DVD Review: 13 Game of Death
13: Game of Death (2006)
Studio: Dimension Extreme
DVD Release Date: March 11, 2008
Directed By: Chukiat Sakveerakul
Cast: Krissada Terrence, Achita Wuthinounsurasit,
Brutal As Hell Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Review By: Marc Patterson
Pusit (Krissada Terrence), or “Chit” as his friends call him, is having a bad day. A damn bad day. The kind of bad day that Kirk Douglas had in Falling Down. Lucky for Chit he receives an anonymous phone call that promises to change his fortune. The caller offers Chit the opportunity to win 100 million Thai dollars if he can complete 13 challenges. The first challenge begins with Chit needing to kill a fly with a newspaper. Not so bad. Then, he needs to eat it. A little gross, but do-able. But, as the challenges continue, they also increase in violence, pushing social boundaries and ethical limits beyond what is acceptable under normal circumstances and challenging Chit as to how far will he will go for money. It doesn’t take long until the police are looking for him and a race ensues. Will Chit be stopped before he reaches the end, and what will happen once he does reach the end?
This suspenseful thriller out of Thailand was inventive, engaging, and straight up fun to watch. Parts of the film were highly reminiscent of the old Italian giallo films where you have a hardboiled detective hot on the heels of a black gloved killer. Only here the antagonist was also the protagonist, and the true antagonist was a mysterious figure who honestly wasn’t much of a villain. After all, Chit always had the option to just stop the game and walk away. This brilliant set up was played out well throughout the film creating honest sympathy for our hero right up to the last frame, despite the increasing trouble he finds himself in. Combined with a solid and believable performance from Krissanda Terrence, 13: Game of Death will entertain if not challenge your stomach at points with some gut churning scenes. I’d recommend watching this film on light stomach but with a few heavy brews.
13: Game of Death is an inventive horror piece out of a country that rarely gets the spotlight in the horror genre and is deserving of a rental for most, while fans of Asian horror will no doubt want to add this one to their collection.
