Black Magic Woman (1991) Poster

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5/10
a fair outing for largely unknown cast and crew
labj200528 June 2007
I agree with most of the above comments, I thought the brief scenes with Bonnie Ebsen were the hottest of the movie, It seemed like the had some chemistry together. I was well paced and the ending did surprise me, I must wonder what became of the director, if she moved on to do other things for the production company? I don't know. I liked that the film seemed to be colorized a bit dark. All in all a fair outing for a largely unknown cast and crew, with Hamill as the exception of course. I think the lead actress was part of Princes band, or back ground singers, that included Vanity, I have not seen either of them in anything since, that I am aware of. Bonnie Ebsen was in an NBC sit com, a few years before this movie.
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4/10
Didn't Measure Up to Its Potential
Uriah436 November 2017
"Diane Abbott" (Amanda Wyss) and "Brad Travis" (Mark Hamill) are an unmarried couple who work together in an art gallery. As it so happens, one night at an art exhibit Brad meets a young woman named "Cassandra Perry" (Appolonia Kotero) who seduces him the next night. Eventually, however, he breaks off his affair with Cassandra and as might be expected this infuriates her. It's then that he learns that Cassandra is a powerful witch who has placed a terrible curse upon him that makes him extremely ill. Having already sought medical help with no results he is then taken by his maid "Carlita" (Abidah Viera) to a practitioner of black magic who subsequent cures him. Unfortunately, he warns Brad that the person who placed the curse upon him is extremely powerful and that he doesn't have the knowledge or experience necessary to help him afterward if that person chooses to continue. And it's then that he discovers that Cassandra is far from finished with him. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was one of those films that had potential but didn't quite have the actors or direction necessary for the task at hand. For starters, although Appolonia was definitely attractive her scenes involving an erotic nature were never fully realized. Likewise, neither Mark Hamill nor Amanda Wyss appeared to fully demonstrate the right emotional ingredient necessary for their characters. At least, that is how it seemed to me. That being said, while I don't consider this to be a terrible film by any means, I thought it could have been much better and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.
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Boy! Does this bring back memories!!
Carycomic3 March 2003
Warning: Spoilers
I first remember seeing this on an HBO free weekend. And, I was delightfully surprised how much I liked it! The ending TOTALLY took me by surprise. *Possible spoiler, here.* Fans of HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES (who only know her from there) will probably barely recognize Amanda Wyss. And, sure; there were obvious similarities to "Fatal Attraction." But, there were also similarities to that Martin Sheen thriller, "the Believers." This had half the budget of either one. As far as I'm concerned, however, it was better than both of them put together!
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1/10
Evil has never been less erotic...
MissSimonetta10 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Black Magic Woman (1991) is a low-budget, sleep-inducing waste of time. For a film that claims to be an erotic thriller, there sure is little sex on display or even anything remotely sexy at all. About the best you'll get are a few shots of Apollolina in the nude and Mark Hamill in tight, revealing underwear.

The "thriller" elements are even more laughable. The story utilizes every tired cliché in an attempt to horrify. It's almost embarrassing how hard it all fails. Even the cheesy Robot Monster film from the 1950s had more genuine chills than this.

The direction, acting, and editing are all sub-par. And the twist ending is just eye-roll worthy. This film is a total waste of time and will only ruin the "Black Magic Woman" song for you forever. Especially with that stupid remix version of it which plays over the credits.
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6/10
Fatal Attraction meets Tales from the Crypt.
DarylJGittings6 April 2024
Black Magic Woman is a thriller in the vein of Fatal Attraction ala Tales from the Crypt. Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Corvette Summer) stars as Brad. Brad runs a successful art gallery with his girlfriend Diane, played by Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Better off Dead).

One evening during an art show, a mysterious woman appears at the gallery and catches Brian's eye. Cassandra, Apollonia (Purple Rain), flirts with Brad a bit and makes Diane jealous. Brad and Diane have a client in New York who's interested in possibly negotiating a deal to buy some art. Diane goes to New York to meet with the client while Brad stays behind and has a steamy encounter with Cassandra.

Cassandra comes into the gallery after Diane returns from her trip, and has a jealous outburst. All of the sudden it seems that someone has put a curse on Brad and people around him are starting to die, making Brd appear to be the main suspect. Could a jealous lover be responsible?
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8/10
Great Story and Well Acted
starbase20-225 March 2000
The film itself and the acting in the film were very good. The whole story idea behind it was very interesting and intriguing. The problem with the film was that the editing was not very good. By the editing not being good it affected the over all look of the film. The acting, directing, writing, and complete film were good. The editing killed the whole thing for me because it was too choppy and made it difficult to follow becase of all the weird splicing everywere. But besides that I'd give this film an 8, 10 being best.
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Warning: This is not a skinflick! More like a lesser Tales from the Crypt episode
Alfabeta21 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
If you're expecting this to be an erotic triller, then the movie poster did it's job - it mislead you.

