This episode is sponsored by Filmora I always knew Thai horror is underrated But I never really gave it a chance With its rich history and vibrant culture rooted in Buddhism Thai horror film has to be special Yet I know literally nothing about the genre So last week, I finally set everything aside Picked a few movies Sat my ass down and watched some And boy oh boy Do I have some recommendations for you Today, I have 3 Thai horror films to share Each geared towards different types of audience I'll explain why they are so good Why they are different from other horror fairs And offer some of my analysis So you can jump into the films and experience them to their fullest Come join me As I explore, for the first time The underrated world of Thai horror Let's start with the obvious choice 2004's Shutter It came out during the J-horror boom of the 2000s And is one of the few non-Japanese horrors That received the Hollywood treatment It certainly has that J-horror atmosphere The film centers around a couple Just your average girl with her photographer boyfriend Having fun, getting drunk Who ends up committing a hit and run After they leave the scene Unnerving events begin to occur around them The scares are standard for its time Ghostly photographs Which we saw in Ringu Haunted public washroom Which we saw in Ju-on But they are effective and cohesive Making the film more than the sum of its parts The interesting part, though, is where it differs from J-horror For J-horror, it's pretty clear from the beginning that there is a curse The danger is external and real In Shutter, for a big chunk of the film You don't even know if there really is a ghost Every time there's a scare Boom! the character wakes up Ghostly photos? "Your film's faulty" Faces on photos? "It's just double exposure and bad focus" Halfway through the film You don't even know if there was a car accident to begin with "A car crashed into a road sign" "Probably drunk" It makes you feel like both the characters and you are going insane It focuses less on the source of the horror And much more so on the protagonist's guilt-ridden mind It's almost like everything is in his head With the settings of the blood-red photo lab Where all the messed up things happen And the photo studio that suddenly goes dark Where the protagonist cries out into the void with no response Turns out, this is a movie with heavy Buddhist influence In Buddhism, there are two different sides of hell There is the Hot Narakas Where the body is tortured through physical pain And the Cold Narakas Where the soul is tormented through darkness and cold Watching this movie through the lens of Buddhist philosophy Makes it even better It's about Karma About a man's guilt coming back to torment him And dragging him to hell and back It's about desire How it leads to unsatisfaction And how it is the cause of all suffering I can't go into more specifics without spoiling the plot But keep those concepts in mind while watching the film And I think you'll find yourself fascinated by it Just the way I was If not, Shutter is still great even for casual viewing It is definitely one of the best horror films from that era If you like J-horror You will love Shutter Speaking of being a photographer Did you know I used to shoot weddings videos for a living? One of the most annoying thing I had to do Is to find an appropriate title card to match the wedding But with today's sponsor, Filmora It couldn't get any easier Filmora is an easy to use Fully decked out editing tool Simply import your clips Make your edit And choose a title Look at all these All professional looking, quick easy to edit And if there's still not enough You can download even more from filmstocks.com Oh, a Manga title pack With support like this Plus an intuitive interface Filmora is able to produce professional quality content Even if you are a beginner editor If you want to see if Filmora is for you Good news, you can download Filmora and try it out for free, right now Link is in the description below Wether you are a beginner looking to get started Or a wedding videographer trying to find a good tool Filmora is a good choicce One thing I learn about horror Is that it doesn't have to be scary to be good "People aren't donating to the temple these days" Pee Mak is one of those It is a 2013 spooky comedy about a group of soldiers who return from war They stay in Mark's house, where Mark's wife also resides Unbeknown to everyone, but known to you Mark's wife is a ghost The plot centers around the friends trying to get to the truth Get Mark away from his wife All without tipping off the ghost Who is all too willing to murder them in cold blood It's surprisingly touching And quite funny at times "Actually my name is pronounced 'Mark'" "Ma..." "Mauauauauaurk?" Reminiscent of the Stephen Chow style comedy It also looks really good for a movie with only a 1.8 million dollar budget But the most impressive thing is how suspenseful it is It is the Hitchcock way of building tension You know, two men talking Not knowing there's a bomb underneath their table Well, the ghost wife is the bomb At first, you don't know who she is, and if she really is dead And then the friends discover she's dead But don't know if she's dangerous After their first failed attempt at cluing Mark in A villager let them know the wife has killed someone before Which explains why the villagers are so scared of her The film ramps up the tension with expert writing They are in danger But they can't leave their friends behind It is a 2 hour long dancing