Stuntman-turned-film sensation Tony Jaa stunned the world with his gravity-defying stunts, Muay Thai kickboxing and acrobatics in the hit movies, ONG-BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR and THE PROTECTOR that would earn him U.S. acclaim and a possibility to become America's next action star.
SPIRITED KILLER was another unknown action movie from Thailand that featured loads of stylized fights along with the amazing skills of a then-unknown young Tony Jaa and the talented Panna Rittikrai who choreographed the stunning fights for ONG-BAK and THE PROTECTOR.
However, Jaa is not the star of this film and the advertisement on the box cover was material from Tony Jaa's first two films that were patched together to capitalize on his new founded fame in America. He has a small role that finds him displaying what would later make him famous. Rittikrai plays the title role and reveals himself as a respected martial arts star in Thailand. The film is set in the jungles of Thailand where an unstoppable killer (Rittikrai) goes on a rampage under the control of a voodoo priest. A group of travelers (who are seemingly stuntmen protégés and martial artists including Tony Jaa), search for hidden treasure only to encounter this essence of evil and engage in combat while they try to flee out the jungles. Of course, this was structured to have non-stop martial arts fights (staged by Rittikrai) to give action lovers a reason to watch the movie. As the star, Rittikrai highlights his impressive martial arts skills and weaponry. Jaa's screen time lasted a couple of minutes but it allowed him to engage in combat against Rittikrai with some amazing acrobatics and kicking techniques.
Even though the film packed loads of martial arts action, it suffers with dents and holes that include poor dubbing, a lame story and even a reused musical score taken from the 1994 Jack Nicholson film, WOLF. First, you see a voodoo priest giving villagers brew that supposedly extends their youth and makes them immortal but instead, it kills them instantly. The witnessing survivor and the remaining group of villagers beat up the priest and knock him into a lake. Next, a traveling bunch drives through the jungle and finds a mysterious man standing in the middle of their path without any explanation. The man stares at them and eliminates them one by one with martial arts while chasing the remaining survivors around the jungle with superhuman speed (with the help of MTV-style fast motion camera tricks). The priest returns to unravel more trouble for the villagers.
The only great thing you'll probably get out of this film are the expertly choreographed fight scenes and the impressive combat specialties of Panna Rittikrai who's engagement in martial arts, swordsmanship, nunchukus and the staff were phenomenal enough that it will appeal to fans of Bruce Lee's movies and classic gems like HERO, KILL BILL Vols. 1 & 2 and BLADE. Tony Jaa's short screen time is worth checking out just to learn what he was already capable of as a young newcomer. The only bad thing about the choreography is the fact that it resembles Hong Kong action to closely instead of the formula used in ONG-BAK and THE PROTECTOR.
The film's cliffhanger ending will have viewers come up with their own conclusion in the aftermath, at least until a sequel is made. If a filmmaker decides to helm a sequel, I hope that it has a better script with a bigger budget, better character development and improved set pieces. In the meantime, the movie is worth watching if you want to witness the talents of the two skillful Thai experts but do not expect it to be another ONG-BAK or PROTECTOR-style movie.
