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.
