SYNOPSIS:
Ming is an ordinary girl who can contact the dead
since she was young. It has been fifteen years that she tries
to escape from a mysterious ghost that keeps following her.
She meets a young doctor named Budd who visits her to find
out the reason behind the death of his father. He believes
that his father was murdered. The arriving of Budd brings
back the terrible memory in the past of Ming's life. Now she
is going to face the truth that is more terrible than the
ghosts.
MOVIE REVIEW:
While critics can go on ranting about how tiresome and unoriginal
horror movies involving ghosts and spirits for the next few
decades, you can be sure there will always be a market for
them. This is especially true in the Asian filmmaking context,
how else would you explain the slew of horror movies produced
in this region of the world, and the number of horror movie
DVDs which continue to arrive uninvited at this reviewer’s
assignment schedule?
In
the latest attempt to appreciate this genre of movie, this
reviewer watches a 97 minute picture which tells the story
of a girl who can see and contact the dead (how refreshing
– not!). This talent, or as some would put it, curse,
has been with her since she was a little girl (now you know
how tormented the kid from The Sixth Sense was). Enter a young
doctor who seeks to uncover the truth behind his father’s
death. And as any proper horror movie would develop, these
two characters’ lives would affect each other in ways
they never thought it would.
To
be fair, this is quite a decent movie, with some truly disturbing
scenes (proving that our friends at the censorship board has
done a proper job of providing consumer advice) of creepy
spirits who did not die in peace. It also boasts of production
values that are above average, with sophisticated camera work,
detailed lighting and some nice graphic effects.
We
also do not blame the two leads Anuchit Sapanpong and Nuttamonkan
Srinikornchot for looking gloomy throughout the entire movie.
Though their broodiness isn’t exactly what you’d
want to come across on an already upset day, a movie like
this does require such expressions. Director Tharatap Thewsomboon
handles the genre well, executing the right moods and the
appropriate scares the correct moments – so why do we
still think that this is a movie that we’ll forget what
the movie is about, say, within a month?
Because
there are already tons of (better) movies out there of this
format, that’s why. The synopsis tells us that the female
protagonist is going to “face the truth that’s
more terrible than the ghosts”, and while we may not
be the most intellectual people around, we were able to see
that “twist” coming. Yes, you know what the moral
has always been: the human heart is often more evil and darker
than a wandering spirit.
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
This Code 3 disc includes a Trailer and a four minute Making
Of which err, has no accompanying subtitles, so we’ve
got no idea what the folks are talking about.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
movie’s visual transfer is above our expectations and
is presented in its original Thai audio track.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING:
Review by John Li
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