TRAILER: Cinema Release: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Film: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

NEWS: Cinema Release: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Suffering from acute kidney failure, Uncle Boonmee has chosen to spend his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the countryside. Surprisingly, the ghost of his deceased wife appears to care for him, and his long lost son returns home in a non‐human form.

Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave – the birthplace of his first life.

Film: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Release date: 19th November 2010
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 113 mins
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Starring: Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee, Natthakarn Aphaiwonk, Geerasak Kulhong
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy
Studio: New Wave
Format: Cinema
Country: Thailand/UK/France/Germany/Spain

REVIEW: DVD Release: Pirates Of Langkasuka

Film: Pirates Of Langkasuka
Release date: 8th November 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 114 mins
Director: Nonzee Nimibutr
Starring: Dan Chupong, Ananda Everingham, Jakrit Panichpatikam, Jesdaporn Pholdee, Anna Ris
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/History
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Thailand

Originally released in 2008, Puen Yai Jom Salad has been translated into a variety of titles for the international market - from The Legend Of The Tsunami Warrior to the Queens Of Langkasuka, and coming to UK screens as Pirates Of Langkasuka. That each of these alternate titles focuses on a different aspect of the movie hints at just how much Thai director Nonzee Nimibutr has going on within his big budget blockbuster.

In the year 1600 A.D., Queen Hijau of Langkasuka faces coordinated assassination attempts from the villainous Prince Rawai and the pirates’ ringleader Black Raven. Forced to forge reluctant alliances with the Chinese and the Dutch, the queen also marries off one of her younger sisters, Princess Ungu, to the Malay Prince of Pahang.

The Dutch send a powerful cannon to assist the queen, but the ship is hijacked by the pirates, and in the ensuing struggle, the ship is blown up. The cannon sinks into the abyss of the ocean, thereafter made unreachable by the impenetrable depths and a guard of jellyfish.

Recovering the cannon becomes a source of mounting obsession for both sides, as does tracking down Lim Kium, the canon-maker’s apprentice, who is rumoured to have survived the disaster.

Against this background, Prince Rawai recruits Black Ray, the hermit with powers of black magic able to rescue the cannon; and Queen Hijau solicits the help from two men: martial arts master Jarang, and Pari, who is the hermit’s prodigy student, as well as an orphan with a personal vendetta against Black Raven.

As a huge armada of pirate ships, bolstered by recruits from Japan and Java, bears down on Langkasuka, the scene is set for a climactic battle destined to go down in legend…


Given its UK title, expectations are immediately set low in anticipation of an Asian answer to Pirates Of The Caribbean with added martial arts. Depressing enough that Hollywood is set for a fourth instalment of a franchise originally based on a theme park ride without Asia getting in on the action, the most you might be expecting from this Thai movie is at least the eternally pointless Orlando Bloom won’t be making an appearance. It comes as a pleasant surprise, then, that Pirates Of Langkasuka often proves a highly entertaining and inventive movie, even if it does falter on occasions under the weight of its own ambition.

In every sense of the word, this is a blockbuster. In Nonzee Nimibutr, it has a director who has shaped the landscape of modern Thai cinema in the late-90s; screenwriter Win Lyovari, one of Thailand’s most renowned novelists; and an all-star cast that includes a return to the big screen of Jarunee Suksawat after a decade’s absence, as well as stars from Ong-Bak and Shutter. In addition, every penny of its gargantuan budget appears on screen in lavish costumes, ornate set decoration and grandiose visual effects.

Some of it may have been based on actual historical events, but if you’re after an accurate recreation of life in 17th century Malay, Pirates Of Langkasuka isn’t that film. After an opening ten minutes in which a man soars through the sky in a self-made flying machine and a group of assassins demonstrate a Matrix-like ability to defy the laws of physics, it becomes clear this is very much from the 300 school of historical accuracy. Far less cynical than the revisionism of a Pearl Harbour, or much of the propagandistic historical films currently coming out of China, it’s an unashamedly fantastical movie. That being the case, it’s okay if Dan Chupong leaps in the air and flies around a bit during fight scenes which mix swordsmanship with Muay Thai to thrilling effect, just as it’s no big deal that you’re unlikely to find any mention of ninja pirates in the history books.

Pirates Of Langkasuka was originally intended as a two-part tale, but commercial considerations forced Nimibutr to condense it into one 114-minute movie. This does show. The film is overloaded with two many subplots, often overcrowding the film and the viewer’s memory of people and events. As a result, scenes such as Pari returning to his village to find the entire population, including his new wife, brutally massacred, are dealt with too briefly to hold the impact they should.

The condensed plot also takes a toll on the performances, as each of the all-star cast receives too short of a screen time to develop their characters, or fully demonstrate their talents. They come with some big reputations but there’s little on screen here to justify it. The much-heralded return of Jarunee Suksawat is a disappointment, as the veteran actress coasts through the film, and the performances of Winai Kraibutr (Nang Nak) and Dan Chupong (Ong-Bak, Dynamite Warrior) are equally underwhelming. Ananda Everingham, in particular, a huge star in Thailand, with a reputation as a fine versatile actor, often appears as little more than eye-candy for the girls, complete with a scene where he emerges Daniel Craig-like from the sea clad only in a skimpy loincloth. The only truly memorable performance comes from Jakkrit Phanichphatikram as the cannon-maker’s apprentice, Lium Kiam.

All these shortcomings are more or less forgotten, though, come the film’s literally explosive climax, a spectacular clash between the pirates and some impressively large cannons. Nimibutr, aware there’s only so much mileage to be had from the spectacle of a cannon repeatedly shelling ships, throws into the mix dive-bombing hang-gliders, Du Lum sorcerers and one very angry CGI whale. And if you’ve been waiting all your life for the chance to watch a man battle an armada of pirate ships while riding a giant manta-ray, Pirates Of Langkasuka just might be your DVD release of the year.


Fans of Asian cinema, enticed by the impressive credentials on show, may find that Pirates Of Langkasuka promises more than it actually delivers. For everyone else, Nimibutr’s movie is a mildly diverting and enjoyable enough piece of popcorn fodder. GJK

REVIEW: DVD Release: Ong Bak Trilogy

Film: Ong Bak Trilogy
Release date: 11th October 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 312 mins
Director: Prachya Pinkaew, Tony Jaa, Panom Yeerum & Panna Rittikrai
Starring: Tony Jaa, Supakorn Kitsuwon, Dan Chupong, Sarunyu Wongkrachang, Petchtai Wongkamlao
Genre: Action/Adventure/Crime/Fantasy/Martial Arts/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: Thailand

Not since 1991 and Jet Li’s Once Upon A Time In China has a martial artist broke through with the sort of critical and public appreciation that Panom Yeerum enjoyed with his debut Ong-Bak. Although now known as Tony Jaa, to better associate himself with international audiences, the Muay Thai and Tae Kwon Do specialist went on to produce two more Ong Bak features. No-nonsense, action films that attempted to make his name synonymous with the likes of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan - the influential kung fu stars he grew up admiring.


Ong-Bak (2003)
As Ting (Tony Jaa) proves himself as the best athlete and martial artist in the reclusive village of Ban Nong Pradu, Thailand, a gang from Bangkok arrive wishing to purchase the sacred Buddha icon (named Ong-Bak) that the village has possession of. When the villagers refuse, claiming the statue is worth more to them than any monetary value, the gang steal the artefact in the dead of night, leaving Ting as the best possible means of reclaiming it.

Sent into the country’s capital, Ting finds himself awed by the concrete jungle and the attitude of the cities inhabitants, in particular that of his cousin Humlae. Humlae, once belonging to the village has dyed his hair blonde and, with his female friend Muay Lek, has fallen in with a bad crowd of drug dealers, street gangs and illegal betting dens.

Upon discovering that the Ong-Bak statue is now in possession of a crime lord, Ting and his two new friends must enter the dangerous realm of the kingpin’s underground fighting den to earn the chance to win back the village’s prize possession…

An unabashed action fest, director Prachya Pinkaew shoots a grim, sepia-toned tale that while not necessarily unique in the plot - designed to set up the action, and aimed specifically to impress the viewer with the style and prowess of Jaa’s Muay Thai skills. The direction is impressive and belies the relative cinematic inexperience of Pinkaew as he smoothly cuts the high-octane carnage together. Doing so in an immensely slick manner, without over loading the viewer with strobe-like interchanges of camera angles, Pinkaew always manages to keep choreographic perspective, meaning the audience can follow and enjoy the martial arts sequences, which is paramount in a film of this genre.

However, the competent direction and actually engaging storyline aside, it would be naïve not to think of this an immense juggernaut of a vehicle for Jaa’s ability, who co-choreographed the action. Tony Jaa undertakes all the stunt work himself throughout the film, as all self-respecting martial artists do, but what sets Ong-Bak apart from its contemporaries is the wireless ‘high wire’ acts. That is to say Tony Jaa pulls off some remarkable moments, from flying knees to the face to running across the shoulders of countless henchmen, without any assistance - putting his body on the line with every stunt.