This is unfortunately a cheap sub-par horror (with slight slasher elements) that looks like a TV film or, at best, a Tale from the Crypt episode.

There are three (laughable) sex scenes in the movie, and all within the first 20 or so minutes. Two of them feature Apollonia, but she is nude as much as Lindsay Lohan in Machete - hardly for a second and even then you can't see anything. The focus of the movie is on Hamill's attempt to stop the deadly spell, not on sex. Lethal Weapon 2 was more softcore than this. Apollonia's casting was a marketing stunt. Even if you just want to see her acting, she's in this for about 15 minutes and most of that time she isn't doing very much.

The plot twist at the end is hinted at throughout the whole film, characters are awful, and acting is good for a few laughs (and this is not a comedy).

All in all, unless you want to see Mark hamming it up, or what a reject screenplay for Tales from the Crypt probably looks like, you can peacefully skip this.
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Fatal attraction gone supernatural
triple817 April 2004
This movie defines the term "camp value". Not much to it, your typical wronged woman wants to wreak havek story. Only in this movie, we get it supernatural style. Great special effects and alot of pure camp-but that does not a good movie make.

It looked like the makers and the cast had a good time with this one. But there really isn't much here to make the movie a really good one. The story is as old as they come, the only difference is it's got the added bonus of the "alex character" possessing powers. It maybe worth checking out for the campiness but there isn't anything else to it to make it good.

The problem is the campiness of the special effects and unoriginality of the story drain you after awhile and there's no added bonueses worth setting this movie apart from a million other movies in the "stalker genre". I'd rate this 4 of 10.Great title though!
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* out of 4.
brandonsites19819 September 2002
Very low budgeted Fatal Attraction rip off given a black magic twist finds Mark "Star Wars" Hamill sharing a one night stand with Apollonia while very happily involved and engaged to Amanda Wyss. After he breaks it off with Apollonia he finds himself falling victim to voodoo curses and snakes and other assorted nonsense. The three talented leads look extremely bored with the material. You will be bored. The so called surprise ending you can see coming from afar. Only for people who want to see Hamill engaged in sex scenes or in his underwear or those who want to see Apollonia nude.

Rated R; Violence, Nudity, and Sexual Situations.
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Fatal Eggs-traction...
azathothpwiggins7 October 2021
Brad (Mark Hamill), a womanizing art gallery director, is cursed with hoodoo after he has an affair with a beautiful woman (Apollonia Kotero). Brad's girlfriend (Amanda Wyss) is both clueless and helpless to save her developmentally-arrested boyfriend.

BLACK MAGIC WOMAN has few real thrills, but is still fun to watch, especially when we see Luke Skywalker being worked on by a hoodoo exorcist! His grimaces as he writhes on the carpet are epic entertainment!

In addition, there are blood-filled eggs and a housekeeper in the fridge! Yes, there's a big, dark twist at the end, but it's too late to stop the laughter...
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Offbeat casting in erotic thriller genre
lor_16 June 2023
My review was written in April 1991 after watching the film on Vidmark video cassette.

An unusual cast makes this a bit different from current erotic thrillers. Basic story is overly predictable, as Mark Hamill cheats on his girlfriend Amanda Wyss when voluptuous Apollonia Kotero visits the art gallery where they work and quickly seduces him. Their whirlwind relationship results in plenty of sack time, but the callous antihero drops her as soon as business at the gallery picks up. Scorned woman Apollonia segues into familiar "Fatal Attraction" territory, even destroying a valuable sculpture during one violent confrontation with Hamill at the gallery.

Pic moves into supernatural horror territory as Hamill becomes victimized by black magic and voodoo rites. All the evidence points against Apollonia, but the police keep an open mind.

Careful viewer may guess who the real baddie is, but the final revelation still packs a wallop.

Use of Santana's hit title song helps the film's atmospherics and punches up the sex scenes. Fans accustomed to uninhibited nude performances by Shannon Tweedand Tanya Roberts may be slightly disappointed, as Appolonia avoids nudity to emphasize the tease. Her scenes are steamy, however, and won't need editing for the tv broadcast version.
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