With an original twist ending that will impress even the most jaded Asian Cult Cinema buffs, Omen brings new meaning to the John Lennon lyric "instant karma's gonna get you." Pay close attention to this supernatural thriller starring Thailand's popular boy band D2B, and you'll find that the surprising twist is well-integrated into this eerie, effectively moody tale of three friends (played by pop stars "Dan," "Beam" and "Big," hence the band-name D2B) who come into contact with an old woman whose dire predictions about their futures have an unsettling way of coming true. Written by Oxide and Danny Pang, the creators of 2002's Hong Kong horror hit The Eye, the story unfolds with non-linear chronology and a compelling accumulation of strange, unexplainable occurrences, each drawing the young men closer to some yet-unknown, perhaps inescapable doom. When an attractive girl enters their lives--and subsequently appears in a mysterious photograph that somehow ties all of their fates together--disturbing events from their past begin to hold greater relevance to the present, and Omen leads cleverly, and creepily, to its bizarrely unexpected conclusion. Along with its other surprises, it's fairly remarkable that the members of D2B turn out to be surprisingly good actors; given the seriousness of this material, they rise to the occasion with performances that nicely serve the film's atmosphere of anxious dread and fear. It helps to have at least some awareness of Thai culture to best appreciate Omen's karmic underpinnings, but it's a safe bet that if you enjoyed The Eye, this subtler, non-horror thriller will prove similarly satisfying. --Jeff Shannon

17.98