It is this raw unadulterated feeling of danger and authenticity that makes Ong-Bak such an entertaining rollercoaster ride. Not simply this, but with other prominent martial artists like Jet Li and Jackie Chan having migrated to Hollywood, Jaa gives this genre’s enthusiasts a new hero to champion.


Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (2008)
Initially suspected as being a sequel, it was announced Ong Bak 2 was not simply a prequel to Ong-Bak, but to be set five centuries previous. Set as an historical epic with an injection of fantasy, Tony Jaa plays Tien, the energetic and enthusiastic son of a noble lord and warrior.

Despite desperately wishing to emulate his father, he finds his natural unyielding spirit curbed - instead of being taught martial arts, he is unwillingly forced to learn dance. However, his life is thrown into ruins as a treacherous warlord, who is seeking to enthral all of Asia under his tyrannical rule, sends assassins to massacre his rivals.

Escaping the bloodshed with a desire for revenge burning deep in his heart, Tien, while searching for his persecutors, is captured by slave traders. After punishment from his captors, which includes an encounter with an oversized crocodile, Tien is rescued by a group of outlaws who promise to train him in the ways of various martial arts from across the Asian continent so that he may exact his revenge on the despotic lord…

Unlike with the initial instalment, the story reneges on its gritty realism for a showy troupe into the annals of Thai history. Tony Jaa, not content with being the film’s acting protagonist takes the helm behind the camera, and perhaps this can be attributed to some of the misgivings the viewer may have while watching this peculiar numerical sequel and historical prequel.

For all his capabilities as a martial artist, his qualities as an actor are still questionable, and it seems as if the director is aware of this fact. The dialogue in Ong Bak 2 is notably absent, and, as a result, it makes it a difficult task to further the plot, but, more importantly, difficult to associate with what little development Tien goes through. It is also worth noting that any ‘development’ is undertaken by the actor playing Tien’s younger self, as opposed to Mr. Jaa himself. With such limited dedication to character, it makes the revenge saga seem unfortunately contrived, leaving the viewer mentally tuning out, simply awaiting the next action sequence.

Accompanying Tony Jaa in the co-directors chair is the co-choreographer from the first Ong-Bak film, so it is unsurprising that a film with such little verbal communication finds its efforts focused on some impressive martial arts sequences. As always, Tony Jaa is exceptional in his leading role as a glorified stunt actor, and the addition of more varied fighting styles and weaponry from across Asia creates more diversity and, in places, more excitement than its predecessor.

While Ong Bak 2 is a technically superb in its fighting creativity, undoubtedly from the co-directors’ dedication to their martially artistic passion, it suffers from a severe lack of attention and disregard to something as integral as character development. Ong Bak 2, unfortunately, proves to be less of a film than its forerunner, and more of an exercise in ‘showing off’ Tony Jaa’s undeniable talent.


Ong Bak 3 (2010)
Following immediately from the conclusion of the previous instalment, Ong Bak 3 starts with a captured Tien being tortured and beaten by his captives. The imprisonment is brutal as he is struck repeatedly with kendo sticks and choked with bamboo, on top of a plethora of human physical abuse.

To prevent any further attempts at escape, the bones in his arms and legs are broken, and he is prepared for execution by Lord Rajasena, the man responsible for his family’s death. However, Rajasena is experiencing his own problems, and disposing of Tien is proving to be the least of his worries. It transpires a curse has been placed upon the king, and he must call upon the dark powers of the shaman Crow Ghost to aid him.

However, the Crow Ghost himself has his own motives for abetting the king, while Tien, in his continuing goal to seek revenge for the death of his father, finds his fate increasingly linked to the carved sculpture of an Ong-Bak head…

The issues from which the second film suffered are only exacerbated in the concluding instalment. While it would be amusing to entertain the prospect that individuals watched Tony Jaa films for award-winning scriptwriting, the increasingly disconnected nature of the story, and undeniable lack of cohesion and conclusion in the plot’s progression is alarming. The introduction of irrelevant characters and some questionable plot devices, which are highly ill designed, can only be endemic of the increasingly isolated control of the film’s production, directing and writing Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai are enjoying.

What proves to be the film’s downfall is that which you normally expect to be the saving grace of a Tony Jaa film: the action is bizarrely lacking. Jaa himself doesn’t feature in any combative form until deep into the film, leaving the action burden to be entirely shouldered by an amicable Dan Chupong, who does well to cover in Jaa’s absence - but his is not the name that headlines the poster.