with the devil It's so suspenseful I love it And that Yes, ALL OF THAT Happens in the first quarter of the movie! While all this is happening The film never stops being funny It has been a long time since I last saw a film does visual comedy like this The ghost wife literally in the shadows Staring at them, making sure they are "having fun" It's uncomfortable but hilarious at the same time If you pay attention, she's almost always in the background staring Faded into the shadows Just enough to make you really uncomfortable But not enough to stand out It is a great visual motif for horror And also a funny visual gag How this film manages to balance horror and comedy is beyond me The way it is simultaneously a horror and a comedy in the same shot Is mind-boggling Even the romantic moments feel real Genuine and sincere "If one day I die" "Can you live without me" The film went on to become the highest-grossing Thai film, ever Probably because it has a little bit of something for everyone It's one heck of a fun ride for casual viewing And an excellent film to study writing tone and atmosphere If you are into Stephen Chow horror Or you want a spooky fun time this Halloween Pee Mak is the film for you Finally, let's talk about a more recent Thai horror film 2017's The Promise The film opens with two young girls leaving their handprint On the highest floor of a skyscraper under construction They promise to live together, once the building is finished Gotta love a good long take Oh it's still going It was 1997, Thailand was at the beginning of its economic upturn Large real-estate projects were being built Middle-class populations were growing Things were looking good But then, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis hit Tearing apart their families As their parents suffer They, too, suffer Conflicts emerge Escalating into domestic violence We see these two girls trying their best to support each other But as both of them sink deeper into depression They begin contemplating suicide Which leads to a very tragic end And you may be wondering How is that supposed to be a horror film? Well, you see, that's not the entire story That's just the first 20 minutes The film's actual plot is about the girl who ran away from the suicide 20 years later, she's now a successful businesswoman And a loving mother On her daughter's 16th birthday She suddenly finds herself haunted by the ghost of her dead friend It took me this long to tell you the actual plot Because the film takes 20 minutes to enter the main story For the first 20 minutes, it is unconcerned with horror, or suspense Much like its long take, the film itself takes time with its characters Not just showing you who they are But letting you live through their lives Feel their emotions and their relationships The filmmakers understood the value of good character writing And trusted that their characters would be enough to keep your attention And they were right I was actually invested in seeing how the story would play out And once the actual plot starts I was there for the protagonist For example When she sees that handprint on the wall The same handprint from the opening Drawn by her daughter while sleepwalking My first reaction was... How shocking it must be for her Yes, this movie has some amazingly suspenseful scares It's entertaining on its own, enough to excite audiences in a regular horror flick But in this one I feel like I understand every move she makes Every feeling she experiences The shock she feels I wasn't in the mood to be excited I felt a sense a dread No doubt, the same dread felt by our protagonist The rest of the film is filled with scares like this While not subtle, the film is not violent either Just very emotionally impactful With the excellent acting from the actress that transcends the language barrier This really is the most emotionally charged horror film I've ever seen Eclipsing Babadook And even Dark Water This is just one heck of a well-done film that I believe, anyone with an interest in film should watch It's great casually, too But put down your phone, sit tight And really look at this film with no distractions It is worth every bit of your attention It's that good I know I haven't even scratched the surface of Thai horror But just these few films are enough to make me excited to see more Not only are these films good and entertaining It feels like I'm learning a lot about Thai culture as well From the importance of Buddhist philosophy in Thai culture To the impact of the 97 Financial Crisis I even noticed a cultural shift Where themes in movies shifted from religious punishment To money and human relationships Even the signature Thai greeting is showing up less and less So, if you are from Thailand, let me know Was my instinct correct? That people are getting more and more secular With Buddhist traditions fading into the background? Isn't it fun that you can learn about Thailand like this Just by watching movies? It's like traveling And in 2020, it's probably one of the best ways to travel So, why not book your trip right now Set a day you'd like to relax and be entertained Buckle up and enjoy the journey And when you are finished Come back and leave a comment below Let me know what happened On your journey into the underrated world Of Thai horror
Could someone who wastes time watching "video essays" list the mentioned movies for the rest of us? Edit: Nevermind, someone did in the comments:
Thai horror is great stuff. Always look hopefully when I find a new one to watch. Here's my Thai list: