Whenever you are dealing with films from around the world you have to worry about cultural specificity. Are there things that make perfect sense in the country the film hails from that simply do not translate into your own? The cultural problem is one that pops up frequently in Thai horror films, with a great many Thai films drawing on spiritual beliefs that are completely foreign and unknown to western viewers. This is definitely an issue with Necromancer. Don't know your vedas, yantras and talismans? You'll probably still be able to follow the film but only in broad terms and certain images will lack the fear-trigger punch that I imagine they would have for people closer to this culture.
Itti is a necromancer, a master of dark magic so powerful that he is impervious to bullets, can control people from a distance and can turn himself invisible at will. Although Itti is captured and imprisoned by police officers using mysterious means of their own it is not long before he is able to use his skills to orchestrate an escape from his cell and a return to his home town.
In that town is Santi, a young hotshot cop, already promoted to lieutenant and placed in command over many officers on the force for far longer than him. Santi is a realist, believing only in what he can see but what he is seeing is increasingly making little sense to him as he keeps finding himself in pursuit of criminals with apparently supernatural powers. When the task of tracking down and capturing the escaped Itti falls to him Santi finds himself increasingly drawn into the world of black magic.
Necromancer does an awful lot of things right. Santi and Itti are a pair of compelling, well matched leads with surprising twists and turns to their characters. The film itself is shot in a casual, very naturalistic style and features some of the very best effects work I've ever seen in a Thai production. Making the effects even more effective is just how flawlessly they are blended into the natural environment. The magic sequences are incredibly strong because they never seem like fantasy, they are blended so smoothly into what is so clearly a real world setting that you never question them at all. The film also has a depth uncommon in this sort of genre fare with the director - a former monk - digging deep into matters of karma, personal responsibility and the corrupting nature of power.
Now, with so much good stuff I really wish I could declare Necromancer an all out success but I can't, and I really can't put my finger down on why. Are there pacing issues? Perhaps, but I can't really isolate any obvious intances. Problems with the plotting? Well, there are definitely some points that felt a bit over complicated and in need of streamlining but I don't think that's quite it, either. For the run of the film Necromancer had the feeling of something that just never quite found its stride. While there were lots of strong individual elements they just never felt as though they clicked together for me, it always felt as if the big a-ha moment that would pull everything together was just around the corner but it was a corner that we never quite reached and I really have to wonder if this is where the cultural issues come into play.
My own - admittedly limited - experience says that karma just doesn't translate well into western culture. I understand the idea behind it, yes, but that understanding just never makes the move from an abstract concept to something that can provoke emotional responses.
Necromancer is an intriguing film, well crafted and well executed - an impressive accomplishment from a first time director who I'm certain we'll be hearing from again. It's a film that I like quite a lot but can't stop wishing I liked more.
Check out the official website for background info on the magic used in the film and for a downloadable trailer.
It would have been better if you saw this movie along with a Thai and an Indian. They could have explained the Buddhist and the Hindu aspect of the Vedas in the movie to you.
I was really excited about this movie, after hearing of its low-budget naturalistic style of filming, I was curious to see whether the film could pull geniune screams from me.
The begining of the film really gave me the eebie-jeebies. The characters along with the actors playing them were really believable. But toward the end of the movie, it seemed to run out of steam.
The film lost me, starting from cuts showing Santi killing other necromancers to gain their powers to the end fighting scene where it started to pour blood. This last scene was just too long and dragged out.
There really is alot of good things about this movie, and most of them occupied the first half of it.
Thank you so much Todd for your review.
Todd , Could you give the rating for this movie. For me, I gave 3 outta 5
This is also one of my favorite movie,
Even the outlook of the movie were action, blood , horro
For me, this is an strong emotional movie. 80% is fully emotion
Filmnoir : Betrayal , Cruelty , The dark side of humans.. I like this type of movie,especially the delicacy of acting….
The puzzle were put not only on the 2 versions of the story at farmhouse in a lagoon but also hidden along at the beginning , the opening scene of Itti
Itti ( let you seen his emotional eyes) he arrested and hitting the drug trafficker and scene of Santi when he came out to catch dead the bandits to hoard their talismans (the winner can take the loser's talisman and augment his own power, making him a more formidable opponent in the future)
These 2 scenes are made of links. This behavior telling you that why they become the black magic masters.
It's telling the past of Itti by the behavior of the recent young cop Santi be involved in the dark side of humans.. It ‘s like the replacement .
Finally, the last scene Santi catch dead Itti by hitting like the way Itti was hit the bandits in the past as you seen at the beginning scene ( it's like the circle of fate). This is the final fate that Itti was suffered before he die.
So Itti and Santi are like the same person. They use the black magic to achieve their passion and destroy the human's life with the position of cup. Killed /catch dead bandits to hoard their tailsman.
In this movie ,the necromancer cop purpose to be use the magic power to protect themself and catch criminals. But they use it to destroy and achieve their passion instead.
This story to proceed as the circle of fate. Final destination their will face up the fearsome, sorrow suffering according to the bad things they have been done.
Since this is not the action movie, the whole story is quite deeply emotional. So the real look itself is quite slow. the scenes given the feeling. If you ‘re the Action fan flick, you may not like this one.
If you like the emotional flick, when you find out the links and you feel the emotion, you will understand the story.
I'm with you on the rating ... I'd give it 3, maybe three and a half, out of five ...
Well, for me the movie is head on, i saw the movie a little before you guys had but just stumbled upon this site, ..."accidentally" I would say it is cultural. I ..born in northern thailand, family wise father is thai and camboidian and mother lao and thai. We are veryr spiritual and beleive in the past , undead and ghost and such. watching this movie and others such is very compelling and i watch them over and over again. So fully understanding the language and backrgound of our beleifs and spirituality is a definate key in understanding the elements of the film.
can you teach me the power f the necromancer please
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