Adventuresome film lovers looking for the most warped stuff from around the globe would do well to check out this terminally weird Indonesian horror film. "Leak", a.k.a. "Mystics in Bali", is a real trip, one where you won't believe what you're seeing. It's equal parts cheesy, creepy, silly, and mysterious, and establishes an interesting lore. It's this lore that intrigues an American named Cathy (Ilona Agathe Bastian), who seeks to know more about the powerful magic known as Leak, supposedly more powerful than any other form of magic. Well, she really gets in over her head, as the female Leak cult member whom she meets (Sofia W.D.) is willing to mentor her in all things Leak, but the horrific old crone mainly wants to use Cathy for her own ends. It's up to Cathy's good friend Mahendra (Yos Santo) to help save the day. The special effects in this thing may not always be terribly slick, but it's this very crudeness that makes them so endearing and, sometimes, hysterical. The audience may howl with appreciative laughter seeing the way that the crone manipulates Cathy's body, separating her head from her body on occasion and sending it out on killing missions. There are also a couple of transformations, as Cathy is shown how to become lower animals, such as a pig and a snake. The music, by Gatot Sudarto, is very atmospheric, as is the jungle setting; director H. Tjut Djalil handles everything with a certain degree of panache, ensuring that the stupefied viewer will keep watching. As can be expected, the actors performing the dubbed in voices are hilariously bad, while the people on screen gamely perform this material with the straightest faces imaginable. It's worth sticking with this just to see how this wild story will resolve itself. While it was a big hit in Asia back in its day, it never got a proper release stateside as it was thought North American audiences wouldn't be able to appreciate its weirdness. Of course, now we can watch it on the DVD from Mondo Macabro and soak up its ambiance and flair. Anybody who's a fan of strange cinema is advised not to pass it up. Eight out of 10.
