A year after the release of the film “Black magic” (“Jiang tou”), the former director began to put a sequel. However, this is far from a sequel, although the cast almost completely migrated here from the original along with the musical design, and another terrible tale about witchcraft, created in the realities of the modern world, facing grotesque superstitions and dry rationalism. The frame of the plot is constructed about the same in general terms, showing an insidious sorcerer fulfilling the wishes of customers using Black Magic. On the trail of his atrocities comes four young doctors: three of them are skeptical, and one believes in unexplained forces. Naturally, the confrontation of science and the dark side of the universe is not on equal terms, so the White Magician intervenes in the matter belatedly.
The new history with the old archetypes is somewhat original, but in some places it is obligatory in comparison with the ancestor. The author again confidently works with memorable bright makeup, which helps to limit the obligatory side of the picture with a close demonstration of various rituals and conspiracies of a sorcerer who knows how to create the most terrible things that go against the laws of nature or common sense. It is not for nothing that the tape for the English-speaking public got the title “Revenge of the zombies”, because the current antagonist expanded the scope of influence, getting a mansion in whose basement contains a dozen zombie servants, ready to rise from the stone altars and fulfill any order of the owner. However, one should not imagine a typical American approach to this topic, since a unique Asian specificity in its place, writing out of the living dead ghostly offspring of the ancient culture of the East with spirits and demonic creatures from terrible legends. This special “fairytale” color complicates images that can be repulsive not rested old people and soulless bodies, intending to frenziedly attack the victim or at the behest of charms to gain an attractive appearance, charming the poor man.
According to the unwritten laws of the second series, the film strengthened many nuances, but if the increased eroticism turns out to be a neutral component that does not spoil the genre core, but only complements a certain piquancy, then the general action dynamics turned out to be controversial. The culmination pleases with the scale in the worthy scenery of the enchanted monastery with various magical secrets and rebellious half-creatures, using high-quality zombie makeup with visual effects of witchcraft and its consequences, but the ideological confrontation of positive heroes with the villain slid into almost an action movie, in Asian relishing spanking-blows with characteristic unnatural whipping sounds. Therefore, not only will we have to metaphysically defeat the curses of the Black Magician, who controls the lives and health of people through wax dolls, but also literally slap him in the face. But he also does not miss, also inappropriately forgetting his kink with rituals, starting to play inept kung fu. Why would he fight when he half a movie back could impose an incurable disease on an undesirable person only by getting a drop of his blood – remains a question.
In general, the tape is inferior to the original for a small genre imbalance and mandatory comparative parallels. It brings only pleasure in any case, having a number of memorable colorful scenes, balancing between repulsive shock elements and entertaining finds, causing a positive assessment of the rich fascinating apogee and the general fascinating mystical atmosphere.
6 out of 10
