Tuk kae phii (2004)
2/10
Ghosts 'n' geckos.
11 June 2007
Flesh eating lizards sound scary, right? Well, they would be if they were 6ft long, and secreted acid, breathed fire, or carried chainsaws. But when they're a few inches long and are either poorly rendered CGI or made of rubber, that's a different matter entirely.

In Lizard Woman, evil reptilian spirits are freed when a group of geologists accidentally break open a strange wooden casket; when attacked by these supernatural geckos, victims are transformed into deadly lizard-zombie-ghost thingys.

After his girlfriend falls victim to one of the little lizards, a doctor attempts to find a way to save the woman he loves.

This dreadful Thai horror movie is a bizarre mixture of spooks and killer animals, with a touch of possession and zombie mayhem thrown in for good measure, but the insane story is virtually incomprehensible, incredibly dull and ultimately not nearly as much fun as my synopsis makes it sound.

Director Manop Udomdej's handling of the action is uninspired, and he blatantly lifts the best bits from superior Western horrors such as The Evil Dead and The Exorcist. To make matters worse, the special effects are pretty poor, with even the occasional potentially good gore scene ruined by too much unconvincing CGI blood.

The film is spared the disgrace of getting 1/10 thanks to the occasional freaky moment and some (very brief) female nudity (cute nekkid Thai women always help my enjoyment of a film).

I give Lizard Woman 1.5 /10 (which is begrudgingly rounded up to 2/10 for IMDb).
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