Long khong

Remember that movie about the guy who wanted revenge for the death of his son and had a monster unleashed that he could not control? I can't remember the name, but the warning is the same. Dabble in black magic and it could come back to bite you.

That's all I can say about this movie. Thai Black magic and some really gory stuff. The problem is that it takes a lifetime to get there, and the trip is very painful. Painful in the sense that there wasn't anyone in this film that resembled an actor.

If it's blood you are fishing for, then you'll catch it, but at what cost?

In Bangkok, five former high school friends are informed that the father of their friend Ta committed suicide. Ta is the son of Prowaet, who got married with their English teacher Panor and together they had a son, Nong. The student of medicine Kim and her boyfriend Por that studies in law school, the student of engineering Ko and Noot that is studying English to move to Australia with her gay friend Tair decide to reunite and travel to the country for the ceremony of cremation. While traveling by train, Kim recalls an incident two years ago in their last year in school, when they had been abused by their couch and lover of Panor when they found their affair. The students, seeking revenge, asked the Cambodian voodooist Pawn to cast a black magic against the couch, who mysteriously died after fishing. Once in the village, they spend the night with Ta and his stepmother Panor in their isolated house in the jungle nearby a river, when creepy things happen and their horror begin.

"Long Khong" is a creepy, gruesome and gore tale of witchcraft and insanity. The story is really scary, and has some nasty and cruel scenes: the worst is the sequence when the teenager is tortured with hot water and burned by a torch. The story follows the pattern of the good Asian horror movies, with secrets and revelations being disclosed in the last moments, like the last parts of a puzzle. This macabre type of voodoo with corpses is unusual in Western movies. The screenplay is very well tight, with great lines, and I liked the wise thought of Kim: "The future is what we want to be; the past defines us". The direction is very precise, the special effects are impressive and the cast has great performances. The lead actress is extremely gorgeous, and unfortunately I do not know her name. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Arte do Demônio" ("The Art of the Devil")

Really didn't know what to expect having watched this after Art of the Devil which was rather mediocre. This one however was far better. It still had the black magic and curses like the first movie but this was a far superior product. It took me a little while to figure out what was going on but it all tied neatly together at the end with a pretty awesome plot twist at the end. And I've said it before but I'll say it again THAT is what makes the difference between a good scary movie and an average one 7.5/10

I've been intrigued by Thai Voodoo for the longest time, not that I would want to be on the receiving end of it, but it makes you wonder the amount of clout and (real?) ability of these medicine men who put hexes and curses on your behalf, for a small fee. And it always seem that what they do to you, from simple artifacts like a voodoo doll, can inflict so much pain onto your real self with just a simple needle poked on a right position on the straw doll.

Art of the Devil 2 is not a sequel, in that it has no relation to the first (which I am now intrigued to watch as it stars Chai-Lai Angel Supaksorn Chaimongkol), although they deal with the same supernatural forces in Thai lore. It tells a story of a physically attractive model teacher, Ms Panor (Napakpapha Nakprasitte), and her group of students, one of whom she is a stepmother to. However, as with all misunderstandings, it stems off with what the eyes see and the ears here, and the mind believing. With black magic in the works, things are never what it seems, as the group of students revisit their teacher a few years after a tragic and shameful incident happened in school. Why, you'll never understand, but we need something to have them all put together to get something going.

This movie has plenty of gory moments which offers some good scares, given the disgusting things that happen to the victims of the hex. If torture scenes in Syrianna and Hard Candy made you squirm in your seat, then your stomach is up for more churning, given the previous two films did it more psychologically and with off-camera scenes, whereas here you're not spared the visual details, leaving none to the imagination, even if certain shots might look cheap and unrealistic. The gore grips you right from the start, giving you a hint that if you can't stand what you've just seen in the first few minutes, you won't be better off for the rest of the movie.

In an environment where almost everyone is not as innocent as they seem, keeping secrets close to their hearts, and the usage of black magic to achieve their individual desires and objectives commonplace, it perhaps served as a reminder not to dabble in the black arts, either as a practitioner or an end user, as there are always warnings of ill fate that befall upon them.

Unlike the Sixth Sense with its slick execution, script and delivery, Art of the Devil 2 had a rather satisfactory ending, but with the final stroke of the pen in creating the finale, it presented itself with a major loophole that seemed to have glossed over what transpired earlier, which is a big no-no in trying to force audiences to accept the "new truth".

However, if your intention is to get some scares, then this movie still delivers, if you'd be forgiving to the ending.

A beautiful teacher Miss Panor has six students.They decide to play a cruel prank on Ms.Panor and her reputation is ruined.The teacher then turns to black magic to exact gruesome revenge."Art of the Devil 2" is a gore-soaked horror film which was directed by a team of seven filmmakers known as the Ronin Team.The direction is solid,the cast is pretty good,but the storyline is hardly dynamic.When the gore appears it is unrelenting and disgusting.Miss Panor is an great villain and truly remorseless killer.The gore is rather hard to stomach for example toenails are torn out,teeth are plucked,live geckos burst out of a boy's back,one hapless girl gouges her own eyes out and the skin on man's legs is burned by a blow-torch.Overall,I enjoyed "Art of the Devil 2" more than its predecessor.Give it a look.