Its greatest strength is in its clever collection of scares, seemingly ceaseless in their shock value.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 10, 2022

Perhaps a familiar setting - the haunted orphanage - but pushed right through the gates of Hell.

| Sep 13, 2021

Director Kimo Stamboel and writer Joko Anwar (he directed 2019's Impetigore and the exceptional remake of Satan's Slaves) tap directly into the part of the brain where nightmares live, and they shower your cerebral cortex with it.

| Sep 9, 2021

If this kind of artful sadism was employed in a deeper and more meaningful story, it could create something genuinely powerful.

| Original Score: 2. 5 / 5 | Jun 26, 2021

Not a movie with much on its mind, and [its] ideas are never explored in great detail, but they at least provide a strong foundation for the thrills to come.

| Jun 6, 2021

Unlike the likes of Evil Dead, there's a pleasing attempt to drive the plot forward, too, the focus on whodunnit - and what they did - shifting as we learn more about the horrors in the orphanage...

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 18, 2021

one of the coolest, craziest Indonesian horror films of the past several years -- and there have been several.

| Apr 17, 2021

Leans on more than a few horror tropes, but never feels like a by-the-numbers haunted house movie.

| Mar 1, 2021

Each characters' tale stands up just enough on its own to make for specific scares, and they all blend together to create the blanketing sense of dread.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 24, 2021

I found the extremely uncomfortable torture and gore fascinating to watch.

| Feb 16, 2021

A perfect horror movie slasher for those who love their gore and violence ramped up to the max, but for others it may turn their stomachs.

| Feb 16, 2021

A solid recommendation for fans of old school Asian black magic horror, winning extra points for really going pedal to the metal as it hurtles towards its nasty conclusion

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 16, 2021

Brimming with brutal, haunting visuals that are further amplified by the rock solid ensemble and scare scenes with character history at the core.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 8, 2021

Even if [Stamboel] doesn't actively seek it, the unpleasantries always show up first, paving the way for diminishing returns...

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 7, 2021

Any semblance of internal plot logic gets thrown out the window as the film simply piles one crisis on top of another, undermining its own atmospherics and momentum.

| Feb 6, 2021

The Queen of Black Magic is a masterclass of mounting dread, with the situation becoming worse and worse for the characters until it builds into a climax that is literally hellish.

| Feb 4, 2021

The new Queen of Black Magic is very much its own thing. An incredibly brutal thing at that-though its many creepy-crawly and splattery flourishes help propel a story that lays the groundwork for some excellent twists and turns.

| Feb 4, 2021

The Queen of Black Magic is a 99-minute nightmare factory with a jet-black soul.

| Feb 2, 2021

Director Kimo Stamboel is clearly most invested at the set-piece level, where he serves up a giddy mixture of raw fear and extravagant bloodletting.

| Original Score: B- | Feb 1, 2021

It's because of the attention the film gives to its characters that makes everything feel as if it actually matters. With The Queen of Black Magic, Shudder adds another layered and frightening film to its impressive arsenal.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 1, 2021