Description

Art of the Devil 2 is that rarest of rare things: a sequel that improves on the original. Making it rarer still is that this is a seriously gory horror picture that won a Best Actress award for its leading lady at Thailand’s national film awards.

A sequel in name only, Art of the Devil 2 revolves around a group of school friends in up-country Thailand. Tormented by a cruel, violent gym teacher, a man who’s also having a flagrant affair with the stepmother of one of the young friends, the group devises a desperate solution: they hire a Cambodian witch doctor – whatever the reason for it, Cambodian black magic makes frequent appearances in Thai films these days - to place a curse on their tormentor. The witch doctor agrees to do their bidding, but issues a dire warning: karma will get you. Whatever you do to someone else will stay with you your entire life, and you will be paid back for your choices. The group thinks nothing of this warning and moves ahead with their plan. The curse is successful, the teacher dies a horrible death involving fishhooks bubbling up through his skin, and the group eventually leaves their home town, all but one of them, a troubled youth who ends up in juvenile detention, relocating to Bangkok after high school. But before long, word comes from their troubled friend: his father has died and all of them are requested to return for the funeral and, once back, it isn’t long before the witch doctor’s prediction begins to come true…

With a twisting, time-jumping plot, Art of the Devil 2 is built around a seemingly neverending series of shockingly nasty set pieces. The aforementioned fishhooks come early and are followed soon enough by an assortment of lizards, blowtorches, ghosts, body parts and hidden corpses. It’s less concerned with plot than with shocks, but once the shocks start coming, they come fast, thick and inventive. Art of the Devil 2 is clearly not for the faint of heart. Or stomach.

—Todd Brown

Website

http://www.longkhong.com/

Credits

Director: Ronin Team
Screenplay: Ronin Team
Cast: Namo Tongkumnerd, Napakapapa Nakaprasit, Akarin Siwapornpitak, Korakot Woramusik, Pavarit Wongpanitch, Chanida Suriyakompon
Producers: Five Star Production
Distributor: Media Blasters