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Indonesian Insanity: Mystics in Bali (1981) Review

After Kathy explain her wants, she and Manny (I will refer to Mahendra as Manny from here on) engage in the most awkward kiss in cinema history and he tells her “Kathy, it’s time to go home now” What the fuck?

She’s obviously “down” and he’s not going for it?

Manny is a true one of a kind I guess.

Anyway, Kathy and Manny head into the woods one night and come across the stumbling old lady who looks to have hit the “sauce” a little too much.

But no, she’s the lee-ack.

I like how it’s that easy to find her.

Just hang out in the woods and you’ll see this crazy, part-paranormal entity.

They talk to the lee-ack and ask her to teach Kathy “the ways”.

She agrees.

Man it’s fucking easy to become a pupil in mystic evil in Indonea.

Of note, the lee-ack sounds like Algra from The Dark Crystal (1982) but 10 times more annoying.

What happens over the next hour or so is some of the strangest horror cinema I’ve seen.

It’s not Takashi Miike weird, but pretty damn close and many years before his crazy shit.

Of note:

H. Tjut Djalil has directed some other well-known oddities like Lady Terminator and Lady Seductress.

All weird but not equalling this oddity.

After the lee-ack agrees to teaching Kathy, she says she “wants to shake hands like westerners do” after which her hand comes off like a fuckin’ vaudeville act then crawls around like Thing from The Addams Family.

The weirdness is just getting going here.

Kathy and Mahendra show up the next night where the lee-ack gives Kathy a temporary tattoo that’s marked her as a disciple and asks for the blood she requested.

The blood looks oddly like cherry pop in some and grape in the others.

Didn’t know there were such inconstencies in the color of blood but whatever… small potatoes in this insanity stew.



Next day somehow Mahendra and Kathy carry on as if they weren’t just talking to bacally a devil.

They laugh and have a date in the sun….Come on man, your girl was being tattooed by an evil tree branch not even 12 hours earlier, it’s not time for cuddles in the sun.

Get her the fuck out of there.

Anyway, next night Mahendra can’t come so Kathy soldiers on by herself.

The lee-ack arrives cackling on the strangest floating swing I’ve ever seen.

At this point, I stopped questioning the strange little things and I just fucking held on.

Weird doesn’t even begin to describe this one.

For as weird as it is, I’m 100% completely mesmerized and entertained.

After dismounting the floating swing, the lee-ack just starts the most awkward dance around Kathy.

You know like when you see documentary footage of hippies dancing back in the 60’s?

You know how their movements are alien and don’t really match the muc?

That’s how she danced.

Kathy is confused but just joins in.

Can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em I guess.

And that’s it for this encounter.

Next day she tells Manny what happened and we get flashbacks of a transformation of Kathy and the lee-ack changing into pigs.

Gotta say, this looked pretty fuckin’ cool.

If there was a bit more of a budget it would have rivaled David Naughton’s transformation to the wolf in An American Werewolf in London (1981).



Later, Mahendra whilst talking to his uncle explains what Kathy is doing and asks how to break the spell as his concerns of the lee-ack’s control of Kathy mount.

Maybe you shouldn’t have offered to bring her in the first place and every subsequent night, Manny.

Jesus….

I have to say, I love a fast pace but this movie could have benefitted from slowing down and giving a bit more back story. I feel like I can barely hang onto my seat it’s moving so fast and in such crazy directions.

But whatever, I’ve got a death grip on my chair and I’m going nowhere.

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Kathy is finally starting to get a bit freaked out herself.

She’s having random body pains and is getting scared.

She lies down one night and the lee-ack shows up to talk.

Then the craziest shit I’ve seen in a long time happens.

The lee-ack takes over Kathy and her head comes off and starts floating around.

That’s not that weird but the fact that all of Kathy’s organs are attached is odd.

Still not weird enough?

The head floats into a room where a woman is in labor, the head munches on her and eats the baby (no nothing was shown, it’s not that graphic thank fuck).

Apparently, the lee-ack needs fresh, young blood so her body can live on forever and now she’s ung Kathy as the vessel to do the deed.

This movie is stepping into all kinds of crazy at this point.

After waking up the next day feeling “off” as one would after their head and organs left their body, she decides to stop training with the lee-ack.

The lee-ack doesn’t like this and she decides to do another hippie dance and her and Kathy morph into snakes.

Again, great effects here.

Next day when she wakes up, Manny is there and right away she starts throwing up.

Not normal throw up but spewing actual mice.

Manny, giving the best line of the movie, says “Maybe it was the food last night that made you so ck now”

Dude, she just threw up whole mice, where the fuck did you take her for supper?



Next up is some weird shit with fireballs and lee-ack and her enemies that I didn’t really understand and that doesn’t seem to have any connection with the plot.

Manny informs Kathy he’s leaving again and she’s still on her own.

Kathy on her own now, is lying down and starts struggling with her breathing.

All of a sudden, off comes the head and organs again.

More craziness ensues and next Kathy is approached by the lee-ack in her room.

The lee-ack says she wants payment for teaching her and tells her she needs her head.

Against Kathy’s wishes she takes over her again and off goes the head and organs.

The head flies to some house and the villagers are waiting.

They block the head from getting in.

Meanwhile, Manny’s uncle has found Kathy’s body and sticks toothpicks in her neck so the head can’t re-attach.

Toothpicks?

Why not I guess…I’m beyond questioning at this point.

Manny also returns and sees what his uncle is doing.

He asks if they can help Kathy but he says it’s too late and the connection between Kathy and the lee-ack is imposble to break.

Kathy’s head returns and tries to bite out the toothpicks.

It’s odd but at this point all of this seems fairly normal.

You know you’ve watched some crazy shit when a floating head with it’s organs attached is chewing toothpicks out of the neck of a headless body and you aren’t in any way shocked.



After an unsuccessful attempt at removing the toothpicks, the head takes off.

Manny feels awful for showing the lee-ack to Kathy now that he knows there’s no turning back.

Kathy’s spirit starts to stalk Manny asking for help all of which he refuses.

On to the final showdown.

Manny and his uncle take on the lee-ack.

Apparently, Manny’s uncle has fought this lee-ack before.

A backstory might have helped me care here but whatever, this isn’t a “solid story” kind of horror flick.

After being re-introduced to her body, the head of Kathy attacks.

Somewhere here, Manny’s old girlfriend shows up and dies.

She says that she isn’t mad that he left her for another woman.

Where did this part of the story come into play?

Was the movie intended to be longer at some point or is it just shoddy script writing.

Probably the latter but whatever. Manny’s uncle gets creamed by the lee-ack and Manny’s other uncle shows up to defeat her.

Why they didn’t just not kill off the first uncle is beyond me.

Why at this point introduce a new character that’s totally irrelevant?



Also of note, I forget but someone turns into a pig with rubber tits and all.

It starts with a pig torso and the legs and arms fly back on and out come the pig tits.

Fucking craziest shit I’ve ever seen.

As the new uncle is fighting the lee-ack, the sun comes up fucking abruptly and kills the lee-ack.

Never knew she was part vampire but why bother questioning anything at this point.

As the lee-ack dies so does Kathy.

And the story comes to a jarring close right here.…mommy…

Wrap Up: Hands down one of the craziest movies I’ve ever seen.

Not much of a plot but it doesn’t matter.

This one is about visuals and eccentricities

Direction:

6/10 – Just for pure craziness.

There is lots lacking but hey, he did pretty well with what he was doing.

It’s almost like trying to rate art.

Some think a certain piece of art is shit while another would think it stunning.

It’s all subjective here.

Effects:

6/10 – Sure there’s some hokey stuff happening but it’s 1981.

The head with attached organs was pretty inventive.

Performances: 4/10 – Nothing much to talk about.

Some stiff ones here and there.

Script: 4/10 – What the eff?

Pacing: 5/10 – Believe it or not, it was moving too fast.

It could have benefitted from slowing down a bit and flushing some plot points out.

Fun Factor:

8/10 – I had a blast and will definitely watch it again.

Overall 5.5 / 10 -

I loved it but still am not sure who I would recommend it to other than horror enthuasts.

It’s not an "invite friends over for movie night" type of movie that’s for sure.

Alternate artwork:

So scare... thiss iss the first indochina film i watch