Watch Tony Jaa almost get his face bit off by an alligator in this trailer for Ong Bak 2

There’s just something about shooting movies under harsh conditions. I mean, what happens if a big ole’ alligator makes a mistake on the set of an “indie” or low budget film. There goes half your face. Maybe that’s one reason why the path of this martial arts action film to the screen has been so rocky, with Jaa having an apparent breakdown midway through the shoot and disappearing into the jungle for two months. From the looks of things, he’s back, and better than ever.

Ong Bak 2 is not a sequel in the strictest sense. The film is set in Ancient Thailand and stars Jaa as Tien, the son of a murdered nobleman who embarks on a quest for vengeance with the help of a martial arts-enhanced miscreants and, of course, an elephant.

Ong-Bak 2, which Tony Jaa also directed, will be released in France (the language of the trailer) on July 22nd, and on October 23, 2009, it begins a limited release in the U.S.

Check out the nail-biter below.