Arisara Wongchalee, Death Whisperer, Death Whisperer 2, Denise Jelilcha Kapaun, horror, Jampa Saenprom, Kajbundit Jaidee, Manita Chobchuen, movies, Nadech Kugimiya, Nutthatcha Padovan, Pantakan Pumthong, Paramet Noi-um, Peerakit Patcharabunyakiat, Rattanawadee Wongtong, reviews, Somjai Janmoontree, Thailand, Thanatsaran Samthonglai, Todsapol Maisuk, Yasaka Chaisorn
December 30, 2024
by Carla Hay
Directed by Taweewat Wanta
Thai with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in 1975 (and with a flashback to 1854), in Thailand, the horror film “Death Whisperer 2” (based on the novel “Tee Yod…The Ends of a Mad Groan”) features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A demon that took the life of a family’s middle daughter goes back to take possession of the family’s youngest daughter.
Culture Audience: “Death Whisperer 2” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the first “Death Whisperer” movie, and horror movies that have more style than substance.
“Death Whisperer 2” is not as boring as the first “Death Whisperer” movie, but it’s still a moronic mess. This sequel has more cast members than its predecessor, which means more murder victims in this incoherent story about a demon who targets children. This flimsy horror flick has more action scenes than its predecessor but still lazily copies the same idea as 2023’s “Death Whisperer,” in terms of who will be in the final showdown scene.
“Death Whisperer” and “Death Whisperer 2” were both directed by Taweewat Wantha. “Death Whisperer” was written by Sorarat Jirabovornwisut and Thammanan Chulaborirak. “Death Whisperer 2” was written by Jirabovornwisut and Palapon Pongpat. “Death Whisperer” is based on Krittanon’s novel “Tee Yod…Heard a Mad Groan.” “Death Whisperer 2” is based on Krittanon’s novel “Tee Yod…The Ends of a Mad Groan.”
“Death Whisperer 2” takes place in Thailand, mostly in 1975, three years after the events of “Death Whisperer.” The setting is “mostly” in 1975, because the movie opens with a scene taking place in 1854, near the Luay border. This 1854 scene shows soldiers getting attacked by unseen forces in a grassy field.
One of the soldiers, whose name is Puang (played by Pantakan Pumthong), is dying in the field. A female demon (played by Manita Chobchuen) with a decaying body appears and tells him: “If you don’t want to die, I can help you, but you have to take me in.” She then removes part of her tongue and makes him swallow it.
This opening scene seemingly corrects one of the biggest problems with “Death Whisperer”: the nameless demon (also played by Chobchuen) had no origin story or any explanation of who she is. However, this flashback scene still doesn’t reveal anything about why the demon is the way she is. This flashback scene only shows that this demon existed in 1854.
“Death Whisperer 2” then does a flash-forward to 1975, the year that the rest of the movie takes place. In “Death Whisperer 2,” the same family from “Death Whisperer” will be visited by the demon, who will go after one of the members in the family to possess that person. It won’t be hard to predict who it will be because every person possessed by the demon so far has been a child, usually a girl. And the family at the center of “Death Whisperer 2” has one person who first that description.
It’s revealed early on in “Death Whisperer 2” that (mild spoiler alert), the family’s middle daughter Yam (played by Rattanawadee Wongtong), who was possessed by the demon, died from being killed by the demon, which is now on the loose again. Yam was about 10 or 11 years old when she died.
Yam’s surviving family members are her mother Boonyen (played by Arisara Wongchalee), father Hang (played by Paramet Noi-um) and five siblings: eldest brother Yak (played by Nadech Kugimiya), middle brother Yos (played by Kajbundit Jaidee), youngest brother Yod (played by Peerakit Patcharabunyakiat), eldest sister Yad (played by Denise Jelilcha Kapaun) and youngest sister Yee (played by Nutthatcha Padovan). Yee is about 8 years old, while the other siblings are in their 20s.
Yak spent time in the military and is close with an older mentor type named Sarge Paphan (played by Ongart Cheamcharoenpornkul), who has become a “demon hunter” ally to Yak. Sarge was also in “Death Whisperer.” Yak and Sarge are looking for a male demon named Puang. “I won’t die until get rid of that damned ghost!” Yak tell Sarge. (Yasaka Chaisorn has the role of older Puang.)
An early scene in “Death Whisperer 2” shows Yak and Sarge deserted shack, as they corner a soldier who seems to be possessed and is about to cut his own arm off with a machete. Yak points a shotgun at the man and says, “Tell me where that damned ghost is, and I’ll help you cross over.” The man then spits on a catfish in a barrel. Yak then burns the barrel.
Meanwhile, eldest daughter Yad is engaged to a nice guy named Pradit (played by Phiravich Attachitsataporn), a son of a rich sugarcane farmer. The famlies on both sides approve of this marriage. The planning for the wedding is just a way for the movie to stretch out its already thin plot with a contrived subplot about whether or not the upcoming nuptials of Yad and Pradit will be ruined by the demon.
“Death Whisperer 2” then wastes a lot of time with a subplot about Yak and Sarge randomly meeting an eager middle-aged man named Luechaia (played by Sahatchai Chumrum) in a Laplae District cafe. Luechaia tells that he’s hunting for the Puang too. “We have the same goal,” Luechaia says.
And faster than you can say “terrible horror movie,” Yak and Sarge are part of a demon-hunting group who go on an expedition in the woods. They bring guns with them, even though they know that guns won’t kill demons. Expect to see some time-wasting jump scares involving wild animals, such as a cobra.
The other people in this hunting group are men recruited by Luechaia: Sem (played by Somjai Janmoontree) is a sorcerer and a shaman. Sem’s two nephews are Jirasak (played by Todsapol Maisuk) and Nawin (played by Thanatsaran Samthonglai), who are both in their 20s. Jirasak is an aggressive bully, while Nawin is more mild-mannered. They are also joined by a driver, who is their guide/porter.
Predictably, Yak and Jirasak have conflicts. They get into a physical fight with each other when Jirasak taunts Yak for “being a piece of shit” for not being able to save Yam. And just as predictably, not everyone in this demon hunting group makes it out alive.
Yak’s parents and siblings still live in an unnamed village in the province of Kanchanaburi. It takes an awfully long time in “Death Whisperer 2,” but the demon who killed Yam comes back to get revenge on the family by possessing another child in the family. Chauy (played by Jampa Saenprom), an elderly eccentric woman neighbor from “Death Whisperer” makes a return appearance in “Death Whisperer 2.” There are only slight improvements in making the returning “Death Whisperer” characters have more personality in “Death Whisperer 2,” but they are all still written and portrayed as hollow characters.
“Death Whisperer 2” has adequate visual effects. The movie’s biggest strength is the stirring and suspenseful musical score by Toy Terdsak Janpan. But “Death Whisperer 2” has too many other problems that prevent it from being an enjoyable horror movie: sloppy editing, ridiculous-looking action scenes, horrendous acting and even worse dialogue. “Death Whisperer 2” is simply yet another “cash grab” sequel that’s the same type of junk as the first movie in the series.
Niu Vision Media released “Death Whisperer 2” in select U.S. cinemas on December 13, 2024. The movie was released in Thailand on October 10, 2024.