Khon len khong (2004)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Tanit Jitnukul

Writer:

Ghost Gypsy (writer)

Release Date:

17 June 2004 (Thailand)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Plot:

Boom, pregnant from an affair, is told by her lover to leave him and his family alone. Enraged, she...

Plot Keywords:

Mistress | Witch Doctor | Witch | Black Magic | Flashback Sequence

Cast

Arisa Wills	...	Nan
Supakson Chaimongkol	...	Boom
Krongthong Rachatawan	...	Kamala
Tin Settachoke	...	Prathan
Somchai Satuthum	...	Danai
Isara Ochakul	...	Ruj
Nirut Sutchart	...	Neng
Krittayod Thimnate	...	Bon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bob Buchholz	...	Pratan Siwahiran (voice: English version) (as Robert Buchholz)
Sherry Chiasson	...	Nan Siwahiran (voice: English version)
Sandy Fox	...	Bon Siwahiran (voice: English version)
Elvia Gaitan	...	Ad (voice: English version)
Grant George	...	Ruj Siwahiran (voice: English version)
Yuri Lowenthal	...	Neng Siwahiran (voice: English version)
Dave Mallow	...	Master, TV Anchor (voice: English version)
Susan Marque	...	Boom (voice: English version)
Bryce Papenbrook	...	Ong (voice: English version)
Tara Platt	...	Female Reporter, Woon (voice: English version)
Sam Riegel	...	Barber (voice: English version) (as Jack Lingo)
Kristen Rutherford	...	Khung Dan (voice: English version)
Philece Sampler	...	Kamala (voice: English version)
Stephanie Sheh	...	Nong A (voice: English version) (as Laura Chyu)
Steve Staley	...	Toey (voice: English version)
Doug Stone	...	Danai (voice: English version)
Dan Woren	...	Editor (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Art of the Devil (International: English title)

Runtime:

Thailand:96 min | Thailand:100 min | Spain:92 min

Country:

Thailand

Language:

Thai

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Thailand

Company:

Five Star Production Co. Ltd.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: The sound technician, camera man and more crew can be seen reflected on the TV at 1º 17' 43''.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Long khong 2 (2008)

A tasteless, but tedious Thai horror.

Fans of unusual Asian horror will no doubt be familiar with the spate of weird and rather unsavoury films that emerged from Hong Kong in the early 80s; titles such as The Devil, Seeding of a Ghost, Centipede Horror, Calamity of Snakes, and Devil Fetus delivered disgusting gore mixed with black magic, and quite often featured a plethora of slimy or creepy critters (bugs, worms, eels, snakes etc.) crawling from corpses or victims' mouths.

Thailand's 2004 horror Art of the Devil, from director Tanit Jitnukul, is very reminiscent of such films: it's a revenge film that sees a woman using magic to torment and kill the family of a man who wronged her. It features some nasty gore, plenty of hokey voodoo rituals (including one that involves the use of a dead baby!), and LOTS of eels, but although it has the occasional good moment, the film is rather tedious overall, not as nasty as I had expected, and is hampered by some mediocre acting.

Jitnukul's direction is slick and the film has a very polished look, but with a narrative that meanders rather aimlessly until the predictable conclusion, plus lots of confusing flashbacks, it's hard to stay interested for the duration. Lead actresses Arisa Wills and Supakson Chaimongkol (as vengeful bitch, Boom) are both easy on the eye, and provide a little incentive to remain focused, but, in the end, Art of the Devil proves to be nothing more than another forgettable horror flick.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.