Reviews
‘This Tempting Madness’ Review: Stylish Psychological Thriller Nearly Collapses Under Its Twists
This Tempting Madness, the new thriller from director and co-writer Jennifer E. Montgomery, opens with a title card that ties it to a true story and insists that while names have been changed, the “strangest parts” are preserved. It’s an enticing opening, and for a while at least, it bears fruit.
Starring Simone Ashley as a young woman recovering from a horrible accident that may or may not involve an abusive spouse, the film establishes layers of intrigue early on, delicately folding them together with stylish visual and aural flourishes from Montgomery and the production team. It’s familiar to any seasoned viewer of psychological thrillers, and amnesia thrillers in particular, but it’s clicking…mostly.
Thanks to a solid lead performance, some compelling hooks in the script, and capable direction, This Tempting Madness manages to hold itself together as a solid little thriller, even if a third act that’s too twisty for its own good almost derails the whole thing.
Ashley is Mia, whose opening moments in the film show us her plunge from a high balcony, down through an atrium, and into a safety net that just barely saves her from death. In the hospital, with her jaw wired shut and her leg broken in several places, Mia finds her memories are horribly fragmented, and her lack of information about what happened to her isn’t helped by her protective brother Ajay (Suraj Sharma), who insists that she’ll know more when she’s well. Soon, portions of the truth come out. Mia’s husband, the volatile Jake (Austin Stowell), is in jail for attempting to murder her, but Mia doesn’t remember that, so what really happened? Is Jake a monster? Is Ajay manipulating her? Or is Mia herself forgetting the person she was before the fall?
While the film settles into certain familiar rhythms of its subgenre, Montgomery, who co-wrote the script with Andrew Davis, also works hard to keep you guessing, and largely succeeds. It’s easy to buy Mia’s suspicion over what’s really happened, in part because her life feels so shattered, and in part because it really does seem like Ajay could be a pushy patriarch-in-training, just as it seems like Jake could be an unstable killer, even if he simply acted in the heat of the moment.
Flashbacks start to shade in details throughout the film’s first half, and they too pull Mia and the viewer in disparate directions. It legitimately feels like the truth, whatever it might be, is both nuanced and very frightening.
The problem comes in the third act, as revelations start to mount and Mia’s life grows even more chaotic amid her recovery. Her fragmented memory induces visions alongside memories, making it harder to understand what’s real, and when Ajay finally makes good on his promise to reveal what he’s been hiding, it shoots the film off in yet another strange direction that, while promising, doesn’t really resolve into anything satisfying in the climax.
There’s a moment where the film seems like it’s going to swerve into something truly bonkers, and while that moment is thrilling, its ending is far too conventional to make good on what it sets up. Instead of an emotional resolution that brings all of these ideas together, we’re left with a more straightforward ending that brushes over the thornier, more intriguing details of the story.
But This Tempting Madness makes up for its narrative deficiencies with a focus on style and craft that reminds us what mid-budget thrillers can do in the hands of the right artists. Montgomery, with the help of Davis as her cinematographer, makes her feature directorial debut into a showcase of visual dynamism, whether she’s tracking Mia along a creepy hospital hallway or making her orange dress in a flashback sequence flow into gorgeous abstraction, until Mia might be flying just as easily as she’s falling. Editor Kiran Pallegadda also turns in solid work, working with Montgomery to cut together Mia’s present experiences with flashbacks and visions until it all blends into one effective, nerve-jangling maelstrom.
The cast also shows up with a clear understanding of the assignment. Led by Ashley, who proves her versatility in a film that demands not just swerving between mental states but spending part of the story unable to talk, This Tempting Madness marshalls a strong ensemble that imbues every character with some degree of emotional substance. The whole cast rises to the twisty melodrama of it all, but the real standout is the reliably compelling Zenobia Shroff as Mia’s mother, Lakshmi, who injects soulful, patient warmth into a very dark story.
There is, it should be clear by now, a lot to like about This Tempting Madness. In the end, the film is simply trying to carry too much, and starts to cave under the weight of its many twists, but the foundation is solid, and structural issues aside, it’s still mostly left standing.
This Tempting Madness arrives June 12 in theaters and VOD.
Movies
‘Tha Rae: The Exorcist’ Review: Gory Thai Possession Horror Faithfully Adheres to the Tropes [NYAFF 2026]
Possession films are an exceedingly common subgenre in horror to the point that far too many of them feel far too familiar. This is a generalization, obviously, but it too often seems that someone is possessed, a representative from the area’s dominant religion is called in, and a fierce spiritual battle comes to a dramatic conclusion. The idea that the demon in question always happens to be of the exorcist’s faith and denomination is simply chalked up to plot necessity.