Tony Jaa was reported as having severe mental and financial issues during and after the filming of Ong Bak 2, and the problems seem to have affected him in quite a noticeable way. His usual trademark death-defying, highflying sequences are disappointingly absent, and it wouldn’t be overly critical to state that there isn’t a single jaw-dropping exchange in the entire film. The choreography in the wider scheme of things isn’t terrible, but in the context of it being a Tony Jaa film, it comes across as being simple, repetitive and lamentably mediocre.

Ong Bak 3 just about concludes this two-part saga in a way that is befitting with the overall vibe of Tony Jaa’s work, even if there is a slight disturbing feeling that this was created to recoup previous costs, more than create a climax.

Given Tony Jaa has recently joined a Buddhist Temple to live the life of monkhood, this film may be the last, for a while, in which you’ll be able to view his martial artistry – unfortunately, it doesn’t leave viewers eager for a possible return to filmmaking.


The Ong Bak Trilogy is less a collection of winding plot twists and intense character relations and more of a rollicking compilation of Muay Thai, weaponry and moments of wireless breathtaking. While the quality of the cinematic work decreases the further into the trilogy we venture, there are still plenty of thrills, spills, bone-crunching and blood-spilling to intrigue the most ardent martial artist aficionado. When Jaa fails it only infuriates because he is so talented. BL

REVIEW: DVD Release: Ong Bak 3

Film: Ong Bak 3
Release date: 11th October 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: TBC mins
Director: Tony Jaa & Panna Rittikrai
Starring: Tony Jaa, Supakorn Kitsuwon, Dan Chupong, Sarunyu Wongkrachang, Petchtai Wongkamlao
Genre: Action/Martial Arts
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Thailand

Tony Jaa returns in the eagerly anticipated follow up to Ong Bak 2. Jaa’s confused prequel to the original Ong Bak divided audiences and nearly ruined his career; does this threequel redeem both Jaa and the Ong Bak saga? Or is it another missed opportunity.

After his arduous journey to avenge the death of his father, Tien is captured by Lord Rajasena and sentenced to death. Undergoing a series of horrific tortures, Tien is broken and crippled until his death seems inevitable. However, Tien is rescued by Master Bua and begins a long physical and spiritual recovery.

Meanwhile, Lord Rajasena is slowly going mad from a curse placed on him after he seized power of the province. He seeks refuge from the Crow Ghost, who promptly refuses, kills the evil lord and usurps his throne.

Holding a personal grudge against Tien, the Crow Ghost eagerly await’s the warrior’s recovery so they can do battle for the final time…


In 2003, Ong Bak exploded onto the martial arts scene with all the severity of an elbow to the face. Arriving in a time when wire-fu was the chosen method for dust ups in mainstream action cinema, it heralded a return to the brutal realism that made eastern fight films so popular in the first place. A paean to the old school, Ong Bak also introduced us to the wonderful Tony Jaa, who, in his own unassuming way, assured himself a place in the martial arts pantheon.

A sequel followed in 2008, with Jaa in the director’s chair. Although Onk Bak 2 suffered from a turbulent production that nearly ended Jaa’s career, it remains a solid follow up despite its many flaws - and is by no means the disaster many paint it to be.

Jaa returns in Ong Bak 3 to conclude the story of Tien, who, for all intents and purposes, is a spiritual ancestor of Ong Bak’s Ting. So, is this threequel as messy and self indulgent as its predecessor? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding yes. Ong Bak 3 marks itself as the weakest in the trilogy, due to its confused story and horribly uneven pacing.

The second film in the series, while not as bone crunchingly brutal as the first, still boasted some bravura fight sequences to distract from all the muddy period detail and karmic plot contrivances. The big mistake with Ong Bak 3 is that it dials down the fighting even further, to make room for Tien’s redemptive character arc.

Starting the film as a tortured captive, Tien is then rescued and spends the next hour recovering from his ordeal. Along the way he has numerous spiritual crises, contemplates suicide, grows a number of fetching beards, and generally falls over a lot. The recovery arc is all well and good for a martial arts epic, especially one whose characters the viewer is already heavily invested in, but when it’s as long and drawn out as this, there is danger of alienating the core audience.

