Although SPIRITED KILLER (also known as SPIRITED WARRIOR) stars Thai action star Panna Rittikrai, it will probably find a wider audience than any of his other films (with the possible exception of the original BORN TO FIGHT) for one simple reason - it features the acting debut of a certain Tony Jaa. Far from being a vehicle for Jaa - he’s on screen for barely ten minutes - SPIRITED KILLER showcases some tidy action from Panna as the mute, single-minded killer.

Plot-wise SPIRITED KILLER is as thin as the plot of the thinnest kung-fu flick. Which, lets face it, is pretty thin. Instead of working against the film, it’s this simplicity which actually makes for its appeal. Basically all we need to know here is that the ‘Killer’ of the film is hard as nails, and that he’s going to kick the crap out of anyone who gets in his way. While I don’t want to give much away, there does also seem to be something ‘otherworldly’ about this stranger because, as well as being rock-hard, he can - wait for it - run really, really fast. As luck would have it, the Killer is of course played by Panna Rittikrai himself, so this means that we get to see some decent action of the fists and feet variety. Panna’s intensity in the role is fantastic - his scowls burn off of the screen making him look very menacing and very, very hard. Forget the Terminator, Panna would put him down with one evil look. And then probably kick and punch him a few times, or stab him with a sword for good measure.

The rest of the cast consist of villagers, muggers and Japanese students (!) who are either unlucky enough to cross the path of the glaring-eyed murderer, or stupid enough to think that they can serve up some justice of their own. It’s somewhere in the middle of this lot that a certain Mr Tony Jaa makes his appearance, about midway through the film. The fight between Panna and Jaa is actually the highlight of the film - its an extended fight lasting a few minutes (as opposed to being just a couple of kicks and punches) although it does include a fair share of the famous ‘run away’ technique on Jaa’s part. Don’t expect to see the Muay Thai fighting style here - this is more like standard old school martial arts fighting. For Jaa Die-hards it’s of limited appeal, although it’s worth a look. 

The film does begin to outstay its welcome after about an hour - as fun as the action is you do begin to feel like you’ve seen it all before - but at only eighty-five minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome by long. Making use of some simple but effective cinematography helps to make the best of the ‘jungle’ backgrounds (as well as helping to make Panna Rittikrai look mean and scary) but even this can only go on for so long before becoming tiresome.

SPIRITED KILLER is a simple action film, akin to no-budget seventies Hong Kong martial arts films. There’s something very appealing about its simple-but-effective style, but beware that even this only has limited interest. Don’t watch SPIRITED KILLER purely for Tony Jaa - you’ll be disappointed - instead, watch it because Panna Rittikrai is a class act with real intensity who gets to kill a lot of people - and run really fast!