'From the makers of Chocolate and Ong Bak' was enough to pique my curiosity, but 13: Game of Death (AKA 13 Beloved) is no crazy Muay Thai beat 'em up; thoroughly twisted, darkly humorous, and totally unpredictable, the film plays out like a demented mix of Michael Douglas's Falling Down and The Game, with a little bit of the Saw movies thrown in for good measure.
Knee deep in debt and recently canned from his sales job, desperate Phuchit Puengnathong (Krissada Terrence) is offered a life-line when he receives a mysterious phone-call inviting him to take part in a bizarre game: successfully complete 13 challenges and he will win the staggering sum of 100 million baht. Unsurprisingly sceptical at first, Phuchit is convinced after completing the first simple task—killing the fly that is buzzing around his head—and a portion of the prize money is credited to his account. Seeing a way out of his predicament, Phuchit registers to play the rest of the game, but as the prize money goes up, so do the stakes...
This set up sees poor Phuchit forcing himself to perform and more outrageous, dangerous, and morally corrupt stunts; as he gets closer to claiming his prize money, he finds it impossible to call it quits, despite being required to carry out some absolutely nauseating acts. It's totally preposterous, yet utterly compelling stuff, forcing the viewer to question how far they would go in the same situation (personally, I would have drawn the line at eating a plate of doggy doo-doo and salad—I'm not big on salad!).
As with The Game, the film ends in a completely implausible manner, writer/director Chukiat Sakveerakul failing to wrap the whole thing up in a satisfactory manner with a twist ending that pushes the viewers suspension of disbelief to breaking point. The journey there, however, is well worth the effort.
7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
Knee deep in debt and recently canned from his sales job, desperate Phuchit Puengnathong (Krissada Terrence) is offered a life-line when he receives a mysterious phone-call inviting him to take part in a bizarre game: successfully complete 13 challenges and he will win the staggering sum of 100 million baht. Unsurprisingly sceptical at first, Phuchit is convinced after completing the first simple task—killing the fly that is buzzing around his head—and a portion of the prize money is credited to his account. Seeing a way out of his predicament, Phuchit registers to play the rest of the game, but as the prize money goes up, so do the stakes...
This set up sees poor Phuchit forcing himself to perform and more outrageous, dangerous, and morally corrupt stunts; as he gets closer to claiming his prize money, he finds it impossible to call it quits, despite being required to carry out some absolutely nauseating acts. It's totally preposterous, yet utterly compelling stuff, forcing the viewer to question how far they would go in the same situation (personally, I would have drawn the line at eating a plate of doggy doo-doo and salad—I'm not big on salad!).
As with The Game, the film ends in a completely implausible manner, writer/director Chukiat Sakveerakul failing to wrap the whole thing up in a satisfactory manner with a twist ending that pushes the viewers suspension of disbelief to breaking point. The journey there, however, is well worth the effort.
7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.