During the intro we witness a powerful snake demon possessing a man, whose arms transform into snake heads, particularly handy for attacking his victims. We then cut to an overgrown mountainside where Shao Jeh (Lung Tien-Hsiang) and his fiancée Shu Mei are enjoying a leisurely hike. Shu Mei foolishly wanders off by herself and is attacked and bitten by the possessed man (who from here on I'll refer to as 'Snake Man').
As a result of the poison in her body, Shu Mei begins to transform into a 'snake woman' (complete with scaly skin, fangs and bad make-up), who acts hysterically and locks herself in her room during the day - but at night goes on the hunt for human victims.
With the help of the police, the village priest and a local doctor (Ku Feng), Shu Mei's family try and find a cure for her worsening condition. In parallel, Snake Man is still running amok in the village devouring innocent victims at night.
The film is very reminiscent in style and tone to the low budget Indonesian horrors of the 1980s/early 90s, especially the Snake Queen/Nyi Blorong films starring Suzzanna. Whereas Bewitched Area lacks the formidable presence of someone like Suzzanna, and there is very little tension throughout, fans of this type of cheap fantasy horror should enjoy the crude make-up effects and quick, bloody kills. The effects are laughable (e.g. Shu Mei's joke shop plastic fangs, the Demon is a plastic snake on a wooden table) but those who are accustomed to this level of film-making understand that is part of the charm. I particularly liked the way Snake Man slithered through the grass to catch up with his victims!
Bewitched... is redeemed by an energetic finale involving magic, kung fu and guns and there are a few gory kills (a disembowelling and some gut-munching) throughout the film to keep things moving.
Note: There is a Thai dubbed, English subtitled print out there that is missing the entire death of a young couple killed by Snake Man whilst making out. The version under review here is the Taiwan VHS which has this scene intact.
2.5 out of 5
Review source: Wonderful Video , VHS (Taiwan) (Mandarin language only)
As a result of the poison in her body, Shu Mei begins to transform into a 'snake woman' (complete with scaly skin, fangs and bad make-up), who acts hysterically and locks herself in her room during the day - but at night goes on the hunt for human victims.
With the help of the police, the village priest and a local doctor (Ku Feng), Shu Mei's family try and find a cure for her worsening condition. In parallel, Snake Man is still running amok in the village devouring innocent victims at night.
The film is very reminiscent in style and tone to the low budget Indonesian horrors of the 1980s/early 90s, especially the Snake Queen/Nyi Blorong films starring Suzzanna. Whereas Bewitched Area lacks the formidable presence of someone like Suzzanna, and there is very little tension throughout, fans of this type of cheap fantasy horror should enjoy the crude make-up effects and quick, bloody kills. The effects are laughable (e.g. Shu Mei's joke shop plastic fangs, the Demon is a plastic snake on a wooden table) but those who are accustomed to this level of film-making understand that is part of the charm. I particularly liked the way Snake Man slithered through the grass to catch up with his victims!
Bewitched... is redeemed by an energetic finale involving magic, kung fu and guns and there are a few gory kills (a disembowelling and some gut-munching) throughout the film to keep things moving.
Note: There is a Thai dubbed, English subtitled print out there that is missing the entire death of a young couple killed by Snake Man whilst making out. The version under review here is the Taiwan VHS which has this scene intact.
2.5 out of 5
Review source: Wonderful Video , VHS (Taiwan) (Mandarin language only)
