You may be asking yourself right now, “who the hell is H. Tjut Djalil?” If you aren’t and actually know who this gentleman is, you are a cool person. And if you are indeed posing that question, then let me respond by telling you that H. Tjut Djalil is responsible for some of the most balls-out, batshit crazy movies to ever come out of Indonesia (and if you watch a lot of ‘70s and ‘80s Indonesian movies, you know that is no minor feat). His most well-known endeavors are most likely Mystics In Bali, the heartwarming tale of a woman who is turned into a flying head with organs hanging out of its neck by a crazy old witch, and Lady Terminator, a tale of the spirit of an ancient queen who possesses a sexy young woman and proceeds to go on a murder and fuck rampage with an AK-47. As you can imagine, these films are bonafide classics, and I really had no choice but to delve further into Djalil’s catalog. Needless to say, my efforts proved to be fruitful indeed.
Satan’s Bed (1986)
a.k.a. Batas Impian Ranjang Setan
A demonic man with long knives for fingers torments a girl in her dreams. Sound familiar? Yea, this is a blatant rip-off of Nightmare on Elm Street. Wasting no time, Djalil churned out this delightful flick a scant two years after the Wes Craven original, beating the Indian Nightmare rip-off Mahakaal to the market by nearly a decade. While it has some stretches of exposition that get a little dull, I still had fun with this one. Bust out the fog machine, put on your P.J.s, and plot down in front of the telly to let the sweet, sweet copyright infringement wash over you.
The White Alligator (1988)
a.k.a. Ratu buaya putih
The White Alligator begins loony right out of the gate with a loud water birthing sequence, the result of which are twins in the loosest sense of the word, one a bouncing baby girl and one a slithering crocodile that swims off immediately after popping out of the mother. The parents are then killed by some bandits who steal a mysterious jewel the mother was wearing. Flash forward several years later. The crocodile that was born has grown into a crocodile queen who sends crocodiles to get revenge for the murder of her parents. The other twin has been raised by the bandits (who apparently employ dumbasses) and is unaware of her reptilian lineage. A lot of weirdness happens, especially in the final third, mostly involving crocodiles. Plus we get a rousing game of hacky sack with a crocodile egg that explodes into maggoty pus. I guess what I’m trying to say is, this is dope.
Dangerous Seductress (1995)
Despite coming out in 1995, this sequel to Lady Terminator is one of the most ‘80s things I’ve ever seen. Shoulder pads everywhere. The music. The dancing. The neon. It’s all there. Anyway the spirit of the queen from the first film is back possessing another woman, fucking and killing her way around town. The effects are delightful, if a little too sparsely used. It also seems to have more sex but less action and death than Lady Terminator, perhaps as a response to the early ‘90s erotic thriller boom? Anyway, as a result, it does kind of drag a little in places. Still, I had a lot of fun with it, especially in the final third of the movie.