Tha Rae: The Exorcist adds an intriguing wrinkle into that trope by introducing a demonic entity that rebuffs both a Catholic priest and a local Yao shaman. It’s only when the two join forces that they’re able to put up a fight against the evil being.
The film opens with a Catholic exorcist out of options. A possessed child writhes before him, pustules and other signs of devilish control wracking the little girl’s body with snarls and contortions. Unable to beat the demon, and unwilling to let it grow stronger and move to another host, the priest convinces the child’s mother that death is the only choice left – so they plunge a knife into the girl’s heart.
Forty years later, it’s that same priest, Ming (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), who’s become possessed to the point of attacking and trying to eat other villagers. His daughter Malee (Nichaphat Chatchaipholra) arrives to check in on her father, but she too soon falls prey to a possessive entity with a taste for flesh. Two exorcists with wildly differing faiths and styles are called in – Sopha (Phiravich Attachitsataporn) is a self-described Yao witch doctor and TikTok exorcist who uses props, dance, theatricality, and ancestral spirits to combat the forces of evil, while Father Paolo (Jirayu Tangsrisuk) is entrenched in the traditions and rituals of the Catholic Church.
Photo: © 2025 SAHAMONGKOLFILM INTERNATIONAL COMPANY LIMITED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. North American Premiere
There’s both tragedy and betrayal at play in the narrative of Tha Rae: The Exorcist, but director/co-writer Taweewat Wantha puts the thematic focus on the collaboration and understanding required to go toe to toe with a deviously malevolent force. It’s an interesting spin on the expected formula, and while the rest of the film stumbles in its supporting players and follows more traditional beats – albeit with some fun, gooey gore – that core element is enough to make it stand apart from the crowd.
Wantha broke onto the film scene with 2004’s memorably titled Sars Wars: Bangkok Zombie Crisis and continued that trend with oddball genre comedies like The Sperm and Kindergarten War, but he found major success with the one-two horror punch of Death Whisperer and Death Whisperer 2. His latest is more in line with those hits as jump scares and local mythologies play into his creepy tale of possession and generational punishment.
Tha Rae: The Exorcist arguably has more personality and humor, and both are due in large part to the character of Sopha and the playful but sincere performance that brings it to life. Where Tangsrisuk is saddled with the more straightlaced priest, Attachitsataporn’s witch doctor enjoys his local celebrity and has fun while aiding his community. Sopha’s social media followers expect a show, and he delivers, but there’s an engaging dynamic at play within him.
Photo: © 2025 SAHAMONGKOLFILM INTERNATIONAL COMPANY LIMITED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. North American Premiere
Sopha’s grandmother was the original witch doctor, and he was just her apprentice. When she passed – and subsequently became the primary ancestral spirit that he calls upon during his rituals – Sopha took up the mantle. For one reason or another, continuing her legacy requires him to carry on with his more feminine foot forward. Makeup, costumes, and a feminine lilt to the way he walks and talks are all part of the show. He apologizes to Paulo for it, but there’s no shame in his words or tone as he embraces the gifts he holds and the power he wields.
There’s no disdain between the two even as they seem initially unimpressed by each other’s efforts. Eventually, though, after each has struck out in dramatic and painful fashion, they realize a combined approach to fighting this particular demon is the only way forward. It’s here where the film shines brightest with the idea that beliefs can intermingle and co-exist without the need for disdain or dismissal.
The two of them are the heart of Tha Rae: The Exorcist, but the meat and potatoes of the genre come in the form of creepy antics and a bit of the ol’ gut munching. Intestines are nibbled, a feral man bursts through floorboards to terrorize young girls, and the possessed have a generally unsettling look about them. Wantha too often neuters his atmosphere and mood, though, by jumping quickly to the gore. It cuts into the horror of it all, leaving the film to work in fits and bursts rather than as a cohesive, propulsive whole.
Shortcomings in both the script and direction prevent the film from coming close to denser, more memorable, and atmospheric possession horrors like It Comes or The Wailing, but its main theme and dual lead characters still offer up an intriguing combination.
Genre tropes exist for a reason, but Tha Rae: The Exorcist is a good reminder that they also exist to be twisted, teased, and, when necessary, torn to shreds.
Tha Rae: The Exorcist made its North American premiere at the 25th New York Asian Film Festival.
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