DIE A VIOLENT DEATH [TAI HONG a.k.a. TAAI HONG | ตายโหง]

http://www.phranakornfilm.com/main.php

Thailand 2009   Directed by: Poj Arnon, Tanwarin Sukapisit, Manus Worrasingh, Chartchai Katenus   Produced by: Poj Arnon   Cast: Mai Charoenpura, Akkra Amartayakul, Sattawat Settakorn, Supaksorn Chaikomol, Pimolrat Pisalyabutr, Kachapa Toncharoen

TAI HONG continues where HA PRAENG only recently left off and presents four horror short stories that were inspired by real events. The segments are all linked, mostly connected by people or places. The concept behind TAI HONG is the Tai Hong: spirits of people who died a violent death. Thais believe that people killed by e.g. accidents or other unnatural circumstances do not “know” that they died the moment they did and hence become spirits that are staying among us, close to the people they knew or the places they died, until they are released into the afterlife by suitable rituals or ceremonies. In Thailand just as in many other Asian countries the belief in spirits that died of unnatural causes is common, if not common sense.

TAI HONG uses this belief to create shorts that were all inspired by headline news. The first tale BLAZE is the central element of TAI HONG and is based on the incident on New Year’s eve 2008/2009 when a fire burnt down the well-known club Santika (relabeled here as Santaka) in Bangkok. Dozens of people died in the raging fire (various videos from the evening are still on YouTube).

The segment captures the atmosphere in the club frightening well, but it was not the intention of the director to simply adapt the real events for the silver screen. Nevertheless he sticks pretty close to what’s happened and dramatizes the chain of events of that evening largely in line with what eye witnesses told local reporters.

Many may want to ask the producers if it’s not a little too early or appropriate at all to remake this tragedy into a horror film. The episode definitely does not add anything to reality – if art is supposed to explain the world and our role in it, or at least have a point and provide a new perspective of the reality surrounding us then this episode doesn’t live up to its claim. Nevertheless BLAZE is a powerful film – perhaps the best of the four – and quintessentially represents the concept of TAI HONG. Altogether it is a memorable segment, especially so for the local audience who will still remember the dramatic circumstances of the Santika fire; unfortunately this also makes BLAZE a morbid experience.

In PRISON one of the guys accused of the arson at Santika is taken into police custody where he encounters the spirit of another prisoner who hanged himself recently. This part of TAI HONG is the weakest; not only because it is, well, lifeless, but simply because it never really gets out of the starting block. In addition the script is confusing, makes little sense and deviates from the concept: now the spirit apparently knows that he is dead and becomes an avenging angel (for something that has nothing to do with the fire by the way). In short: PRISON is not terrible, but without a doubt forgettable.

The third film REVENGE makes up for the preceding episode: the relationship between the two protagonists is not very plausible, but the tragic ghost story is outright gripping. At first sight the episode seems to be conventional horror with Japanese influence (the water tank idea is undoubtedly borrowed from a popular Japanese horror film), but REVENGE remains faithful to the big idea and entertains with a somewhat odd but unique storyline. All in all part three is an interesting mixture of thriller, horror, drama and comedy and is convincing throughout – compared to BLAZE it is less cohesive, but on the other hand more creative and refreshing. Many may prefer this part to the first.

MOTEL is the last part of TAI HONG and finishes the saga in comedic style, quite like HA PRAENG. It is indeed funny and takes the idea of TAI HONG to the edge. It may not be perfectly logical, but entertains with great humor and twists until the last minute. Two dudes, a hooker, a love hotel, its owner and a bed are more than enough to carry this great story. Wonderful.

TAI HONG follows two central ideas which make or break this anthology: on one hand the Tai Hong, and secondly the “based-on-a-true-story” concept. The ghost stories are all really fresh and creative, except for part two. They are more than worth the admission fee and make TAI HONG one of the best horror films of 2010 so far.

So how about the „true stories“? Borrowing stories that were written by life itself is simple, transcending them into something meaningful beyond reality so that we can reflect and thus understand what has actually happened and learn for the future – that is anything but simply. TAI HONG obviously does not actually evaluate reality and provide any insight or perspective, but it seems that this is all a marketing trick to make the anthology more relevant than it really is. TAAI HONG may not simply exploit reality, but it still uses it as a means to an end without adding much intellectually. That is legitimate, but it also means TAI HONG cannot claim to be more than just entertainment.

With the Santika segment as a burden TAI HONG is still a really good collection of horror short stories, but it comes with a stale aftertaste that may not suit everyone.

J.

MEAT GRINDER [CHERD KON CHIM | เชือดก่อนชิม]

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THAILAND 2009  Directed by: Tiwa Moeithaisong Written by: Samonggu   Produced by: Poj Arnon  Cast: Mai Charoenpura, Rattanabanlang Tosawat, Anuway Niwartwong, Wiradit Srimalai

MEAT GRINDER is an interesting hotchpotch of a serial killer movie: a woman makes a living as a meat noodle seller, just like many others, only that her recipe has human meat, quite different from all others. The whole thing gets a bit complicated when she starts having a kind of lover who is actually missing a friend who was last seen around her food stall.

