First off let's make it clear that this film is a direct prequel to Art of the Devil 2. It will make no sense whatsoever if you have not seen that film!
With that out of the way, I gave this one a higher score that I normally would. Yes, much like AOTD 2, the bulk is mainly torture , but then if you know anything about this series you should know that going in. Yes there is a strange tattooed villain who contributes almost nothing to the plot and could easily have been left as a breakaway (like the dark magician in part 2).
However, I was surprised that, when all was said and done, this DID explain several questions that I felt were leftover from the second film. Whose corpses were those that the teacher was using for her army of walking dead? Why did she seem to question them so closely as if they were on intimate terms? What happened to Ta's mother? Why did the teacher enter into what seemed such an uneven marriage?
I also liked the motif of the monk serving as a vehicle for both the teacher and Ta working through their karma, although that brings me to one of my main problems with this as a prequel film. Although this is set up to occur one year before the events of AOTD 2, I wish the ending scene (the monk speaking with the souls of the teacher and Ta) could have somehow been after the events of that film.
The message of having to work though and accept the negativity of one's own actions to break the chain of evil consequences is an important one, since part of the "twists" which keep happening in these films is that we are shown that certain characters who began as victims are, earlier and earlier, actually the ones who began using black magic in the first place (indeed, I believe the point has been push as far as possible unless they would like to show us a baby somehow engaging the services of a dark magician!). In other words, as in typical revenge narrative, a character begins as a victim, but then, in the process of revenge, becomes a demon who then inspires feelings of revenge in his or her victims creating a never-ending chain of evil.
The ending scene seemed to imply some remorse and self-awareness on the part of both Ta and the teacher (indeed, I felt Ta came across as a much more likeable character in this film). If all of this occurred BEFORE the horrendous events of AOTD 2, however...well, not much karma was worked out during that year.
So all in all, if you are a fan of this series, don't miss this entry. The central actors are solid and the storyline is in keeping with the previous storylines about revenge, justification, and the nature of how much is too much. Also there's plenty of gore and dead people. Basically a good Art of the Devil film!
With that out of the way, I gave this one a higher score that I normally would. Yes, much like AOTD 2, the bulk is mainly torture , but then if you know anything about this series you should know that going in. Yes there is a strange tattooed villain who contributes almost nothing to the plot and could easily have been left as a breakaway (like the dark magician in part 2).
However, I was surprised that, when all was said and done, this DID explain several questions that I felt were leftover from the second film. Whose corpses were those that the teacher was using for her army of walking dead? Why did she seem to question them so closely as if they were on intimate terms? What happened to Ta's mother? Why did the teacher enter into what seemed such an uneven marriage?
I also liked the motif of the monk serving as a vehicle for both the teacher and Ta working through their karma, although that brings me to one of my main problems with this as a prequel film. Although this is set up to occur one year before the events of AOTD 2, I wish the ending scene (the monk speaking with the souls of the teacher and Ta) could have somehow been after the events of that film.
The message of having to work though and accept the negativity of one's own actions to break the chain of evil consequences is an important one, since part of the "twists" which keep happening in these films is that we are shown that certain characters who began as victims are, earlier and earlier, actually the ones who began using black magic in the first place (indeed, I believe the point has been push as far as possible unless they would like to show us a baby somehow engaging the services of a dark magician!). In other words, as in typical revenge narrative, a character begins as a victim, but then, in the process of revenge, becomes a demon who then inspires feelings of revenge in his or her victims creating a never-ending chain of evil.
The ending scene seemed to imply some remorse and self-awareness on the part of both Ta and the teacher (indeed, I felt Ta came across as a much more likeable character in this film). If all of this occurred BEFORE the horrendous events of AOTD 2, however...well, not much karma was worked out during that year.
So all in all, if you are a fan of this series, don't miss this entry. The central actors are solid and the storyline is in keeping with the previous storylines about revenge, justification, and the nature of how much is too much. Also there's plenty of gore and dead people. Basically a good Art of the Devil film!