The Murderer Review: Phetthai Vongkhamlao Stars in an Entertaining Crime-Comedy

The Murderer Review: Directed by Wisit Sasanatieng, the murder-mystery-comedy film (เมอร์เด้อเหรอ ฆาตกรรมอิหยังวะ) stars Phetthai Vongkhamlao, Eisaya Hosuwan, James Laver, Jonathan Samson, Sawanee Utoomma, Chananticha Chaipa and others. It has a runtime of 120 minutes.

– The Murderer Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –

The Murderer Plot

When a terrible tragedy takes place in an isolated property during the night of a terrible storm, an English man, who is the family’s son-in-law, is accused of their murder. As the police try to make him confess in hilarious ways, his wife is the only one defending him from being wrongly accused. However, is he really innocent?

The Murderer Review

Every moment of The Murderer is heightened – the colours, the acting, the general storyline. It’s all insanity, and with 7 people being murdered in the first scene, of course, it’s going to be an over-the-top ride. The humour is quite funny, and it’s so dark sometimes that it’s uncomfortable. However, thanks to Phetthai Vongkhamlao playing an insanely over-the-top officer, James Laver’s naive and relatable white man and a storyline that insists on giving us whiplash, we are left laughing a very uncomfortable laugh as the incidents of an unfortunate night unfold in front of us.

In the midst of the comedy and satire, director Wisit Sasanatieng brings forth a competent murder mystery that will keep you guessing – who did commit all these murders? Of course, we are given one possible perpetrator, Earl. However, we have to doubt the validity of that claim since his character is not shown as a maniac right from the first scene. Although Inspector Nawat shows several different scenarios that could’ve happened, you still have your doubts.

It’s interesting to watch The Murderer also because of the way Nawat behaves with Earl and accepts him to be the culprit without any proof; it is reminiscent of how police work is oftentimes biased and works against the weakest in the situation. Nawat’s own biased views derail the investigation, and poor Earl, outnumbered and alone in a foreign place, is locked up and left at the hands of people who don’t believe him. The situation is honestly sad, but the miscommunication is what keeps this insane tale entertaining.

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Let’s come to the comedy part – it nails it most of the time. The subtle comedy, with the satire part in the background, works best with the help of the over-the-top elements. Everyone is just too much, but it works. There are, however, stupider moments which feel out of place and unnecessary. I mean, far jokes stopped being funny a few years ago, but here we are, still watching them. That being said, the back-and-forth nature of the movie is quite fun and fills in gaps in the right way. You don’t feel confused about where you are in the story, but the several different versions do make you question what the truth can be.

Regardless, in this comedy of errors, James Laver running around like a bloody, naked ghost, is the most entertaining and made me laugh the most. He’s just so earnest in all the situations but looks so ragged that the situation just feels insane from the first go. All the actors do a fantastic job and are very believable in their roles. Most are quite annoying and outright trash people with a lot of prejudice, but, hey, it makes sense.

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The ending sequence feels just a bit much, though. When we finally see who murdered seven people, we are left feeling a bit confused because over-the-top doesn’t mean unbelievable. In the name of fun and games, it just becomes a bit too much towards the end when the grumpies turn out to be completely unhinged, apparently. It just goes off the deep end without much explanation as to why and if being racist can push people to become murderers, but that’s not the end of it.

Unfortunately, this insane movie goes a bit further and takes it to a whole new level of crazy which feels like the movie is trying too hard to be outlandish on purpose. It works a bit, but not in the capacity in which you’d expect.

The Murderer Review: Final Thoughts

The Murderers is an insane comedy with an unexpected twist in the end. Although it feels a bit too much and tries too hard, it’s still quite entertaining and funny, even as a comedy thriller.

The Murderer is streaming on Netflix.

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