The Murderer – Netflix Review (3/5)

THE MURDERER on Netflix is a new genre-hybrid from Thailand. A who-dun-it serial killer horror comedy. Well, sort of. Mostly, it’s weird and wacky misunderstandings, but it works. Read our full The Murderer movie review here!

THE MURDERER is a new Netflix movie from Thailand. If you think this isn’t for you, then I urge you to reconsider. Well, certainly if you like fun genre-hybrids that combine bloody mishaps with dark comedy. Actually, the movie even has some serious scenes as well, but overall it’s quite wacky.

Though this Thai movie is nowhere near the level of the brilliant One Cut of the Dead, it does attempt to utilize a few of the same elements. Usually with success, though some comedic elements work better than others.

Continue reading our The Murderer movie review below. Find it on Netflix from July 27, 2023.

The fart of death

In The Murderer, we meet a family on the night when a tropical storm was supposed to hit a village in Isan. Instead, it appears that a massacre is now unfolding on an isolated property. There, several bodies who all appear to have died from various causes are found scattered across the property.

With no real clue as to who the murderer is, Inspector Nawat is under pressure to find the culprit as the lead investigator.

In a very un-surprising turn of events, he is quick to direct his suspicions at the outsider.

If you think this is a serious story, then you won’t after a few moments. Once there’s the fart of death (when a dead woman is being transported by her family in a small car), you’ll be certain this is a definite campy and wacky story.

Seeing things from more sides

Usually, there’s more than one side to a story. However, while two people may have different versions of events, there’s still always one truth.

In The Murderer, we have a police detective trying to solve murders. He has a very specific idea of how the crimes happened, so when we see him describe this, it’s shown as a flashback.

Always in neon colors and with the presumed killer (a British man married to a local Thai woman) having a deranged look on his face. When his Thai wife is trying to defend him, it’s shown as much calmer and she does make much more sense.

Overall, the police detective is a very entertaining character and has awesome comedic timing. And facial expressions.

For the record, the British man accused as “The Murderer” is just one of the foreigners in this story. Also known as “farangs”. Another is an American man, who is introduced with the stereotypical red cap (complete with the MAGA message) that has become synonymous with ignorant Americans.

Watch The Murderer on Netflix now!

The director of The Murderer is Wisit Sasanatieng, who also worked on the Thai Netflix sci-fi thriller Deep as a writer.  That movie was not something I enjoyed. For The Murderer, the screenplay was written by Abishek J. Bajaj.

The same filmmaker duo did also make the Netflix horror mystery The Whole Truth with Wisit Sasanatieng as director and Abishek J. Bajaj as screenwriter. While I still wasn’t entirely on board with it, The Whole Truth was a movie I enjoyed much more than Deep.

This latest movie is an entirely different creature. A a crazy murder investigation that blends wicked and dark comedy with satire of modern culture, and a bloody outcome. And yes, the ending of The Murderer does show what happened and offers up a very unpredictable (yet believable, because we see it) answer.

We don’t do half-star ratings here, but it does land on 2½ out of 5. However, it’s smart, crazy, and entertaining enough that we’ll round up to 3 out of 5.

The Murderer is on Netflix globally from July 27, 2023.

Details

Director: Wisit Sasanatieng
Writer: Abishek J. Bajaj
Stars: Phetthai Vongkumlao, Eisaya Hosuwan, James Laver, Jonathan Samson, Sawanee Utoomma, Boonyarit Wiangnon, Chananticha Chaipa, Sunaree Ratchasima, Thanavisutt Chene Battiata