonkers in that thoroughly entertaining way. It made me want to see the sequel, as well as other movies of its ilk. One of my Twitter friends recommended something called The Boxer’s Omen (1983). I know nothing about that movie, but I am adding it to my watch list.
I was going to spend some time talking about my early experiences watching Hong Kong and other Asian horror films, but due to some unforeseen difficulties at the home drive-in, I’m going to have to keep this one short. I shall have to save those stories for some future #FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn.
Until then, I recommend Black Magic (1975) to anyone who has a taste for Hong Kong horror, with a touch of #NotQuiteClassicCinema madness, that really delivers the fun.
The Devil’s Hand (1961) by #WilliamJHoleJr
