Arte do Demônio

I liked this movie. It is not as good as Art of the Devil 2 in my opinion, but, actually, the two movies don't have much to do with one another anyway. The acting was really good in this one although some of the voiceover choices in English are not effective.

The story has been done before. It is a standard movie of greed and revenge. This movie does this story well and the practical effects are really good. I liked how the director made use of angles and cut-aways to use the gore effects more effectively.

I recommend this one.

This film essentially begins with a young woman by the name of "Boom" (Supakson Chaimongkol) having an affair with a rich businessman and accidentally getting pregnant during this time. Realizing that he is extremely wealthy, she goes to him and demands a large amount of money--which he immediately pays. Having done that, however, he then has her gang-raped by several associates just for spite. So, after recovering from this horrific event, she subsequently demands more money--but this time she is beaten up for her efforts. Completely enraged, she seeks out a practitioner in black magic who casts an evil spell on all of those who raped her--to include the businessman's entire family as well. Sure enough, not long afterward, all of these people die in such an extremely gruesome manner that it catches the attention of a journalist named "Danai" (Somchai Satuthum) who immediately begins to investigate these incidences under the suspicion that black magic is somehow involved. Meanwhile, thinking that her unborn child is now the only heir to a fortune, Boom is shocked to learn of a court settlement granting the businessman's estate to his former common law wife "Kamala" (Krongthong Ratchatawan) and her children instead. Quite livid at this new development, she quickly devises a plan to ingratiate herself with this family while at the same time employing the same black magic specialist to destroy them in the process. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film turned out to be a rather standard Thai horror film which suffered somewhat from a lack of character development and an overabundance of repetitive death scenes. That being said, while this wasn't necessarily a bad film by any means, it could have used some improvement and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Despite certain other "reviews", this movie is NOT Taiwanese, it is Thai, Thailand and Taiwan are a long way apart, certainly in distance if not in culture.

If you expect to see any Thai movies that are based on Western precepts, then you will be decidedly disappointed.

Belief in ghosts, black magic is normal in Thailand, ridiculous scenarios (to us Westerners) seem perfectly logical to Thais.

It is a movie with its faults like many movies, it is not by any means perfect.

But these sort of movies should be viewed with a bit of a different perspective to the multi million Spielberg Hollywood trash, generally, most Thai movies seem to be either slapstick ranting and screaming, whereas once in a while you will find a more reasonable stance, at least you can watch this without cringing.

If you watch these movies, you really need to expect to have all logic turned on its head regarding what you are generally used to.

Not my cup of tea, but better than so many from here.

The title was intriguing but that's actually it. This movie was a complete disaster on every level. The acting was stiff and unconvincing, with performances that left me cringing instead of connecting with the characters. The plot? It felt like a jumbled mess, with no real direction or purpose, just dragging on without anything meaningful happening. The execution of the whole thing was just as bad-poor direction, sloppy pacing, and cringeworthy dialogue. If you're thinking about watching it, just take my word for it: I suffered through it so you don't have to. Save yourself the time and frustration.

"Art of the Devil" is Thanit Jitnukul's first stab at horror which tells the story about one family's disaster after the father's mistress uses black magic to get revenge against him.The back of my VCD says:a mysterious and bizarre murder of a millionaire's entire family grips the attention of the public.Not a clue is uncovered; not a person can be fingered as the killer.The mysterious and gruesome deaths baffle everyone.A crime reporter goes to investigate the case, which leads to a beautiful lady.How can he convince others that she is the mistress of the occult,a witch who is skilled in the art of the devil."Art of the Devil" offers some gruesome effects including eels vomiting and bloody regurgitation.The acting is mediocre,but the film is quite interesting.Still there is not enough tension for my liking,but if you like horror films which deal with black magic you can give it a try.7 out of 10.