The much-awaited Art of the Devil 3 is not a sequel but a prequel to the graphically scary Art of the Devil 2, which itself was also not a sequel to the first of the trilogy.
Featuring some of the cast from the best Thai horror film in 2005, this film brings us back to the time when the pregnant Aajaan Panoh (Napakpapah Nakprasit – nominated for Best Actress by the Bangkok Critics Assembly) is in a mental asylum in possession of the Third
Art of the Devil 3 focuses mostly on Panoh, the luscious teacher protagonist in Art of the Devil 2 who was the victim of black magic by the many so enamoured with her.
As it was with the Art of the Devil 2, there’s gore, blood and a plot that keeps things hidden to the very end.
The film sees Ta (Namo Tongkamnerd) returning to his mother’s family to find that his grandfather had preserved his dead mother’s body and wants to move her soul into someone else’s body. Ta’s stepmother Panoh is chosen as a vessel for the spirit because she was considered indebted to Ta’s mother for stealing her husband.
The soul transfer succeeds, but Panoh gets her body back and exacts revenge the only way she knows how, through the use of the dark arts.
Just as you’re expecting lots of stomach-turning stuff to happen, the story takes an unexpected turn into Panoh’s childhood when she first started dabbling in dark magic.
You might have thought Panoh, a ruthless and crazed schoolteacher, but she is shown in these flashbacks as the young bullied kid in school who is the subject of injustice. Although you’re unlikely to find her revenge tasteful, you feel her and empathise with her rage.
Although the plot was very engaging despite being mind-boggling because of the confusing switches in timeline, the gore in Art of the Devil 3 is disappointing to hardcore horror fans. Blame it on its chilling predecessor, that served up fishing hooks and lizards pushing their way out of the character’s skin. In comparison, this episode only had Panoh shoving a single scorpion down Ta’s grandfather, pushing pins to hold his eyes open, gutting Ta’s aunt and pushing a metal hairpin into Ta’s great grandmother head. Yeah, pretty tame stuff.
As with the last movie, Panoh used many voodoo dolls to accomplish these feats. But we can certainly tell she’s a “hands-on” person from the way she used her infamous blowtorch in Art of the Devil 2 to the way she pushed pins to hold people’s eyes.
Blood and gore was definitely there but no more than its 2 predecessors which set the benchmark disgustingly high enough that Art of the Devil 3 failed to surpass it and set new standards.
Nonetheless, this movie is a good watch if you’ve watched Art of the Devil 2 and want the inside story to why some things happened the way they did. If this is your first exposure to the series, Art of the Devil 3 will still be a treat. You won’t feel lost because snippets from the earlier movie have been incorporated into this prequel.
UrbanWire gives Art of the Devil 3 3.5 out of 5 stars
Cast: Napakpapah Nakprasit, Suppakorn Kitsuwan, Namo Tonggumnerd
Director: Aht Tramtragoon and Prasit Buranachan
Genre:Horror/ Drama
Language: Thai
Release Date:24 July 2008
Running Time: 85 mins
