(2001)
Dir - Norio Tsuruta
Overall: MEH
The second full-length from Norio Tsuruta continues his career streak of supernatural horror, being an adaptation of Junji Ito's manga story Kakashi, (Scarecrow) which was originally published in 1998. Ito's work has likewise been nearly exclusive to the horror genre and while the story here definitely adheres to several such cliches, (namely the "outsider arrives in a weird, remote village where everyone is cryptic and tells her to leave before it is too late" one), it has a freaky premise of the dead being brought back to life as straw-stuffed, farmer's field decorations. Tsuruta strictly maintains a down-played atmosphere, often to the point of becoming a bit too slow to hold onto. This allows for the film's best, most chilling moments though where otherworldly activity is shown with minimal to no campy panache, though a few such cornball moments due eventually rear their hackneyed head. While the ghostly mood is appreciated, the plotting is largely stagnant as the bulk of the movie spins its wheels with characters refusing to divulge information for no other reason than to stretch out the running time to get it within the ninety-minute ballpark. The ending also sacrifices unearned sentimentality for logic and does not quite hit the emotional payoff it was likely intending to.
(2006)
Dir - The Pang Brothers
Overall: MEH
Overall: MEH
The Pan Brothers Danny and Oxie lock horns again on another horror vehicle, this time with the highly ambitious, psychological fairy tale Re-Cycle, (Gwai Wik). Reunited with Angelica Lee who was likewise the lead in The Eye, this Hong Kong/Thailand co-production was the filmmaking brother's most special effects-laden work yet. Unfortunately though, the movie starts to lose its momentum just as the CGI takes center stage in the second act. The opening sets up that a mysterious, supernatural presence is haunting Lee's successful yet clearly bitter novelist and this could have easily turned out to be a standard, "things that go bump in the night" story that gradually revealed its cards. Quite interestingly though, the movie turns what seems like a mere detour into the rest of its trajectory, sending us into a world that is literally littered with anything that Lee's character has discarded. Though a handful of shots are distractingly cartoony, visually this is mostly impressive, yet the issue is more in the monotonous nature of the plot which stagnates the story in its tracks. There is a "twist" of sorts that is immediately foreseeable long before it is revealed, but virtually the same set piece plays out over and over again which only sluggishly leads things to such an inevitable conclusion. The Brothers Pang certainly deserve props for their grandiose aspirations here, but that alone is ultimately all that is has to offer.
(2008)
Dir - Youngyooth Thongkonthun/Banjong Pisanthanakun/Parkpoom Wongpoom/Paween Purijitpanya
Overall: MEH
Like most anthology horror films, Thailand's 4bia, (Phobia, Si Phraeng), is uneven, this one being split right down the middle with two of the four tales delivering some effective chills while the other half collapse under their own goofiness. Quality wise, the movie is bookended by the better ones; Youngyooth Thongkonthun's "Loneliness" and Parkpoom Wongpoom's "Flight 244" each boasting simple, supernatural premises involving mysterious cell-phone messages and an isolated airliner. Women are the victims in each segment, though neither really say anything profound about such a trope and are simply good old fashion ghost stories that are creepy in spite of some of their predictability. Paween Purijitpanya's "Deadly Charm" and Banjong Pisanthanakun's "The Man in the Middle" are a bit more ambitious yet the former has some of the most cartoonish CGI known to man and an annoying, ADD-ridden editing style and the latter is sort of a self-referential Deliverance meets Scream hybrid that delivers a few chuckles, (like the character's referencing Pisanthanakun's own film Shutter multiple times), yet nothing remotely spooky in atmosphere. Thongkonthun would respectfully drop out of the following year's sequel which would add two more director's as well as an extra story for those clamoring to get more of the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment