13: Game of Death is a fast-paced thriller that plays many scenes broadly, which only works to enhance the effect. It is unlike what you get in Hollywood championed thrillers in that the film has a very palpable sense of reality while not feeling terribly real at the same time. It teeters on the edge of flying off the rails, yet manages to hold on and drag the audience along the pre-determined path of its existence.

While the movie has great pacing, it takes its time to reveal its depths to the audience, beginning as a drama, adding in touches of black comedy, veering into a bit of action, before settling into the disturbing. It is an accomplished film that will have you on the edge of your seat all the way through.

All the while Chit is being challenged, we are not allowed to forget that this is a game show. Of course, it is a very secret game show that Chit cannot tell anyone he is participating in, and what good is a game show that doesn't have an audience? That's right, there is an audience always watching, always being entertained by the challenges presented to Chit. We are that audience; how much are you willing to accept? In a way, it touches on a bit of what Series 7 touched upon in its look at the reality television phenomenon.

Is the movie perfect? Of course not, very few films are, but that takes nothing away from what it accomplishes. For one thing, there is an interesting sub-plot involving the police officer in charge of catching Chit (he is performing some criminal acts, no matter how much you want to root for him), but it is abandoned with no completion to his arc. There is also the small matter of the ending that did not completely work.

Director Chukiat Sakveerakul does a great job with the pacing, camera work, and general flow of the film. He displays an ability to keep an audience at attention and captivated. I am interested in investigating his other work, and seeing what he may do in the future. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Eakasit Thairatana, based on his comic. Also contributing to the film's success is cinematographer Chitti Urnorakankij, who does a fine job of capturing the tone of each scene. The music also adds much to the film; it was composed by Kitti Kuramanee.