Thank god then for Dan Chupong’s energetic performance as Crow Ghost. A minor adversary for Tien in Ong Bak 2, Crow Ghost graduates to fully fledged villain in the threequel. It’s his supernatural displays of fighting prowess that manage to keep the films latter half from bottoming out - many will find it tempting to fast forward past all the beardy soul searching and get to the next Crow fight. Yet even Chupong’s performance suffers from a lack of narrative clarity. Why does Crow Ghost go from creepy cave dweller to power hungry tyrant in the blink of an eye? Why does he have such a vicious vendetta against Tien? When he assumes power of the throne, why does he take off that fetching black cloak? All of these questions and more are left unanswered; it’s almost as if Jaa and Rittikrai didn’t feel the need to explain themselves, deciding instead to just bombard us with a series of random events.

It seems tradition in Tony Jaa films now for the film’s final act to be one giant primal scream from the pint sized fighter - it’s just unfortunate that the climactic brawl at the end of Ong Bak 3 is tarnished somewhat by the previous eighty minutes. A clever stylistic twist means that we get two endings for the price of one but even that can’t seem to sate after such an arduous build up. Ong Bak 3 is ultimately a well executed failure - perhaps Jaa should stick to being in front of the camera for future projects.


Tony Jaa presents us with another lovingly crafted misfire, replete with Buddhist mysticism and themes of redemption, but sadly not much else. There are fights, and they are impressive, but nothing here compares with the magisterial action present in the first film. Ong Bak 3 isn’t really a bad film, it’s just a bad martial arts film. KT

REVIEW: DVD Release: Bang Rajan

Film: Bang Rajan
Release date: 28th February 2005
Certificate: 15
Running time: 114 mins
Director: Tanit Jitnukul
Starring: Jaran Ngamdee, Winai Kraibutr, Theerayut Pratyabamrung, Bin Bunluerit, Bongkoj Khongmalai
Genre: Action/Drama/History/War
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Thailand

Historical epics could be considered the respectable face of action movies. The deeper the roots in historical events, the less they can be dismissed as just another excuse for bloody fight scenes. Bang Rajan boasts a budget four times that of the average Thai film, but when that figure still compares unfavourably to Hollywood’s more modest output, it begs the question: can this little epic mirror its David and Goliath subject matter?

In 18th century Siam, the mighty Burmese army marches on the country’s capital of Ayutthaya. Only the small village of Bang Rajan stands between them and complete military victory, and yet the indomitable villagers of this small hamlet defy the odds by rising up to stop the invaders in their tracks.

Aided by the forces of a mysterious moustachioed veteran, the town drunk and his enlisted water buffalo, the locals make a valiant final stand for their country in this historically-based war epic…


Tribal warriors running around speaking in a foreign-language and participating in gritty fight sequences are a staple of the Hollywood epic diet. The Last Of The Mohicans and Apocalypto are two notable standards of this particular sub-genre – but these are films represented by Western stars, either in-front or behind the camera, telling the story of someone else’s ancestors. Bang Rajan’s greatest appeal is in the authenticity of its mission statement. Sure, the writing and acting compete furiously to be the weakest element, but, rather than undermining the film, they stand as a testament to the genuine grass-roots level of the production. This is a film from a country with less than prolific cinematic output attempting to tell a story so grand that by rights they have no place taking on - just like the film’s heroes, they seem unable to recognise a losing battle when they see it.

To its credit, the action is impressively proficient, and the bloody battles are spectacularly visceral in their execution. Even when the numbers begin to swell, the direction remains sharp and controlled, and there is some ingenious camerawork, in what could easily have descended into just another jungle brawl. While violent, there is also an element of humour injected into the proceedings, and not only in unintentional doses of overacting from some of the supporting roles. When the hero, Nai Chan Nuad Kheo, and his fantastic facial hair make an appearance, the film really hits a peak, and it’s so endearing given the film’s unassuming development.

That said, Bang Rajan struggles to find a clear balance between its lofty historical aspirations and the lowest common-denominator combination of aggression and comedy. The plot never rises above the obvious and the film treads a confused ground between being too standard in its production for the art house audience, yet with too many idiosyncrasies to appeal on popular release – no doubt the success of Eastern epics such as Hero, alongside those aforementioned blockbusters, has allowed this one to sneak through into the UK marketplace.

The underdog, rag-tag band of peasant warriors is a story well-trodden both in the East and the West, and having been served in every flavour from 300 to Seven Samurai (then re-served as The Magnificent Seven), it’s quite refreshing to see the story being retold not so much from a new approach but rather from an old one, re-imagined through fresh-eyes too inexperienced to feel the need to include any twist or irony to the proceedings. The result is naively sincere, and all the more enjoyable for it.


