Customer Reviews

13: Game of Death

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I must say, When I brought this movie home last night, I thought I was just getting another horror movie rental, but I was pleasantly surprised by the psychological thriller known as 13: Game of Death. It presents us with a question: what would you be willing to do for money?

The film starts off pretty slow - we're introduced to a man known as Chad or Chit (this depends if you watch the movie in English or Thai) and he's having a run of bad luck. His bank account is seriously overdrawn, his girlfriend has no more interest in him, and as the last straw, he's gotten fired from his job.

When all seems lost, Chad gets a mysterious call on his cell phone. Apparently someone has been watching him for a long time and has chosen him to compete in a special game. The caller offers Chad a chance to change his life - if he completes 13 tasks set before him, he will be rewarded with one million dollars.
However, if he decides to stop, Chad will lose all the money he has earned and will be left with nothing.

At first, Chad has no problems with the challenges that are presented to him. Over time, however, they get increasingly difficult - physically, mentally, and morally. Chad realizes that there is something else going on behind this game...the task master seems to be setting up challenges which bring back memories Chad thought he had buried forever.
Before the night is over, Chad will have to face all of his worst inner fears in his pursuit of the final cash prize.

Will 13 be his lucky number?

I feel 13: Game of Death succeeds on a number of levels. It serves as a taut thriller, keeping us guessing as to what Chad's next task will be. Each challenge is designed to provoke a morally questionable response from Chad, very similar to the delivery of traps in the Saw film series.
I also found myself wondering what I would be willing to do for a million dollars. There are some tasks I could do without breaking a sweat, other tasks would leave me feeling guilty for years. Surprisingly, there's quite a bit of humor thrown throughout the movie, and while it is surprisingly light on gore; it still manages to entertain and captivate our attentions.

13: Game of Death is a clever morality tale hidden in a horror/thriller film. Sure, we'd all like to have the gold ring, enough money to solve all our problems. Unfortunately, money like this doesn't come without a steep price to pay - and Chad will be finding out just how high that price is.

This film definitely makes an excellent rental, but if you're a fan of movies like Saw, Seven (New Line Platinum Series), or foreign films like Oldboy, I highly recommend this for ownership.

The only reason I didn't give this movie 5 stars is because of the film's pacing and the misleading cover. The cover, in my opinion, will not entice people to buy it, it will lead them further down the shelves. As a foreign film, there is no American advertising to speak of...so the only way 13: Game of Death will get seen is by positive word of mouth.

Spread the word, folks.

**** 1/2

this is one of the coolest thrillers ive seen in a long time. its got it all, believable characters, cool set up, some occasional gore, and you might even find yourself cracking up at a few points.

basically its the story of a guy who is down on his luck, he's in serious financial trouble, doesnt have many friends, and he just lost his job. everything seems to follow the same grey routine for the poor guy, until he gets a phone call with a strange, unfamiliar voice on the other end, followed by even stranger instructions from the caller. if he can kill the fly buzzing around his head he will win $1000 dollars. thats it? no problem. now for $5000, eat the fly.

as the day goes by, the challenges get more and more outlandish, from retrieving a dead body from the bottom of a well, to eating a fresh pile of... eh hem..

i dont want to spoil too much plot-wise, because there are some very interesting twists and turns, but ill just say i was glued to the screen from start to finish, and it'll probably do the same for you.

::all in the name of the almighty dollar::

Interesting premise and a unique film from Thailand (are you paying attention Hollywood?).

It was a little hard to swallow that someone would do the things Chit is asked to do based on nothing more than a voice over the phone and an electronic bank account balance - I guess no one can hack into those? - but I guess that has to be accepted to watch the movie.
While there are definitely some parts that defied belief (especially the escape from the hospital), and some moments that didn't make sense (clothesline?), I enjoyed the movie. Some of the challenges were very well conceived; I won't spoil the movie by listing them, but you might not want to eat while watching it. The ending was a little disappointing, but it didn't ruin the movie.

