SYNOPSIS:
A
young pregnant rural girl, Nuan-chan enters the city of Bangkok
to find her missing husband. She rents a boarding house where
she encounters several strange incidents and people, especially
the widow, Madam Run-juan who is also the owner of the house-
It has been rumoured that she still sleeps with her dead husband.
While looking for her own husband, the desperate girl finds
the connection between the widow's husband and her. In discovering
the truth, she has to encounter something unseeable...
MOVIE REVIEW:
This Thai horror movie gave us some pretty good scares –
in every sense of the phrase.
Wisit
Sasanatieng, who helmed the stylistically beautiful Tears
of the Black Tiger (2000) and the funny romantic comedy Citizen
Dog (2004), makes another visually-pleasing movie about, well,
not exactly the most apt topic: vengeful spirits.
The
writer-director’s third feature film tells the story
of a young and pretty pregnant woman who goes in search of
her missing husband. She reaches a creepy boarding house and
gets completely freaked out by the eerie beings living inside.
While
this plot has the potential to conveniently fall into a conventional
scare-by-shock Thai horror, Sasanatieng puts his eyes for
beautiful shots to good use. Director of photography Chankit
Chamnivikaipong lyrically transforms the spine-chilling boarding
house into a scenic location, complete with lush gardens and
exotic-looking rooms.
Even
the way the spirits float by feel strangely poetic.
As
for Khomkiat Khomsiri’s story, it may be nothing refreshing
or innovative, but the classic ageless tale of love will satisfy
the romantic in you. Considering the PG rating for this Thai
flick, do not expect exceptionally gory or violent scenes.
One
thing we’d like to advise our readers though: Do not
be misled by what you see on the DVD cover. Judging by the
unadventurous portraits of two daunting women staring frighteningly
into space, you’d think it’s just one of the many
Thai scare-fests available out there.
But
heed our suggestion: This pretty scary horror movie from The
Land of a Thousand Smiles is worth your time.
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
This Code 3 DVD comes with a miserable platter of two trailers
and a photo gallery.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
disc’s visual transfer maintains the lush and rich colours
of the movie, while the language track is in Thai Dolby Digital
5.1.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING:
Review
by John Li
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