Underplayed Gems

Mystics in Bali (1981)

Mystics in Bali poster
Original title
Leák
Directed by
H. Tjut Djalil
Genre
horror film
Country
Indonesia
Runtime
1h 56m
Rated
12
Rating
6.0 of 10 from 41 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

An anthropologist goes to Bali to study black magic. She becomes the student of a witch and turns into a flying head with entrails hanging from her neck. The movie draws on Indonesian and Malaysian folklore.

creepygoryfolkloricweirdslow-burnlow-budgetunsettlingsupernaturalpulp

What happens

Mystics in Bali (Indonesian: Mistik (Punahnya Rahasia Ilmu Iblis Leak)), also released as Leák and Balinese Mystic, is a 1981 Indonesian supernatural horror film directed by Tjut Djalil. Based on the novel Leák Ngakak by Putra Mada, the film stars Ilona Agathe Bastian, Yos Santo, Sofia W.D., and W.D. Mochtar. Mystics in Bali follows an anthropologist named Cathy (Bastian) who travels to Bali to research black magic, eventually becoming the disciple of a witch and transforming into a bloodthirsty disembodied head, with her organs and entrails hanging from her neck. The film borrows elements from Southeast Asian folklore and Balinese mythology, including the Penanggalan and the Leyak respectively (the Leyak being Balinese, the Penanggalan being from Malaysian ghost myths), entities which have in common that they take the form of flying heads with innards still attached. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.