16 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :- A great introduction to Thai action cinema, 15 ottobre 2006
Author:
udar55 da Williamsburg, VA
This Thai martial arts film was released in the US as SPIRITED KILLER.
The DVD capitalizes on Tony Jaa being in the film, but he is only in it
for about 15 minutes. Regardless, the film is still worth watching if
you want to check out some insane Thai fighting. Panna Rittikrai, Tony
Jaa's mentor and trainer, reprises his role as a killing machine under
the spell of a local black magic priest (this is actually the fourth
part of a series). The film is basically like the Chuck Norris vehicle
SILENT RAGE set in a forest. The killer is unstoppable and just beats
people over and over. Nothing more, nothing less. The real reason to
watch it are the brutal, full contact fights. This is standard for
Panna titles and these guys really beat the hell out of each other. Jaa
looks quite young but displays that unique flair that would eventually
make him a worldwide superstar (watch for the scene where he does the
splits...ouch!). The English dub on the DVD is so goofy that it only
adds to the enjoyment of the film.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- kung fu zombie attacks villagers and explorers, 18 ottobre 2006
Author:
massbits da United Kingdom
This is the fourth part in a series of "Forest man" films-entitled
"Wake up to kill pt 1-4" starring Top Thai action star and Director
Panna Rittikrai- the action director of Ong BAk, Born to fight and Tong
Yum Goong, Panna plays a mad silent kung fu Zombie that lashes out at a
group of explorers and villagers in a remote area in Thailand in
demonic retribution for the beating of his mentor the mad Vodoo Witch
Doctor .Brilliant no holds barred action that never lets up for the
full duration of the movie also marks the big screen debut of Thai
superstar Tony Jaa in an effective cameo roll as a Wu shu swordsman.
This is a great low budget film with loads of well choreographed fights
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- A bad flaw in Thai action cinema, 2 aprile 2007
Author:
chris_stoddard_78 da clinton,md.
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.
I've been had, 4 settembre 2007
Author:
I_love_you_too da United States
I like Tony Jaa, his skill is so impressive. I saw the DVD box for this
and thought it was another Tony Jaa film. I was wrong. When he finally
shows up his skill is shown once again but then ... poof ... he is dead
and this crappy movie carries on. The cover has Tony Jaa, the synopsis
has Tony Jaa, I really thought he would be in this more.
I will say this for the film though: I thought they did a pretty decent
job with the obviously low budget they had. The weapons were cool and I
could only tell they were not real during the close up shots. The
fighting was pretty good but I guess I went in expecting to see Tony
Jaa going ape all over the screen and ended up seeing a low budget Thai
film with so-so action.
3 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :- Thin plot, sweet fighting, 3 febbraio 2007
Author:
t-birkhead da United Kingdom
This seems to be the first movie appearance o the mighty Tony Jaa, and
although he is only in it for about a quarter of an hour he still gets
to display some quality swordfighting skills. Essentially this movie is
all about the fighting, which is of a consistently high standard, with
good use of swords, and is also abundant. This leaves little room for
much of a plot and so the film becomes kinda mindless. Nonetheless, its
definitely worth a look for kung fu fans, not least because it has a
thoroughly old skool vibe to it despite having been made in the
nineteen nineties, but unlike many of the old skool titles that appear
in the shops the fighting is genuinely quite ace. And even though Tony
Jaa's role is minimal, the mighty prowess of his mentor Panaa Ritikrai
in the role of the seemingly indestructible teleporting bad dude more
than makes up for this. Summary: thumbs up.
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16 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-

A great introduction to Thai action cinema, 15 ottobre 2006
Author: udar55 da Williamsburg, VA
This Thai martial arts film was released in the US as SPIRITED KILLER. The DVD capitalizes on Tony Jaa being in the film, but he is only in it for about 15 minutes. Regardless, the film is still worth watching if you want to check out some insane Thai fighting. Panna Rittikrai, Tony Jaa's mentor and trainer, reprises his role as a killing machine under the spell of a local black magic priest (this is actually the fourth part of a series). The film is basically like the Chuck Norris vehicle SILENT RAGE set in a forest. The killer is unstoppable and just beats people over and over. Nothing more, nothing less. The real reason to watch it are the brutal, full contact fights. This is standard for Panna titles and these guys really beat the hell out of each other. Jaa looks quite young but displays that unique flair that would eventually make him a worldwide superstar (watch for the scene where he does the splits...ouch!). The English dub on the DVD is so goofy that it only adds to the enjoyment of the film.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-

kung fu zombie attacks villagers and explorers, 18 ottobre 2006
Author: massbits da United Kingdom
This is the fourth part in a series of "Forest man" films-entitled "Wake up to kill pt 1-4" starring Top Thai action star and Director Panna Rittikrai- the action director of Ong BAk, Born to fight and Tong Yum Goong, Panna plays a mad silent kung fu Zombie that lashes out at a group of explorers and villagers in a remote area in Thailand in demonic retribution for the beating of his mentor the mad Vodoo Witch Doctor .Brilliant no holds barred action that never lets up for the full duration of the movie also marks the big screen debut of Thai superstar Tony Jaa in an effective cameo roll as a Wu shu swordsman. This is a great low budget film with loads of well choreographed fights
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-

A bad flaw in Thai action cinema, 2 aprile 2007
Author: chris_stoddard_78 da clinton,md.
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.
I've been had, 4 settembre 2007
Author: I_love_you_too da United States
I like Tony Jaa, his skill is so impressive. I saw the DVD box for this and thought it was another Tony Jaa film. I was wrong. When he finally shows up his skill is shown once again but then ... poof ... he is dead and this crappy movie carries on. The cover has Tony Jaa, the synopsis has Tony Jaa, I really thought he would be in this more.
I will say this for the film though: I thought they did a pretty decent job with the obviously low budget they had. The weapons were cool and I could only tell they were not real during the close up shots. The fighting was pretty good but I guess I went in expecting to see Tony Jaa going ape all over the screen and ended up seeing a low budget Thai film with so-so action.
3 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-

Thin plot, sweet fighting, 3 febbraio 2007
Author: t-birkhead da United Kingdom
This seems to be the first movie appearance o the mighty Tony Jaa, and although he is only in it for about a quarter of an hour he still gets to display some quality swordfighting skills. Essentially this movie is all about the fighting, which is of a consistently high standard, with good use of swords, and is also abundant. This leaves little room for much of a plot and so the film becomes kinda mindless. Nonetheless, its definitely worth a look for kung fu fans, not least because it has a thoroughly old skool vibe to it despite having been made in the nineteen nineties, but unlike many of the old skool titles that appear in the shops the fighting is genuinely quite ace. And even though Tony Jaa's role is minimal, the mighty prowess of his mentor Panaa Ritikrai in the role of the seemingly indestructible teleporting bad dude more than makes up for this. Summary: thumbs up.
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