Be aware, there is nothing new to see here. But if you’re open to watching a film that seems to discover every classic cliché as if for the first time, the experience is gleefully rewarding. JB

SPECIAL FEATURE: DVD Review: Re-cycle

Film: Re-cycle
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang
Starring: Angelica Lee, Cheang Pou-soi, Ekin Cheng, Lawrence Chou, Viraiwon Jauwseng
Genre: Fantasy/Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Country: Thailand/Hong Kong

Region 1 release.

The Pang Brothers (Danny Pang Fat and Oxide Pang Chun) have struggled in recent years to build on the success of their hit Asian horror film The Eye, which has spawned two inferior sequels, as well as a Hollywood remake. The pair made their directorial debut as a team with Bangkok Dangerous, but arguably their most imaginative and striking film is 2006’s effort Re-cycle.

Ting-Yin (Angelica Lee) is a young writer whose first novel has become the best seller in South East Asia. Her fans eagerly await her next book, entitled ‘The Re-cycle’, a story dealing with supernatural forces.

Battling against writer’s block and a tenacious publisher, her attempts to finish the book are further hindered by the re-emergence of an old flame hoping they can reignite their love for one another.

A conversation over dinner forces Ting-Yin to make an important decision about their future, but various weird incidents hamper the progress of her book. Is her jilted lover responsible for the silent phone calls and mysterious break-ins, or does blame bizarrely lay at the feet of her new heroine - fiction fearfully becoming fact?


The Pang Brothers have once again assembled a small but talented cast that manage to captivate with strong performances. Angelica Lee first worked with them in The Eye and earlier this year even married one of the twins, Oxide. Ting-Yu (Yaqi Zeng), the stranger in whom Ting-Yin all too readily invests her trust is particularly plausible, as is Lee’s character, even if, at times, their relationship isn’t.

The opening act, in which Ting-Yin is alone in her house struggling to write the novel, provides many of the more unnerving moments in the movie. Here, there are a couple of very suspenseful scenes (the bathroom and the corridor definite highlights), and one superbly timed leap-out-of-your-seat scare.

The Pangs know all the tricks, as time and time again the camera uncomfortably lingers on Lee’s face waiting for something to take us by surprise, which it inevitably does. In fact, the opening half hour has more tension than a lot of Hollywood’s scare-fests in their entirety. If you’re a fan of this kind of horror then its opening won’t fail to please. But by allowing the script to switch genres after the initial onslaught, some fans might be left a little disappointed in what is to come.

A masterfully nightmarish co-creation courtesy of the dark recesses of the Pang Brothers minds, Re-cycle suddenly shifts into the realms of fantasy. This shouldn’t have been a problem. Whilst there’s imagery here that will remain with you forever, the terror that could’ve been generated from such ghoulish creations in delightfully dismal locations for the most part vanishes. The playground of the damned ghosts’ bridge and the embryo tunnel succeed in sending minor shivers down the spine, but other levels, like the gravestones and the escape, are disappointingly underplayed. Even the forest of hang, with its falling dead bodies and long-necked zombies, somehow comes up short after an impressive introduction.

Don’t be put off, though – these are very minor complaints, after all. The slow, deliberate build-up may be confined to the wastepaper basket, but the claustrophobic location opens up to a fantastical world that demands your attention. The viewer is quickly sucked into the strangest of spheres along with the protagonist, hypnotized by its sudden transformation. So much so, the ghostly apparition who spooked so hauntingly in the first act, now stalking Ting-yin on her own terms, is forgiven for not quite making the grade. Sadly, she is revealed far too early and her character is fairly redundant, even in the final third, but the story has moved on and her character, cleverly, is just another condemned idea that litters this bleak new planet.

The idea that everything you thought about and didn’t do during your lifetime happens in this new world, along with stories, lovers and toys you long since resigned to the trash is such a huge premise you can’t help but think that Re-cycle deserves a longer journey. Jumping from one set piece to another as our heroine tries to escape, although rewarding, disappoints merely because the twist ending is actually quite a surprise - an emotional delight for sure. It’s certainly not in keeping with the story, but then, why not shift from horror to fantasy, back to horror, and then to the delicacies of past mistakes. It’s only a story, after all – the Pang Brothers have clearly decided to let others categorise it (as they did with The Eye). Regardless of its faults, along with a stirring score and luscious imagery, Re-cycle is high entertainment of epic proportions from end to end.


