BLACK MAGIC is a wonderful little horror film from the Shaw Brothers stable that proved they were just as adept at making horror films as they were martial arts flicks. The success and ingredients of this production would later lead on to many other infamous movies like THE BOXER'S OMEN or SEEDING OF A GHOST.
BLACK MAGIC is a densely-plotted yarn involving the nefarious adventures of a black wizard who's happy to cast all manner of spells on his victims...for a price. First to visit him is a sleazy guy (Lo Lieh, excelling in his role) who wants to spend the night with a woman who hates him. Later, the same woman decides she wants to cast a love spell on a guy who hates her in turn. Eventually the guy's friends realise what's going on and employ the services of a white wizard to combat the villain.
This is a film that has it all: sleazy rituals (including an obsession with procuring breast milk), violent death, and hints at the kind of grotesque imagery that would later follow in this series. The atmosphere of sleaze and creeping dread is spot on, as are the production values that make this just as colourful an adventure as the many kung fu flicks made by the team. Ti Lung is fine but gets relatively little screen time as the erstwhile hero; it's the women who really shine here, including the evil Ni Tien and the good-natured Lily Li. The various elements combine well and the outcome is one of the coolest of all '70s horror films.