Please do not patronize Blockbuster by renting it there - not only does Blockbuster stick it to everyone else with its borderline illegal "exclusive rental," Blockbuster censors its rentals (not sure if this one is, but probably). Either buy it or rent it from Netflix or a mom and pop store.
If you're tired of the same ol', same ol', and want to watch something different that might make you think, check this one out.

13: Game of Death (Chukiat Sakveerakul, 2006)

13: Game of Death, an incredibly silly Thai flick in the vein of The Game or 13 Tzameti, could have been a stellar example of, and addition to, the genre. A lot of the ingredients work really well here, and for the most part, the movie draws you in and won't let you look away. And yet there are some times where everything falls apart so spectacularly that the viewer is left wondering if the movie's entire crew got fired halfway through and a bunch of seventh-graders were brought in to replace them.

The plot is a simple one: Pusit (Bangkok Loco's Krissada Terrence) is having a really, really bad day. After one of his co-workers stole a client out from under him and made a big sale, he got laid off from his job. His ex-girlfriend is on her way to becoming a big pop star, and left him in the dust as soon as was convenient. He's drowning in debt. His car just got repossessed, and his only real friend, Tawn (Shutter's Achita Wuthinounsurasit), is so indecisive that the best she can come up with is to offer him a smoke out in the back hallway of the building where he, erm, used to work. Once she heads back inside, Pusit gets a very odd call. After a bit of back-and-forth, he's presented with a challenge: if he can kill a fly that's buzzing around his head with a newspaper, he'll be given 50,000 baht (roughly five thousand dollars American). Once he does, he gets another call, and is told that if he can complete the rest of the game, which consists of thirteen challenges, the ultimate prize is ten million. When the mysterious caller on the other end asks if Pusit is interested, he doesn't hesitate very long. The challenges, however, get a lot harder, and a lot more degrading, as the game goes on...

The major flaw the movie has is that it doesn't really know what it wants to be, and so it pinballs from screwball comedy to action film to gore flick to drama and back again. Obviously, movies have integrated genres successfully for decades, but 13 never quite seems to know how to go about it, and the different pieces of the film jar against one another far more than they should. Normally that would be a minor gripe, but we end up veering between different faces of this movie so many times, and so quickly, that there's a kind of metaphysical nausea to be had while watching it.

Other than that, it's not a bad little movie at all, though I can pretty much guarantee you at least one challenge will squick you out. (Which one probably depends on what baggage you bring to the table, but Sakveerakul wanted to make sure he covered as many disgusting bases as possible. Red Room ain't got nothing on this bitch.) The acting is good enough, and Krissada Terrence has some fine comic timing. If only he'd gotten to use it more here. **

Chit is having one of the worst days anyone could possibly have. Prame, the guy who always seems to outsell everyone else in the office, swiped a sale right out from under his nose, then his car was repossessed, then he lost his job, he has bills piling up, and his mom's asking him for money. He has no idea what to do. And then he gets a strange phone call. Whoever it is knows all about him. They're offering him a chance to make something of himself. He's been selected to be a contestant on a game show. What does Chit have to lose? As the game progresses, Chit finds out that he can win up to 100 million baht if he completes 13 challenges. The only problem is that not only do the challenges get more and more disturbing as the game goes along, but they're also getting darker and more twisted. There are rules to the game and if Chit breaks any one of them, the game ends and he loses everything. Will Chit still be left standing by the time this is all over? Will his financial problems be solved?

I guess this is translated a few different ways. IMDb and Netflix have different names for the characters than the version I watched. In the version I watched, the main character was named Phuchit(called Chit throughout most of the film), but Netflix and IMDb list him as Pusit. I guess the English dub lists him as Chad. The film is also known as 13: Beloved. All the technicalities aside, the DVD cover may be a bit misleading. It might make you think you're in for a bloodbath or a serial killer type of film. This isn't the case. This is an intelligent thriller. Possibly more intelligent than you first give it credit for.