Minor niggles disappoint, but Re-cycle is still a minor classic that deserves a lot of respect. You will be scared. You will be blown away. You will be touched. When a film manages to deliver such transports of delight, it’s foolish to ignore such entertainment. DW

REVIEW: DVD Release: Meat Grinder

Film: Meat Grinder
Release date: 23rd August 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Tiwa Moeithaisong
Starring: Mai Charoenpura, Anuway Niwartwong, Wiradit Srimalai, Rattanaballang Tohssawat, Duangta Tungkamanee
Genre: Horror
Studio: 4Digital
Format: DVD
Country: Thailand

Revenge is often a dish best eaten cold. Just ask Fruit Chan, director of Dumplings (2004), originally conceived as one chapter of a three-part horror omnibus (Three… Extremes) before he served up more of the same dark satire, just in larger portions, which regrettably made the bloated feature-length even harder to swallow. Tiwa Moeithaisong’s Meat Grinder follows a similar recipe, and now, having finally found an overseas distributor, ominously appears on our menus for the first time.

A young man, searching for his fiancé Aoi in 1970s Thailand, confronts her employee Buss (Mai Charoenpura), a troubled woman haunted by memories of her horrific upbringing. Pushing Buss too far, he is brutally dealt with, tacked to a wooden floor by his fingernails, left to marinade for the foreseeable future. Whilst he bravely tries to escape, a riot on the streets outside her home offers Buss a unique business opportunity – the lifeless body of a man dumped in her noodle-cart could be the missing ingredient to her new business venture - her very own noodle shop, just like the one her mother once owned.

Using her old lady’s unconventional recipes and techniques (grinding human flesh to make the perfect meat), her noodle dishes are an instant success. The restaurant quickly becomes one of the hottest eateries in town, introducing Buss to Attapon, a young man who offers her the warmth she’s always craved. But when his desire to seek out his missing friend gives rise to a grim discovery, Buss’s past catches up with her again - love and happiness replaced on the specials board with bloody retribution…


Horror films have always been full of nasty, uncongenial imagery - a lot of the most foul, unrepentant violence aimed at women. While American studios continue with this trend, bombarding us with torture porn, copying the success of the Hostel and Saw series’ with pale franchises, world cinema has responded with much more meatier offerings - and quite literally.

In the striking opening sequence to Meat Grinder, we watch the grainy footage of a victim being dispatched, chopped and prepared in gloriously sadistic detail. Five minutes in, the young man searching for his fiancé has his leg hacked off before being nailed to the floor in a gruesome, ‘look away now’ close-up. Director Tiwa Moeithaisong certainly knows how to get right down to business, leaving the viewer in no doubt as to where this one is heading.

Or perhaps not; because while the film is genuinely stomach churning throughout (Buss’s landlord and his flunkeys foolishly demanding unpaid rent the highlight), Moeithaisong has managed to sidestep the torture-porn tag by infusing the blood and gore with an engaging story, intertwined by a clever plot structure that enables to hold the viewer’s interest.

Flashbacks aren’t just used to explain Buss’s harrowing past; by skipping several scenes before retelling them out of sequence, suspense is created by disorientating the audience but never baffling them. This is largely down to the striking visuals, jumping from colour to monochrome and then back again - edited seamlessly so that the viewer never loses their bearings. The only criticism with the constant use of flashbacks is that by the final act, you could be left completely drained by the countless atrocities Buss has had to endure since childhood.

Complete with atmospheric visuals (Buss’s world is more blue than Pandora) and a soundtrack that switches from romantic love songs to very uncomfortable haunting melodies (the opening score cannot be bettered), Meat Grinder is surprisingly crafted with an extreme amount of care - its love montage halfway through dares to include such deliberate audience provocations, such as blood and mutilation, mixed with kinky nudity and loving massages. Yet it works, and is one of the most memorable scenes - revealing a twist that, although much too familiar these days, packs a timely emotional punch.

Mai Charoenpura handles her role superbly with a brooding menace; she’s at her most interesting before the slightly disappointing and ever so predictable finale (the repetitive giggling of Buss’s inner thoughts also begin to grate). Then there’s the character Nid, a neighbour’s daughter who foolishly begins a relationship with Attapon not long after his break-up with Buss. Despite little screen-time, she somehow fashions more than enough empathy in time for the final act. Maybe it’s because she is easy on the eye or because Buss is a complete fruitcake, but it cleverly moves the story on to the next level, and just as you start to wonder quite where this film has left to go.

