I usually like to review movies in order, but Netflix is weird sometimes and sends me the sequel before the original film. Luckily, with the Art of the Devil movies, it doesn’t really matter, because they’re not even connected. This Thai horror film is another in a long line of Asian horror flicks which all play out basically the same. If you’ve seen stuff like The Grudge, Silk, or The Eye, then you’ll have no problem getting into this film. Unfortunately, as a critic, I have to call bullshit on the whole genre, including Art of the Devil.

The film tells the tale of a jaded chick who gets knocked up by a married man. She asks him for some money, and then lets some of his friends have their way with her. She gets all pissed and starts rocking some black magic action, which leads to a lot of grotesque deaths. Once she has taken revenge on the man who spurned her, she gets even more pissed because the dude’s ex-wife inherits all his scratch. Instead of leaving well enough alone, our evil chick begins cursing the entire family, which leads to people bleeding profusely, the spotting of weird Thai albino ghosts, and even the occasional dried up baby fetus. It’s a standard-issue ghost tale concerned more with tension building and creep factor rather than any real substantial action.

Thai director Tanit Jitnakul borrows heavily from the Asian ghost story manual. We have some creepy ghost appearances, a whole lot of backstory, failed tension building, and a general feel of malaise that might come across as creepiness to the less demanding horror fan. But for anyone versed in the familiar art of the Asian ghost movie, it’s a basic tale that has pacing problems and a story that is pretty generic.

The characters in the film are all rather uninteresting and flat. The characters are exactly the same at the end of the movie as they were at the beginning, and the lack of any relevant character arcs makes for some two-dimensional characters. It’s hard to root for anyone or feel any sort of fear when you might as well be watching cardboard cutouts spit out uninteresting dialogue.

The only reason anyone might like this film is because of the gore, of which there are a nice number of pieces to be found. They are of varying quality, which ranges from stellar CGI deaths to the occasionally clunky looking CGI spectacle. If you simply like seeing blood, but nothing further, then Art of the Devil might work for you. The bodycount is fairly high, but the film doesn’t linger long enough on its death pieces, which is something of a letdown.

Art of the Devil isn’t bad; it’s simply more of the same. The phrase “seen one, seen ‘em all” comes to mind. But if you’re a big fan of Asian horror, then you’ll probably get a kick out of this movie. Me personally? I was done with the Asian horror invasion after I was underwhelmed by The Ring.

Final Synopsis: There’s not much original going on in this film, and it suffers because of it. There are some nice gore pieces, but an awful lot of tedium between. Unless you’re a hardcore Asian horror fan, you’ll want to skip this one.

Points Lost: -1 for clichés, -1 for boring characters, -1 for bad pacing, -1 for bad CGI in some areas, -1 for following the Asian horror manual, -1 for a cast that is forgettable

Lesson Learned: Don’t let people take your pubes.

Burning Question: Why is there always a crazy reporter that knows everything in Asian horror flicks?

Art of the Devil
4/10

Tags: 2004, asian horror, asian movie, foreign horror, horror, latest movie reviews, tanit jitnukul, thai horror, thai movie