Films from Thailand seem to be some of the only films that are still somewhat original these days. That's not to say the film doesn't have its similarities to other films. The most obvious being its similarities to Saw. But instead of ripping off a successful horror film just to put out another one to try and cash in on the same audience like so many others have done before it, they took an idea associated with the film, put their spin on it, came up with a well developed story, and turned it into a thriller that builds up as it goes along. The only factor that drags the film down is the use of CGI in the film. I can only think of two scenes off the top of my head that used CGI, but you can tell it's just that...below par CGI. You really start to feel bad for Chit though. As the game drags on, you realize there's nothing Chit won't do to try and get his life back on track.

The one thing that may make or break the viewer's opinion of the film is the ending. From other reviews I've skimmed through, the majority of people seem to hate it. I think it fit the film. As the game gets into its closing stages, Chit keeps telling himself that he's still human even after the horrific events he's witnessed tonight and were his doing. The ending fits that logic. There is a slight twist at the end, but I don't want to spoil anymore than what I already have.

13: Game of Death is a Thai thriller that I think just about anyone can sit down and enjoy. It's well-written, there's more character development than you may be expecting, it's suspenseful, it picks up momentum as the film progresses, and it builds towards an ending you may not be expecting. What would you do for $100 million?

First Thai movie I have ever seen. It is pretty good. The basic premise is a guy who is down on his luck is given the opportunity to make some money, by performing 13 tasks, his reward getting bigger every time but all will be lost if he fails. You watch a good guy become corrupted by money and lose his morals. Not to give away too much, but there is a twist at the end, a dynamic which applies to Thailand if youre familiar with "farang" and the result of much Western tourism in Thailand. Definitley a decent movie worth checking out.

This is one of those films that I missed when it came out, so was rather pleased to have seen it recently. It stars Krissada Sukosol Clapp as Puchit, a salesman who has had a bad three months. His car is repossessed, one of his co-workers nicks one of his clients and his mum keeps on borrowing money, thinking he is a high flyer - oh and his successful girl friend has dumped him too. Then his boss fires him. Just when he thinks it is all hopeless, he gets a call on his mobile. He is offered 10,000 baht to swat the fly that is annoying him.

On completion of that `task' he checks and sure enough the money has gone into his account. They then explain task two, and the rules. There will be thirteen different tasks, each time the amount he earns will increase, until he gets to the final thirteenth one. On completion of that he will get 100million baht. The rules are he has to complete all of the tasks, follow their every instruction and on no accounts allow anyone to find out about the `game' - any breach and it is game over.

As you have guessed the tasks become increasingly nasty and abhorrent. A couple of things to point out, his mobile has a ring tone like a police siren, which acts to ramp up the tension every time it rings; he is also a `half breed' as his abusive father is an American. This means he has often suffered racial abuse and that comes into play too. Parts of this film are truly sickening, but there are some rare comic lighter moments, and you do need them. The acting is great, the music is excellent and the story will have you gripped. There are a couple of plot holes that annoyed me slightly, but to say what they are would be a plot spoiler. There are also one or two too many coincidences, but that aside this is a really great film.

The rights have been bought in America by The Weinstein Company, an offshoot of Miramax, so a remake is planned. As ever I think you should see the original first, there are some cultural clashes that might mean you do not quite get why one `task' is worse than another, but quite frankly as they progress past number 5, they are all pretty bad. If you are a world cinema fan this is one you should definitely see, if you are on the squeamish side though, might be best to avoid, I thoroughly enjoyed it - well most of it anyway.

I couldn't even finish watching this movie! It is dubbed in english& not very well! Don't buy unless u like wasting money!

Thank God for movies like this. I don't know exactly what genre I'd classify this one as... part horror, part thriller, fully awesome. We follow a meager office worker as he goes through his dull existence, until one day after he is fired he get a strange call. From there it gets odd... he is on a game show being played in the real world, he gets calls with things he has to accomplish and if he does all thirteen he will win a huge cash prize.

This movie is surprisingly well made, and endlessly inventive with some solid acting to boot. If you're into experimental films even in the slightest you must see this one. A great break from the norm and an easy recommendation. 4.25/5 stars

I can't add anything else that no other reviewer has already said about this film, except that in my opinion, the main character is pretty hot!!! Buy this film and share it with friends! it's very entertaining and smart!