Admittedly there’s a ring of familiarity about almost everything on offer here, and how Buss manages to keep the place a secret from the police is a question oddly left unanswered, but it never ends up coming off as torture porn for lazy horror junkies. Instead, it manages to grip from its first shot.


Relying more on mood rather than over the top visuals, this is a return to the intelligent side of exploitation horror. Refreshingly marinated with an intriguing story to give it flavour, and coupled with lashings and lashings of gory mayhem, Meat Grinder is an absolute treat from start to finish. DW

REVIEW: DVD Release: Last Life In The Universe

Film: Last Life In The Universe
Release date: 22nd November 2004
Certificate: 15
Running time: 109 mins
Director: Pen-ek Ratanauruang
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Laila Boonyasak, Yutaka Matsushige, Riki Takeuchi
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Artificial Eye
Format: DVD
Country: Thailand/Japan

Fusing three different languages and a variety of genres, Last Life In The Universe looks to provide a fresh twist on the familiar tale of ‘boy meets girl’.

In a meticulously neat, book-lined apartment, desperate Japanese loner Kenji contemplates suicide by numerous different methods. His death seems inevitable until he meets Noi, a beautiful Thai hostess.

Having witnessed the tragic death of Noi’s sister, Nid, the two characters are drawn together. Despite their lack of shared language, Noi helps to bring Kenji back to life as the two lost souls give meaning to each other’s existence…


The film opens with in the colourless interior of Kenji’s apartment. Given the potential horror of what is about to occur, the scene is remarkably serene and quiet, as Kenji narrates his reasons for wanting to take his own life over blue-grey shots of neatly ordered bookshelves and draining boards stacked with plates and knives.

Just as Kenji is about to hang himself, his obnoxious brother arrives on the scene. Although never said, it is implied that his brother is involved in organised crime, and having destroyed Kenji’s contemplative peace once, things become even more traumatic when a gunfight breaks out in the apartment leaving his brother dead. Still worse, Kenji instinctively shoots his brother’s murderer dead. After concealing the bodies, Kenji is about to throw himself off a bridge when he witnesses a fatal car accident, which kills Nid.

Kenji accompanies Nid’s sister Noi to the hospital, and is thus drawn into her life. The two characters communicate in a hybrid of Thai, Japanese and English, and their stilted exchanges add to the air of vulnerability which engulfs each character. The reserved Japanese and the more outgoing Thai have little in common initially, a fact which is beautifully and wordlessly articulated as they eat together for the first time: Kenji produces his own chopsticks and meticulously cleans his plate whilst Noi smothers her meal in spicy condiments and shovels it into her mouth with a spoon in traditional Thai style.

Thanks to the clever cinematography of Christopher Doyle, colour seeps into the movie gradually as the action moves from the ordered world of Kenji’s fussily tidy home to the shambolic mess of Noi’s country house. As the vibrant hues of Noi’s life seep into Kenji’s his melancholy dissipates, seemingly insignificant moments, such as the ruffling of his own hair and failure to clean up his own coconut husk, are huge steps in the abandonment of his fastidious ways.

Equally, the order and stability which Kenji brings to Noi’s life are never explicitly stated. Instead, we see the lowering of her guard as she sees the plates he has cleaned and a stoned dreamlike sequence in which Kenji magically tidies the house without ever appearing in the scene. It appears that the quiet presence of Kenji is exactly what Noi needs as she grieves for her sister. It’s fitting that the hazy, serene nature of the cinematography is echoed in the gentle unravelling of the plot, as the two characters seek solace from their problems in each other.

Although there are hints at Kenji’s shadowy past in a couple of sudden bursts of violence and a mysterious tattoo, the Yakuza subplot which crashes into the film in the second half does seem somewhat incongruous. Although the stylised violence of the film appears largely off-screen, the cartoonish perpetrators are completely at odds with the style of the film up to that point. Perhaps Ratanaruang felt he needed to inject a change of pace or dynamics in his introspective work, but it doesn’t quite sit properly in the overall context of the movie and comes so late that it feels like it was tacked on.

There are literally thousands of ‘boy meets girl’ films available, many of which feature the well worn themes of opposites attract and love as a redemptive force. Most of them even feature a jealous or violent ex-lover and a tragedy which brings the protagonists together. Last Life In The Universe contains every one of these well worn clichés but to categorise it alongside such films would be to miss the point.


A beautifully made film which ploughs its own furrow, impeccably acted, wonderfully shot and accompanied throughout by the enigmatically hypnotic music of Hua-lampong Riddim. RW