Bewitched (1981) Blu-ray Review

Arrow Video

Blu-ray Release: December 9, 2025 (as part of Shawscope: Volume 4)

Video: 1.85:1/1080p/Color 

Audio: Cantonese and Mandarin LPCM 1.0 Mono

Subtitles: English

Run Time: 107:42

Director: Kuei Chih-Hung

An investigation into a child’s murder reveals a black magic conspiracy that becomes more convoluted as the evil wizard perpetrating the curse tries to cover his tracks.

Ho Meng-Huathe’s Black Magic (1974) and Black Magic Part 2 (1976) set a precedent for the Shaw Bros. brand of gross-out horror. The tradition was then carried on by Kuei Chih-Hung, who’d already started the Shaw horror train rolling with The Killer Snakes (1974) and Ghost Eyes (1974). Kuei’s most Black Magic-coded film was Bewitched (1981), released shortly after his outstanding supernatural thriller Hex (1980) and his giallo-esque action slasher Corpse Mania (1981). Bewitched borrows the basic characteristics of the Black Magic films – elaborate black magic rituals, esoteric wizard battles, curses, exorcisms, squirming bugs, gushing bodily fluids – but Kuei’s limitless energy and anarchic creative sense pushes everything Ho established to its absolute limit.

Two years later, in 1983, Kuei and writer On Szeto made The Boxer’s Omen, which was, in many ways, a culmination of the duo’s horror formula. Both films are chaotic, but, while The Boxer’s Omen is utterly disinterested in structure and bypasses logic in the name of visual overload, Bewitched is heavy with characters and plot that it can’t stop obfuscating with extraneous narrative devices (mostly flashbacks). It also refuses to stick to any single genre and this constant flipping between narrative conventions ends up being the special sauce that makes it so irresistible. With the reveal of a sinister twist, a 100% sincere meet-cute quickly tumbles into abject horror, yet, somehow, is also framed by a gritty police procedural – something that the writer and director seem to regularly forget themselves*.

If Hex is the most stylish of Kuei’s curse movies and The Boxer’s Omen is the most outrageous, then Bewitched is surely the grossest. Highlights include a rotten pregnant corpse oozing blood from its nose and the evil sorcerer drinking from a vat of human intestines and unborn fetuses, but the most bafflingly disgusting sequence is one where a character awakens in the hospital, bandaged from head to toe like a mummy. His stomach begins to bloat, causing him to vomit out unbelievable scads of maggots, white bile, and blood. Still in pain, he removes his IV line and stabs himself in the stomach with the needle to release more insects and fluids.

The effects work isn’t particularly sophisticated, especially given the advancements in prosthetic and creature effects seen in 1981 Hollywood horror movies, mainly John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London and Joe Dante’s The Howling, but the ideas behind the effects are creative enough to transcend the budgetary limits. Just like the Italian filmmakers of the era, Shaw’s technicians and artists had developed their own make-up and gore effects techniques. Bewitched best utilizes effects during its intricate wizard battles, especially the airport fight that closes out the film in which the bad guy sort of melts into an elderly witch via balloon bladders, corn starch, and black lights. The sequence works so well that it would be reused in The Boxer’s Omen, implying that film is actually a direct sequel to Bewitched.

If you’d like to hear more about Bewitched, along with other films available as part of Arrow’s Shawscope: Vol. 4, check out the Shaw Bros. Horror episode of the Genre Grinder podcast, which I recorded with Stefan Hammond, the author of Sex & Zen and a Bullet in the Head (with Mike Wilkins; Touchstone, 1996), Hollywood East (Contemporary Books, 2000), and More Sex, Better Zen, Faster Bullets (Headpress, 2020).

* The structure and look of black magic sequences also remind me of the Mondo shockumentaries that were still going strong at worldwide grindhouses in 1981. This is another connection between Shaw’s black magic movies and the Italian cannibal genre, along with the way both series use foreign countries (in this case Thailand) as beautiful tourist destination backdrops where you might end up murdered as part of a blood ritual.

Video

Bewitched didn’t make it to official North American home video and its Hong Kong DVD, via IVL, was R3 and not English-friendly. It made its Blu-ray debut via 88 Films in the UK (technically a BD/DVD combo pack). Again, like the other 88 Films Blu-rays, that one was based on a dated Celestial Pictures HD master. Arrow’s new 1.85:1, 1080p transfer (which shares disc space with Hex) is an upgrade taken from a new 2K remaster. 

Kuei and frequent collaborating cinematographer Yi Hsin-Yeh build upon the foggy, diffused, and vivid look they began developing on Hex, including some Boxer’s Omen-esque prismatic lighting effects. This is a rougher-looking film than either Hex or Boxer’s Omen, which is part of its appeal. The handheld, naturally lit scenes are particularly grainy compared to the vibrant black magic scenes and their searing green gels (the dirtiest shots appear to be stock footage). This contrast between gritty reality and supernatural wackiness is intended, I assume. Overall, the remastered Blu-ray has a better dynamic balance and overall texture than the original Celestial transfer.

Audio

Bewitched is presented with Cantonese and Mandarin dub options, both in uncompressed LPCM 1.0. The sound quality is extremely similar between tracks. The only notable differences are slight variations in dialogue (I think the cast was speaking Cantonese on set, but I’m never very good at guessing these things). The music is the standout, as it often is. Composers Jen-Hou Su and Eddie Wang set the mood with what sounds like traditional Thai prayer songs, diegetic radio pop, and tracks stolen from other movies.

Extras

• Commentary with James Mudge – The critic, industry expert, and filmmaker speaks a mile a minute and jam-packs this expert track with information about Shaw Bros.’ black magic movies, the downfall of their distribution model, Kuei’s filmography, the wider work of the cast & crew, the history of Southeast Asia (especially during the early ‘80s), Bewitched’s moralism and STD metaphors, and the possible real-world basis for the ritual sequences.

The images on this page are taken from the BD and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.