Just what I expected

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This extremely low budget production has been widely advertised as a 'Tony Jaa' film in the wake of the success of ONG BAK and WARRIOR KING; unsuspecting fans might mistake it for the third part of a 'spiritual' trilogy with those two films. However, SPIRITED WARRIOR is a different kettle of fish altogether. Even lower budget than the period Hong Kong kung fu films made in the early 1970s, this is a film that does contain Tony Jaa's debut performance, but the bad news is he's only in it for fifteen minutes! Rather than being the main star of the show, Jaa is a minor character who nevertheless gets to perform in some fun martial arts battles before getting killed off.This is actually the fourth part in a series of TERMINATOR-inspired films about an indestructible killer butchering his way through lots of people in a forest setting. That's actually the whole plot. The emphasis is very much on the fight scenes, and there are a ton of different fights here that are not bad in themselves. Unfortunately, because of the low budget, they do tend to get a bit repetitive and there's none of the fancy camera-work that director Panna Rittikrai would bring to the likes of BORN TO FIGHT. Really, this is one of the lowest budget movies I've ever watched, and I've seen a lot of them! The film does have some inspired lunacy to recommend it. The opening shots of a witch doctor performing at his altar bring to mind classic Asian horror flicks like ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND and later there are some sped-up shots of people running which are absolutely hilarious to watch. There's plenty of bloodshed towards the end of the movie and a cheesy twist ending – any '90s horror film producer would be proud of it. Panna Rittikrai, noted Thai action director, also plays the leading character and he gets a chance to whup backside left, right and centre. Tony Jaa, still a teenager when he made this, looks like nothing more than a kid in a tracksuit, although his fight scene with Rittikrai is a definite highlight of the movie, and watch for the bit where he does the splits! In fact this bit is so enjoyable they repeat it scene-for-scene right at the beginning of the film, even though it doesn't make any sense in that context. Unfortunately, the paucity of the production means that there's no room for explosions, shootings, or anything of the sort. It's just people fighting in the woods, over and over again, until the closing credits roll. Some halfway decent music and lots of bad acting are all you'll find here.

Released on DVD as Spirited Warrior, and sold mainly on the strength of the movie debut of Muay Thai star Tony Jaa, this is actually the fourth film in a series known as 'Forest Man' featuring Ong Bak's stunt coordinator Panna Rittikrai.Rittikrai stars as a superhuman zombie controlled by a voodoo doctor who is seeking revenge on those who tried to kill him after one of his potions proved to be lethal. Not only does the zombie attack nearby villagers, and a gang of thieves, but he also has a go at a group of Japanese students who have travelled to the area to study ancient relics.Virtually the entire film consists of chase scene followed by fight scene: the voodoo doctor chases the villagers and they have a fight; the zombie chases the villagers and they have a fight; the villagers chase the zombie and they have a fight; the zombie chases the Japanese students and they have a fight; the voodoo doctor AND the zombie chase the students AND the villagers and they ALL have a fight. Now I enjoy chase scenes and fight scenes as much as the next fan of dumb martial arts films, but this repetitive format soon gets extremely tedious despite the action being well choreographed and pretty violent. All action and no plot makes Spirited Warrior a dull flick.And as far as Jaa is concerned—he's in the film for about 15 minutes, and does some pretty impressive flips, kicks and the splits, but his presence doesn't save the film from being a forgettable experience.

Stuntman-turned-film sensation Tony Jaa stunned the world with his gravity-defying stunts, Muay Thai kickboxing and acrobatics in the hit movies, ONG-BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR and THE PROTECTOR that would earn him U.S. acclaim and a possibility to become America's next action star.SPIRITED KILLER was another unknown action movie from Thailand that featured loads of stylized fights along with the amazing skills of a then-unknown young Tony Jaa and the talented Panna Rittikrai who choreographed the stunning fights for ONG-BAK and THE PROTECTOR.However, Jaa is not the star of this film and the advertisement on the box cover was material from Tony Jaa's first two films that were patched together to capitalize on his new founded fame in America. He has a small role that finds him displaying what would later make him famous. Rittikrai plays the title role and reveals himself as a respected martial arts star in Thailand. The film is set in the jungles of Thailand where an unstoppable killer (Rittikrai) goes on a rampage under the control of a voodoo priest. A group of travelers (who are seemingly stuntmen protégés and martial artists including Tony Jaa), search for hidden treasure only to encounter this essence of evil and engage in combat while they try to flee out the jungles. Of course, this was structured to have non-stop martial arts fights (staged by Rittikrai) to give action lovers a reason to watch the movie. As the star, Rittikrai highlights his impressive martial arts skills and weaponry. Jaa's screen time lasted a couple of minutes but it allowed him to engage in combat against Rittikrai with some amazing acrobatics and kicking techniques.Even though the film packed loads of martial arts action, it suffers with dents and holes that include poor dubbing, a lame story and even a reused musical score taken from the 1994 Jack Nicholson film, WOLF. First, you see a voodoo priest giving villagers brew that supposedly extends their youth and makes them immortal but instead, it kills them instantly. The witnessing survivor and the remaining group of villagers beat up the priest and knock him into a lake. Next, a traveling bunch drives through the jungle and finds a mysterious man standing in the middle of their path without any explanation. The man stares at them and eliminates them one by one with martial arts while chasing the remaining survivors around the jungle with superhuman speed (with the help of MTV-style fast motion camera tricks). The priest returns to unravel more trouble for the villagers.The only great thing you'll probably get out of this film are the expertly choreographed fight scenes and the impressive combat specialties of Panna Rittikrai who's engagement in martial arts, swordsmanship, nunchukus and the staff were phenomenal enough that it will appeal to fans of Bruce Lee's movies and classic gems like HERO, KILL BILL Vols. 1 & 2 and BLADE. Tony Jaa's short screen time is worth checking out just to learn what he was already capable of as a young newcomer. The only bad thing about the choreography is the fact that it resembles Hong Kong action to closely instead of the formula used in ONG-BAK and THE PROTECTOR.The film's cliffhanger ending will have viewers come up with their own conclusion in the aftermath, at least until a sequel is made. If a filmmaker decides to helm a sequel, I hope that it has a better script with a bigger budget, better character development and improved set pieces. In the meantime, the movie is worth watching if you want to witness the talents of the two skillful Thai experts but do not expect it to be another ONG-BAK or PROTECTOR-style movie.

This Thai martial arts film was released in the US as SPIRITED KILLER. The DVD capitalizes on Tony Jaa being in the film, but he is only in it for about 15 minutes. Regardless, the film is still worth watching if you want to check out some insane Thai fighting. Panna Rittikrai, Tony Jaa's mentor and trainer, reprises his role as a killing machine under the spell of a local black magic priest (this is actually the fourth part of a series). The film is basically like the Chuck Norris vehicle SILENT RAGE set in a forest. The killer is unstoppable and just beats people over and over. Nothing more, nothing less. The real reason to watch it are the brutal, full contact fights. This is standard for Panna titles and these guys really beat the hell out of each other. Jaa looks quite young but displays that unique flair that would eventually make him a worldwide superstar (watch for the scene where he does the splits...ouch!). The English dub on the DVD is so goofy that it only adds to the enjoyment of the film.