''Black Magic'' is a 1987 Filipino

fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre rose ...

film directed by Mike Relon Makiling. The film stars

Dolphy Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (; July 25, 1928 – July 10, 2012), better known by his stage names Dolphy, Pidol, and Golay, was a Filipino comedian and actor. He is widely regarded as the country's "King of Comedy" for his comedic talent embodied ...

, Zsa Zsa Padilla,

Jestoni Alarcon Anthony Jesus Pineda Alarcon, known professionally as Jestoni Alarcon, is a Filipino actor and politician. He was served as a councilor in Antipolo from 2001 to 2004 and as the vice governor of Rizal Province from 2004 to 2007. In 2013, he won a ...

Rita Avila Rita Ávila is a Filipino actress and author. Ávila is married to director, Erick Reyes, she had a baby who they named Elia Jesú E. Reyes. The baby died three weeks after being born. She also wrote an inspirational booklet called, ''8 Ways to ...

Ian Veneracion Stephen Ian Lopez Veneracion (; born February 7, 1975) is a Filipino athlete, actor, pilot, and singer. He was a former talent of GMA Network and is currently an artist of ABS-CBN and TV5. Personal life and career His father is renowned painte ...

, Michael Locsin, Rose Ann Gonzales Jovit Moya, Jennifer Sevilla, and Jaime Castillo. Produced by

Seiko Films Seiko Films was a Philippine film production company owned and run by Robbie Tan. It is known for its bold film of the late 1990s. Seiko Films was known for its tagline "If it's from Seiko, it must be good" used from 1989 to 1994. History Seik ...

, it was released on November 26, 1987. Critic Luciano E. Soriano of the ''

Manila Standard The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines. , it is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner of tabloid p ...

'' gave the film a mixed review, praising Dolphy's natural comedic skills while criticizing the number of characters as excessive and unnecessary for the story.

Cast

as Demi, a janitor * Zsa Zsa Padilla as Valerie, a teacher *

as Victor Bulaklak *

as Emma *

* Michael Locsin as Albert * Rose Ann Gonzales * Jovit Moya *

Jennifer Sevilla Jennifer Sevilla-Go (born May 14, 1974) is a Filipino actress in movies and television shows. She was a former member of '' That's Entertainment''. Personal life Jeniffer Sevilla was born on May 14, 1974 in Quezon City. She is only child. She st ...

* Jaime Castillo *

Romy Diaz Jose Romeo Bustillos Diaz (November 28, 1940 – May 10, 2005) was a Filipino actor. He performed in films such as ''Ang Maestro'' (1981), ''The Impossible Kid'' (1982), ''Gising Na... Ang Higanteng Natutulog'' (1995) and ''Si Samson at Si Deli ...

as Satanas *

Jimmy Santos Jimmy Santos may refer to: * Jimmy Santos (singer), Afro-Uruguayan vocalist * Jimmy Santos (actor) Jaime Santos (born October 8, 1951), professionally known as Jimmy Santos, is a Filipino actor, comedian, TV host, and former professional basketb ...

as Brian *Johnny Wilson * Don Pepot *Ros Olgado *

Lucita Soriano Lucita Soriano (born Lucita Soriano Adriano; March 22, 1941 – July 8, 2015) was a Filipino actress, who appeared in more than 215 movies and television shows. She was runner-up in the Miss Philippine Press Photography (PPP) 1964 beauty pagea ...

as a prostitute *Joaquin Fajardo *Conde Ubaldo *Fred Moro * Balot *

Mely Tagasa Abimaela Palomo Tagasa (April 16, 1935 – March 24, 2018), better known as Mely Tagasa, was a Filipino actress, screenwriter and dubbing producer. She was widely known for playing Miss Tapia in the sitcoms ''Baltic & Co.'' ( GMA) and ''Iskul B ...

* Larry Silva *Rusty Santos *Vangie Labalan *Flora Gasser *Pong Pong *Rod Francisco *Jay Grama *Julie del Mar *Nesty Ramirez *Arthur Lioron *Emeng Barcelona *Jay-R Balanche

Release

''Black Magic'' was released on November 26, 1987.

Box office

On its opening day, the film grossed ₱1.8 million, behind '' Kapag Puno Na ang Salop'' starring

Fernando Poe Jr. Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., and often referred to by his initials FPJ, was a Filipino actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and politician. His long and s ...

and ahead of ''Walang Karugtong ang Nakaraan'' starring

Sharon Cuneta Sharon Gamboa Cuneta-Pangilinan ( , ; born January 6, 1966) is a Filipino actress, singer, television host, and socialite. Regarded as one of the most successful and highest-earning individuals in the Philippine entertainment industry, she has ...

. However, ''Black Magic'' would later become the highest-grossing film among the three releases.

Critical response

Luciano E. Soriano of the ''

'' gave ''Black Magic'' a mixed review. He praised Dolphy's dependable comedic skills, stating that he plays his character "with the ease of one who has been there for a long time", while criticizing the film's excessive number of characters, as its lead to a script that "meanders here and there to justify the presence of too many characters in the story." He also noted the film's strange inclusion of sexual innuendos in what is supposed to be a film meant for young viewers.

References

External links

* {{Mike Relon Makiling 1987 films 1980s fantasy comedy films Filipino-language films Philippine fantasy comedy films Seiko Films films Films directed by Mike Relon Makiling