Thai murder mystery with a saturated twist
The Murderer is the latest mystery film on Netflix, revolving around a group of eclectic and colourful characters caught up in a crazy night of mayhem, misery and murder.
The premise is simple, revolving around a series of gruesome murders that have taken place in Roi Et. Seven people in total are found dead at a farmhouse in the Bung Klua district. Most victims lived together, but there’s a distinct fracture running down the middle, thanks in part to “farang” Earl. Earl is married to Sai and he’s from Britain. None of Sai’s family trust him and see the guy as a dangerous outsider – and he just so happens to be the lead suspect in this massacre.
Determined to get to the bottom of what happened, fiery police investigator Nawat is on the scene. Described by many as the “Hot-Headed Crime Buster”, he’s determined to either incriminate Earl for the murders, or at least find out the truth.
Along the way, the film is broken up into different segments, with cutaway cards to show parts of the story. Three suspects are interviewed in total, while the story changes and distorts slightly as new information comes to the fold, which is predominantly told through flashbacks to that fateful night in question.
What’s particularly interesting here though is how the end message of the film ties back into what we’ve been seeing throughout. There are hints and teasing glimpses of what actually happened, but it’s not until the surprising end reveal that everything becomes clearer.
Aesthetically, the film revels in a lot of bright, saturated colours. Fuchsia pink, neon blue and blood red are used throughout, giving the picture a distinct visual flair. There’s also some lovely editing as well, with a particular segment showing Nawat’s past, bathed in pink and blue smoke, a particular highlight.
Having said that though, The Murderer is a tad overlong. There’s a lot of back-and-forth with various different tales from that fateful night that tends to sag. At the same time, we see a subplot involving Nawat’s scar which could have been cut completely. Around the hour mark, we know that all is not as it seems and it does take a while to properly lay out what happened in this nearly 2 hour picture.
The humour is also a bit hit or miss. I know comedy is subjective but the gallows humour and the flamboyant, over-exaggerated mannerisms don’t mesh together all that well and sometimes comes across more like over-acting than befitting the style of this mystery.
However, The Murderer is a rewarding watch overall with a nice little twist at the end and some stand out moments. It’s certainly far from perfect, but if you’re in the mood for a visually appealing, enjoyable mystery, this one’s definitely worth a watch.
Read More: The Murderer Ending Explained
Feel free to check out more of our movie reviews here!
-
Verdict - 7/10
7/10