Color, 1981, 85 mins. 59 secs. / 118 mins. 13 secs.
Directed by H. Tjut Djalil
Starring Ilona Agathe Bastian, Yos Santo, Sofia W.D., W.D. Mochtar.
Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray & DVD) (US R0 HD/NTSC, UK R0 PAL) / WS (2.35:1) (16:9)

Those who claim they've "seen it all" are usually stopped dead in their tracks by Mystics in Bali, the most notorious entry in the Indonesian horror genre. Often mentioned but rarely seen, the film is best known for its most indelible image, a woman's fanged, flying head with vital organs still attached below the neck; however, that's merely one of the insane visuals on display in this outrageous widescreen romp.

Young Cathy (Bastian), an anthropologist and student of magic arts, arrives in Bali to investigate the legend of the Leyak, a folklore monster borne of witchcraft. She strikes up a romantic relationship with one of the locals, Mahendra (Santo), whom she persuades to take her into the forest one night to meet a black magic queen (Sofia W.D.). Sure enough the wicked one appears, all cackling and long fingernails with thunder and lightning to boot. The wild-haired queen agrees to take on Cathy as her disciple (leaving her scuttling, severed hand as proof of her power), and soon the two women are romping through the woods at night, transforming into large pigs and snakes. However, the witch also demands blood to sustain her powers and orders Cathy's head to detach itself from her body. Soon the marauding head is whizzing through the village, sucking blood and an unborn fetus from a local woman before returning to its host. Mehandra is understandably upset by Cathy's change in behavior and brings in his Buddhist uncle for help, leading to a fiery showdown with a possessed Cathy and the powerful queen.

Though it isn't particularly violent, Mystics in Bali is rife with enough grotesque visuals to make the most jaded viewers shake their heads in disbelief. The sight of Cathy's head trying to pluck out toothpicks from its body's neck stump would be enough, but the multiple pig transformations really push the film into pure surrealist territory. Originally released as Leák, this was the brainchild of H. Tjut Djalil who went on to stun the world nine years later with Lady Terminator. From a technical standpoint this is strictly functional at beast, shot almost entirely in master shots with actors often drifting off camera for no reason and little imaginative use made of the scope framing apart from some great shots of fireballs whizzing through the air. Fortunately the sheer weirdness appeal makes this a wonderful, unique experience.

Mondo Macabro's initial 2003 U.K. DVD (discontinued not long after it came out) did what it could for the time, looking like it was spliced together with masking tape at certain points. Image quality was stable and certainly a huge improvement over the Japanese dupes floating around for years. The disc includes several text supplements detailing the evolution of Indonesian horror, including some surprisingly detailed bios in the style of the Mondo Macabro book, along with a valuable featurette on the Indonesian horror market which has since become big business on worldwide streaming. However, if you don't mind skipping the Indonesian featurette (which since reappeared on their widely available Lady Terminator disc), it was bested by the remastered 2007 U.S. DVD taken from a new HD scan of the original negative and presented with the utmost care. It was a true feast for the eyes at the time and one of the most psychedelic experiences you'll ever have in front of a television set. The American disc even tosses in a grungy-looking vintage theatrical trailer, too, which is perfect for confounding guests and relatives.

Then we jump forward almost twenty years with a 2026 Blu-ray edition of the film, which throws in some new surprises. As the original elements are sadly no longer extant apparently, the existing HD master was used here and actually holds up surprisingly well. Obviously it's identical in color and framing to the U.S. DVD but does actually look more detailed; textures aren't as sharp or natural as a newer scan could have provided, but you won't get it looking any better than this. The occasional video-generated effects shots stand out even more here obviously, but that's always been the case to some degree once we got past dupey bootlegs. Here you get the English dub and the original Indonesian track (both DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono) with optional English subtitles at last, and it's fascinating to compare the two. The Indonesian version obviously adheres to the actors' performances and feels a lot more natural, plus it has a frequently different music score and a much more layered, active sound mix. On the other hand, the English track is hilarious and gave us that trademark outrageous cackle heard on the familiar Mondo Macabro video intro, so take your pick. On top of that you get the option in the special features to watch an extended cut of the film running over half an hour longer (118 minutes!), using a full frame VCD (with a "Casa Vision" logo occasionally popping up in the lower right corner) to fill in all the extra bits not in the main version so you can easily spot what's been added. The footage is all dialogue, travelogue, and parade scenery for the most part, so don't expect anything outrageous; however, it's great to have as an option and a really fascinating variant for fans of the film. Just don't watch it first if you haven't seen the movie at all before! Also included is a video intro (more like a full interview) with The Forbidden Door filmmaker Joko Anwar (8m47s) about the film's outrageous appeal when it came out and its relevance today. Then the visual essay "Monsters, Movies, and Myth" by Jake Gallo (10m48s) surveys this film's place among crazy titles like Witch with Flying Head, The Bloodstained Painting, and many more, often with amusing lifted music tracks. Also included are the trailer and an archival interview with Djalil (14m50s) about his early days as a short story writer, his move to screenwriting in 1964, his graduation to directing, and his heyday turning out Indonesian horror and action films.

Mondo Macabro Blu-ray

Mondo Macabro DVD

Updated review on May 6, 2026