Who assumes that MEAT GRINDER is for gore hounds only will find out that the film is actually putting a lot of emphasis on psychology and the reasons for the killings. This is not a CAT III Anthony Wong flick, neither is it your average Thai splatter movie. That doesn’t mean that we haven’t seen it all before somewhere: traditionally Thai horror movies have always been borrowing what’s good from other Asian or Western genre movies and blended those influences with their very own ideas.

On a positive note there are several factors that set MEAT GRINDER apart from the average slasher: plenty of rationale, a detailed script, good actors, all that paired with some very gory moments. Tiwa Moeithaisong, being a DOP himself, has especially focused on cinematography: MEAT GRINDER is beautifully shot, with some Wong Kar Wai influence; hardly ever has a film of this kind looked that gorgeous.

On the other hand its strengths are also its weaknesses: MEAT GRINDER feels over-stylized and over-edited most of the time, with many visual gimmicks being used randomly, not following a clear structure. Are the black and white shots the past, or does it all happen right now? Well, neither and both, or something like that. Depends on the director’s mood, we’d say. Also MEAT GRINDER wants to justify its acts of violence with way too much psychology: half of the movie is spent on explanations, past events etc., compromising the story development to a certain degree. MEAT GRINDER could use more drive, more direction, more conflict right here and now instead of warming up yesterdays issues.

Where does it leave us? Those looking for a hardcore splatter movie will be disappointed, those expecting more of a drama / thriller will probably find MEAT GRINDER too gross and dirty. It’s not fast and raw enough, it’s not art house either. If you’re open minded and looking for some solid thrill avoiding many of the usual clichés you might find your match.

MEAT GRINDER is nearly there, trying to refine its recipe on the fly. It’s a dish in the making, but overall it’s not a bad effort.

J.

JEEJA DEU SUAY DOO [RAGING PHOENIX | ดื้อ สวย ด]

http://www.jijaragingphoenix.com/

Thailand 2009   Directed by: Rashene Limtrakul  Produced by: Prachya Pinkaew, Panna Rittikrai  Cinematography: Thanachart Boonla, Tiwa Moeithaisong, Teerawat Rujintham, Chalerm Wongpim  Music: Kanisorn Phuangjin  Cast: Yanin “Jeeja” Vismistananda, Kazu Patrick Tang, Nui Sandang, Boonprasert Salangam, David Bueno, Marc Nghi Hoang

I can’t be mad at her for doing this film. She’s so cute, isn’t she? Yanin’s CHOCOLATE successor is no surprise, let alone a revelation. Just as Tony Jaa before her she is gradually turned into a martial arts icon and marketed accordingly. Still she’s like a real person, not (yet) a spoiled actress. But despite her limited acting skills the producers certainly hope that she will be appealing enough to achieve something like Stathamism one day. But so far there’s only one guy who managed to create his own film category. Way to go, girl.

The ambitions there obvious: JEEJA DEU SUAY DOO is perhaps the first film that makes the name of the actress part of the title (in Thailand the film was often simply listed as “Jeeja“). Deu Suay Doo translates roughly as stubborn, beautiful, fierce, which makes the complete title feel like a “Jeeja” sequel. Like she’s her own brand already. Indeed the film would hardly be worth mentioning if it wasn’t for Yanin Vismistananda. The clumsy story about the Jaguar gang that kidnaps girls to turn their pheromones into perfume which is then sold to rich but ultimately sick dudes is certainly not the reason JEEJA DEU SUAY DOO will once again sell like hot cake on the international film markets.

The martial arts sequences unfortunately also fall short compared to CHOCOLATE and are shot with a special fan audience in mind. Instead of further increasing the tempo or the level of brutality the team around Rittikrai and Pinkaew opted for a unique fighting style – JEEJA features almost exclusively the good old Drunken Monkey Kung Fu style that’s back in fashion these days.

Jeeja is trained by a group of friendly fighters who are totally dedicated to this style. In addition, the filmmakers have added elements from Hip Hop and break dance. The result: the overall tempo is slowed down, everything becomes more playful and comical. Only the last fight cranks the action button up to 11 – once again this is a no-holds-barred action fest that stands out as one of the finest fight scenes of 2009. Fans should beware and adjust their expectations.

But maybe all that is not so wrong after all: films that solely aim for the next superlative will run out of steam sooner or later and will lose their audience just as the audience loses interest. ONG BAK 2 had also introduced new combat modes, but altogether didn’t change its recipe. JEEJA doesn’t seem to look for new extremes – or maybe they knew that Yanin had already reached her limits with CHOCOLATE.

Apart from Yanin’s style and new look formally many things stay the same though: it’s fight after fight, an irrelevant story, partly completely idiotic editing, and continuity is nowhere to be seen. