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13 Beloved
Directed by: Chookiat Sakweerakul Starring: Krissada Sukosol
Synopsis: In 13 Beloved (aka 13 Game of Death) Krissada Sukosol stars as PhuChit, a down-on-his-luck office worker who's just been fired thanks to the back-stabbing machinations of a colleague. Out of work and heavily in debt, Chit is thrown a tenuous life-line: an internet gameshow wants him to be a contestant. He will be given 13 tasks to complete - for each successful task he is instantly rewarded with money in his bank account. If he decides not to continue at any stage, or if anyone discovers that he is involved in the game, then the money will disappear and he won't be contacted again. The tasks start innoccuously enough - task one, kill a fly. Task two, eat the fly. What will the other tasks be?
Review: I only heard about this movie recently, but once I'd seen the trailer I was hooked. Luckily, the movie doesn't disappoint. I shan't divulge what the other tasks involved are, but some of them are pretty disgusting (especially the one in the restaurant), and some lead to hilarious situations (at one point 3 of Chit's victims all turn up at the police station to complain), while others are just nasty.
One of the reasons 13 Beloved works so well is that unlike other "deadly gameshow" movies, this sticks to one protagonist for most of the running time. Krissada Sukosol plays Chit as a downtrodden everyman, undone by a troubled childhood and wanting to do the right thing and be a nice guy. The tasks push him deeper and deeper into the mire, each act detaching him from his humanity. By the end of the movie, the mild mannered office worker is bruised, bloody and mean as hell having committed unspeakable acts he'd never thought himself capable of. There are rumours abound that this is headed for a Hollywood makeover. To be quite honest it would be very difficult to mess this one up - imagine Michael Douglas in Falling Down and you're halfway there...However, if you're not averse to subtitles and want to have a great laugh amongst the bloodshed, check this out. Currently not available in the UK, but available on the US Dimension Extreme label, which has been putting out some interesting titles of late. Verdict: An instant classic horror comedy. Don't wait for the lazy remake - check this out. 8 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)
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