Leofwine_draca This extremely low budget production has been widely advertised as a 'Tony Jaa' film in the wake of the success of ONG BAK and WARRIOR KING; unsuspecting fans might mistake it for the third part of a 'spiritual' trilogy with those two films. However, SPIRITED WARRIOR is a different kettle of fish altogether. Even lower budget than the period Hong Kong kung fu films made in the early 1970s, this is a film that does contain Tony Jaa's debut performance, but the bad news is he's only in it for fifteen minutes! Rather than being the main star of the show, Jaa is a minor character who nevertheless gets to perform in some fun martial arts battles before getting killed off.This is actually the fourth part in a series of TERMINATOR-inspired films about an indestructible killer butchering his way through lots of people in a forest setting. That's actually the whole plot. The emphasis is very much on the fight scenes, and there are a ton of different fights here that are not bad in themselves. Unfortunately, because of the low budget, they do tend to get a bit repetitive and there's none of the fancy camera-work that director Panna Rittikrai would bring to the likes of BORN TO FIGHT. Really, this is one of the lowest budget movies I've ever watched, and I've seen a lot of them! The film does have some inspired lunacy to recommend it. The opening shots of a witch doctor performing at his altar bring to mind classic Asian horror flicks like ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND and later there are some sped-up shots of people running which are absolutely hilarious to watch. There's plenty of bloodshed towards the end of the movie and a cheesy twist ending – any '90s horror film producer would be proud of it. Panna Rittikrai, noted Thai action director, also plays the leading character and he gets a chance to whup backside left, right and centre. Tony Jaa, still a teenager when he made this, looks like nothing more than a kid in a tracksuit, although his fight scene with Rittikrai is a definite highlight of the movie, and watch for the bit where he does the splits! In fact this bit is so enjoyable they repeat it scene-for-scene right at the beginning of the film, even though it doesn't make any sense in that context. Unfortunately, the paucity of the production means that there's no room for explosions, shootings, or anything of the sort. It's just people fighting in the woods, over and over again, until the closing credits roll. Some halfway decent music and lots of bad acting are all you'll find here.

SlingShott78 I recently bought this film as a trilogy set entitled The Spirited Killer Trilogy from a "bargain bin" for a whopping $2.97. I must say as i was quite disappointed that it claimed itself as a Tony Jaa movie and he was maybe in it for 10-15min i still found it to be quite entertaining. The fight sequences i believe are choreographed by star..actor..Tony Jaa mentor..Panna Rittikrai and as usual they are pretty damn incredible. Some reviewers rated this film quite low due to it not having enough of a story line. To me this is like complaining that a xxx rated flick sucks because it doesn't have enough of a plot lol. All in all Spirited Killer is a decent flick for what it is meant to be...an action packed muay Thai martial arts film. Great fight scenes, a lot of comic relief and unbelievable stunts. I also enjoy as i'm sure any true fan would the fact that even though it is a 1994 film it still has that old school feel to it,which to me just adds to the all around enjoyment. So in conclusion i encourage any fan of this genre to do themselves a favor and seek this one out.

lemon_magic Like most viewers new to the Tony Jaa phenomenon, I was under the impression that he would have a prominent role in "Spirited Killer", since this is packaged and marketed in the US as a Tony Jaa film. This turned out not to be the case, but it was still worth watching once.The film was obviously made with a tiny budget, but the real problem is the lack of real actors, the poor dubbing, the monotonous, repetitious nature of the story, and the monotonous, repetitious nature of the fights. The action is fluid, energetic, and intense, but the scenario never changes: vicious killing machine confronts, runs down and kills various parties in the jungle over and over and over. Various people show up and join in the fight against the killer, and they get killed too. The fights (to my Western eye) are like Roadrunner cartoons - they don't really "end", they just stop. What works for a 10 minute Chuck Jones animated fantasy becomes tiresome in a 90 minute feature film.I also have to admit that my potential rating of the film was influenced by the fact that I kept waiting for Jaa to show up, and he kept not being there. If I go back and watch it again sometime, I'll probably like it better for being what it is, rather than as a Jaa action vehicle.I got this DVD as a "Sprited Killer" trilogy for about $5, so I am satisfied with the bargain I stuck...but I will say you have to be a pretty indiscriminate martial arts fan to really enjoy this movie. Casual fans (or people who prefer high budget extravaganzas like "House Of Flying Daggers") will not be happy with this one.

udar55 This Thai martial arts film was released in the US as SPIRITED KILLER. The DVD capitalizes on Tony Jaa being in the film, but he is only in it for about 15 minutes. Regardless, the film is still worth watching if you want to check out some insane Thai fighting. Panna Rittikrai, Tony Jaa's mentor and trainer, reprises his role as a killing machine under the spell of a local black magic priest (this is actually the fourth part of a series). The film is basically like the Chuck Norris vehicle SILENT RAGE set in a forest. The killer is unstoppable and just beats people over and over. Nothing more, nothing less. The real reason to watch it are the brutal, full contact fights. This is standard for Panna titles and these guys really beat the hell out of each other. Jaa looks quite young but displays that unique flair that would eventually make him a worldwide superstar (watch for the scene where he does the splits...ouch!). The English dub on the DVD is so goofy that it only adds to the enjoyment of the film.