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Post by Fenril on Nov 9, 2010 14:45:16 GMT -5
In the spirit of slayrrr's sister threads to the Mexican horror one, I'm starting threads about horror movies from assorted countries other than the US, UK, Italy or Japan (simply because those are the countries whose horror film productions are easier to find on a global scale, so they would be better known).
So, seen any horror movies from Thailand and if so, what did you think of them?
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Post by slayrrr666 on Nov 10, 2010 11:06:01 GMT -5
There's two off the top of my head, Chorake and The Ghost of Mae Nak.
Chorake, or Crocodile, is an awesomely cheesy Jaws rip-off about a supernatural deity taking the form of a monstruous crocodile that starts terrorizing a resort complex, and the owners trying to rid themselves of the creature before they can open it for the public. Truly terrible special effects, lots of cheese, plot throwbacks galore, and gore galore, so naturally I had a blast with this one.
The Ghost of Mae Nak is about a newlywed couple who move into a new house in the outskirts of town and find themselves haunted by the spirit of a young woman who died a horrible death there and they must stop her from harming their friends and those around them. In my top 10 of Asian horror, it's creepy, atmospheric and unbelievably gory for the style, has a ton of things to like about it and doesn't really have all that much wrong with it.
That's all the horror films I can think of, though I've seen a couple others that aren't horror but won't be mentioned here since it's not the thread for them.
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Post by Fenril on Nov 10, 2010 18:33:35 GMT -5
My list:
- Shutter (2004). A photographer and his girlfriend are stalked by the ghost of a girl they both unknowingly wronged. The plot is a ripoff of several J-horror movies, but it's surprisingly well executed, with good jump scenes and a nasty twist ending.
- Faet (2007; aka Alone). From the directors of Shutter, a newly engaged woman grapples with the ghost of her twin sister. At first this seemed another typical asian ghost movie (but again, well-executed), but starts going in all sort of crazy directions on the second half. Good plot twist in this one, too.
- Nang nak (1999; aka Premonition). One of many film versions of a classic ghost legend. I didn't quite like the movie itself (very bad computer effects and stilted acting), but the story was quite interesting. I really have to look up another adaptation of the legend.
- Phii kon pen (2006; aka The victim). A young actress potrays murder victims in police crime reconstructions (reportedly an actual profession in Thailand) and is quite good at it --so good, in fact, that she's soon approached by two ghosts who each want her to help solve their respective murders. Very bizarre at times, but with a good atmosphere and a likeable lead.
- Khon len khong (2004; aka Art of the devil). A jilted mistress uses black magic to take revenge against her lover and his family. But there is an even darker force controlling her actions... Very good (and very nasty) witchcraft movie, with one truly gory standout (I won't spoil it here).
- Long khong (2005; aka Art of the devil II). After a student prank results in a rural schoolteacher losing her job and good reputation, she learns black magic to take revenge on her former students. Very gory witchcraft movie, with a few plot twists along the way (the last one is ridiculous, but it's still an enjoyable movie). Despite the english title, these two movies have nothing to to with each other beyond being Thai movies about witches (how they perform magic is even different).
- Saam gaang (2002; aka Three...extremes 2). An anthology movie co-produced with South Korea and Hong Kong. The thai entry is "The wheel", about a theater troupe besieged by living marionettes. Unfortunately, it's the weakest entry in the movie. Both Three...extremes movies are worth seeking, through.
In general, I think Thai is my favorite brand of Asian horror, they have all the weirdness of their Japanese and Korean counterparts but with a much more fun, offbeat quality. And their endings generally make sense...
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Post by slayrrr666 on Nov 11, 2010 11:02:16 GMT -5
I can add Shutter to the list, forgot it was Thai. I keep thinking it was Korean since it's an Asian ghost movie, and those are generally Korean.
Since I missed it, I'll say I wasn't impressed with it at all. The scares weren't that great, the film was too slow and the romance angle brought up turned me off totally, and the remake wasn't all that great either.
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Post by Fenril on Jun 10, 2011 18:13:24 GMT -5
Update: apparently, the first "Three... extremes" movie also had a Thai entry, "Cut", which I thought was South Korean till now.
It's about a shlock film director captured by an angry extra and forced to play a sadistic game with him. More or less an Asian variation on the "Saw" movies, which I never liked that much. This one is fairly entertaining, through given a rather ambigous conclusion (truth be told, all "Three... extremes" entries have this problem, dunno why).
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