Leák

Finally tracked down a copy of this gruesome horror story about a young woman who wants to learn the black arts of Bali. She does and becomes a vampire in the process.

To be honest this isn't a very good film. Its okay, and were it not for the vampire, this film would be long forgotten. The first 40 or so minutes are mostly endless talk as the woman finds a teacher and then learns the magic. When the master sends her out in her vampire form to get the blood of newborns for her, all hell breaks loose. These sequences are the reason the movie exists, the very non-western vision of a vampire on the prowl. They are creepy. There is something disturbing about the sequences even when you can see how they were done (which is very obvious).

After this the film plods along for another 50 minutes as teacher uses her pupil for vile ends while her boyfriend and his family try to free her from the evil.

That sounds more interesting then it is. Its rather dull with only the magic/vampire scenes being of any real interest. Frankly while they are low or no budget, they are effective and make this film worth renting for those who love horror films. Just don't expect to be feeling scared or singing the praises of anything other than the beasties.

6.5 out of 10

This is the story about a woman doing research on black magic. After having learned everything about Voodoo, she travels to Indonesia to meat and great "Leak", a monster-ghost.

Nearly everything is horrible in this movie, from the special-effects, over the acting to the story. On the other side it's so bad that it becomes funny. Everybody in the movie-theater was laughing tears (what you can not say of most of the newer Eddie Murphy Films). So if you have the chance to see this Indonesian horror movie do it ! In Europe this film was shown under the title of "Mystics in Bali".

There are many strange horror-fantasy- films from countries like Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia and even Nigeria and Ghana to discover if you are open minded enough

'Mystics in Bali' - sometimes known as 'Leák' - this Indonesian horror film focuses on an American woman whose research into black magic leads her Bali where she gets more than she bargained for upon befriending a local witch. With her constant cackling, unusually long fingernails and snake-like tongue, the local witch makes for a genuinely creepy character and all her scenes are divine. The low budget special effects also work more often than not, with gooey transformation effects, lots to like in the sheer bizarreness of a floating human head with entrails attached and a highly unsettling bit in which the said head confronts a pregnant woman. Whether the film has much to offer beyond its sheer weirdness is debatable. The protagonist's romance with a local Bali man lacks sparks and comes off as under-developed (does she really love him or is she just using him since he can help her with her research?). The acting is hardly top notch here either. There is, however, enough zany and offbeat imagery on hand that the film engages the whole way through. Quite a few aspects of the plot resonate too, especially how quickly she becomes a victim of the very black magic that she is trying to disprove and how her sheer skepticism makes her all the more vulnerable. The film almost in fact works as a cautionary tale regarding the risks of dabbling in things that one does not properly understand.

An American woman named Cathy asks her Indonesian boyfriend Hendra to help her investigate Balinese black magic known as 'Leyak'.Leyak is the most powerful black magic there is and she soon begins to pay a terrible cost when she turns into a flying head that feasts on unborn babies.I have seen my share of crazy Indonesian horror cinema and "Mystics in Bali" is perhaps the most known of 'em all.It is based on Indonesian mythology and for a supernatural culture largely undiscovered by Western movie fans.The special effects are incredibly cheesy and inept,the dubbed dialogue is absolutely hilarious,still there's a flying head which has the body's internal organs trailing behind,along with a little foetus eating and an evil sorcerer for all of you fans of Indonesian trash.The main actress Llona Agathe Bastian is incredibly wooden-in fact she was never an actress at all,but a German tourist spotted in Bali by one of the producers.Give this amusing trash a look.7 out of 10.

American author Catherine travels to Bali to learn the art of "Leák" – some kind of black magic. Her native boyfriend Mahendra introduces her to a shady Leák mistress. The witch teaches Catherine strange rituals including (but not limited to) maniacal laughter, erratic dancing and pig transformations. Pretty awesome, isn't it? Well, unfortunately the witch turns out to be evil. She takes control over Catherine's head at night and forces her to gather blood. Mahendra tries to cut the bond between Catherine and the witch, but that's easier said than done.

"Leák" (better known as "Mystics in Bali") is an Indonesian horror movie about the mythological figure Leyak: a flying head floating trough the night and sucking the blood of newborn babies, with the entrails of its former body still hanging from it. For Indonesians, this legend might be familiar, but for us westerners it's decidedly weird, especially because the director H. Tjut Djalil doesn't feel the need to explain what's happening on screen. But regardless of our cultural background, I think we can all agree that this movie wonderfully crazy trip which will conjure a smile on the face of every trash fan out there.

The plot is strange from beginning to end, and there's no point in me listing all the lunatic scenes - you have to experience them first-hand. What makes "Leák" so funny is the fact that neither Catherine nor Mehandra seem to be bothered by the outrageous events. They're like: "Let's meet with this disfigured witch and learn black magic! You can't go wrong with that, can you? Oh, could it be that Catherine killed someone?! Ah well, whatever. Let's kiss and be all lovey-dovey!" Those two might be the most carefree couple in film history.

Amidst all the chaos there are some quite effective scenes. The cheap special effects are disturbing at times. But "Leák" seldom is truly scary. The story is told roughly. The ending is an overhasty jumble: Things seem to happen at random, and then the movie ends abruptly.

All in all, "Leák" is an interesting yet clumsy introduction to Indonesian mythology. The shocks are few and far between, but the movie amuses with obscure ideas and visuals.