REVIEW: Suzzanna empress of darkness boxed set

Southeast Asia is the only region of the world where you don’t get to be skeptical about ghosts. They’re real, and usually they’re chill. But when they’re not chill they’re terrifying.

Suzzanna is the undisputed empress of Indonesian darkness. Tons of movies under her belt, playing the protagonist and the perpetrator. And nothing gets by those eyes.

Severin films has put out a new boxed set dedicated to one of the understated in horror history. Suzzanna is virtually unknown here in the States and that’s insane. Watching through the 5 films and a documentary in this set, it’s clear that she’s got range and she’s got passion. And this box will help you get to know her and hopefully get excited about her legacy!

First off we’ve got the documentary. This is a film directed by Severin’s own David Gregory that interviews people involved with Suzzanna both in life and in career. It does an amazing job of detailing her origins with her first husband, and the challenges she faced that sort of brought her into the fold of horror films. The movie does spend a lot of time on her personal life which is cool given the cultural emphasis on family; and ultimately talks about her death and the aftermath. Through this all, you get a sense for what horror films do for Indonesia, and a glimpse into the Indonesian film industry in general. It’s a great documentary with a fascinating subject that ultimately hits a much larger scope than what it set out to do. Of note, I think this documentary was also included on the All Haunts be Ours second boxed set, and I think that’s ok; it’s a good documentary.

To make up for the repeat doc, we’ve got a bonus film on the same disc! Subtitled for the first time with a fat disclaimer about the questionable quality of the digital version the team got, we’ve got Ghost Ambulance! This was a 2008 haunted house film where Suzzanna’s grandson has to deal with a ghost that’s picking off his friends. It’s really cool that the team got Suzzanna’s last film, and with it I think you can see both the international influence on Indonesian horror, and how the scene has changed throughout the decades. It’s a great addition.

The next disc I watched consisted of Pact with the Forces of Darkness and White Crocodile Queen. White Crocodile Queen is a bizarre romp through fantasy lands that explores the consequences of fate. There’s a wild musical interlude 2/3rds of the way through that’s surreal and weird as hell; I loved it. The cast is pretty broad, with basically 4 concurrent plotlines happening at once. To round it out, we’ve got big old paper machet props, and Suzzanna in two roles: a woman and her sister who’s literally a white crocodile or something? This one is an absolute blast of a film. Pact with the Forces of Darkness is a ghost story where a woman gets murdered and basically comes back to murder the killers and their family. It’s like The Crow with some extra murder on top, and a scene where she gets split in two and dances left for the top half, and right for the bottom half. To round it off, this one directly steals the knife glove from Nightmare on Elm Street which is fun for us cosmopolitan horror fans.

The final disc consists of a duology of films in which Suzzanna plays a Sundelbolong. In these films a Sundelbolong is basically a spirit where a pregnant mother is murdered and the baby spirit thing is birthed through her back. There’s plenty of gore in these films with maggots and all sorts of cool effects. The makeup is over the top (I’m staring at the back cover on this one and it compares the makeup to kabuki makeup. I was thinking more 80’s American Goth makeup but alright) and the sequel provides more ghosts, violence and carnage.

This boxed set was a blast. It’s always awesome to experience art from a region of the world you’re unfamiliar with and Indonesia is definitely more foreign for me. Having films spanning the 80’s all the way to her final role was a great way to learn about the actress, and the history of Indonesian horror. I think having perhaps her most famous film- The Queen of Black Magic (1981)- would have been an ideal inclusion as well, but I think Mondo Macabro has the rights on that one. If you like 70’s horror, are interested in eastern cinema, or just want something others haven’t seen, this box is for you.

Fun: 3

Weird: 5

Interesting: 4

Purchase Severin’s boxed homage to a horror icon here!