NANG NAK hunk Winai Kraibutr has the title role in this Thai horror/fantasy, which is based on a famous novel previously adapted for the screen. Citizens of The North Village are under seige from a giant crocodile that moves like lightning both in and out of the water. Wandering he-man Krai Thong (called "Kraitong" in the subtitles) wrestles and defeats a crocodile that has wandered on shore but it is not the beast responsible for the carnage. When the creature strikes again, the local chieftain promises half of his fortune to the hunter who puts an end to the horror. The monster, Chalawan, and his two mates (Champagne X and Chutima "Candy" Everie, the latter a dead ringer for Ada Choi Siu-fan) possess the ability to assume human form, so Chalawan decides to take one of the village girls as a new wife. He makes off with the chief's beautiful daughter, Tong (Wannasa Thongviset), and deposits her in his underground lair. Krai Thong is able to affect a rescue and deals Chalawan a wound that he thought would lead to the creature's death. Chalawan's continued existence prompts the arrival of elderly hunter Ta Soey, whose wife was one of the monster's victims. He reveals that only a spear made of seven metals will kill Chalawan, so Krai sets to work constructing it.

TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER and NANG NAK demonstrate just how far Thai cinema has come in the past few years but the average film from this country is still technically limited and produced on a modest budget. Consequently, one must cut KRAI THONG a great deal of slack for the picture to entertain in the way its creators intended. Director Suthat Intaranupakorn tries to hide the production's limitations by constantly shaking the camera during the action sequences, a stylistic choice that will have most viewers reaching for some Dramamine by the halfway mark. Almost as unsettling is the picture's goofy comic relief (admiring one villager's collection of severed human ears, a man remarks "You must be a great warrior," to which the other replies "No, I am a barber!") and the croc is a mix of extremely unconvincing CGI and real animals that are nowhere near the same size. It also does not help that all of the underwater sequences involving the performers were clearly lensed in a swimming pool. Still, the film does have a few points in its favor. Some of the other CGI work (like the parting of a lake) is reasonably effective and at no point are the FX as bad as those seen in Sompote Sands' CROCODILE (1981). Most interestingly, Krai Thong and Chalawan both display unexpected shades in their character; the former quite willingly cheats on his wives by sleeping with Chalawan's women, while the villain of the piece vows at one point to never kill another human being (that pledge, not surprisingly, is quickly forgotten when he catches the philandering Krai red-handed). There are also a few genuinely poetic images, like Chalawan and one mate transforming into crocodiles, while locked in an underwater embrace, and the same female's true form shown reflected in a pool of water, while her human guise observes the death of a fellow being.

Winson #WDV 1024K (Hong Kong label) Dolby Digital 2.0 Post Synched Thai Language Optional Subtitles In English and Chinese (Traditional or Simplified) 6 Chapters Illustrated In the Menu With Stills Letterboxed (1.80:1) Coded for ALL Regions 92 Minutes Contains moderate violence and gore, brief nudity, and mild sexuality

DVD menu courtesy Winson.

KRAI THONG is available at Poker Industries.