By MICHAEL GINGOLD
It’s the latest documentary from the filmmaker behind LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S “ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU”, BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON and ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE.
Severin Films gave RUE MORGUE the exclusive first look at the trailer and poster for SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC, which has its world premiere at the Sitges Film Festival October 12. Directed by David Gregory, it unveils the true story of a horror celebrity likely unknown to many fans. The company’s PR explains, “She starred in 42 classic movies, was hailed as ‘The Queen of Indonesian Horror’ and crowned ‘Asia’s Most Popular Actress.’ But who was Suzzanna Martha Frederika van Osch, long-beloved by the Asian world as Suzzanna yet virtually unknown outside it? In SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC…discover the enigmatic horror star best known for portraying vengeful spirits from Indonesian folklore, demons whose supernatural retribution are widely believed to have influenced her controversial life and mysterious death. Through exclusive interviews with family, colleagues, filmmakers, and historians, as well as clips from her classic films including SUNDEL BOLONG (1981), NYI BLORONG (1982), MALAM SATU SURO (1988) and more, Gregory unearths the legacy of the Indonesian Scream Queen who has begun to emerge as one of the most compelling feminist icons in cinema history.”
“Suzzanna was a beloved horror actress in Southeast Asia whom I’d only been aware of peripherally,” Gregory says. “But the more research I did into her life and career, the more I realized that she was a superstar unlike any the genre has known before or since. My goal was to go beyond the Indonesian headlines and find the truth behind her massive popularity and mysterious death. Ultimately, this is the story of a Scream Queen who has begun to emerge as one of the most fascinating icons in cinema history.”
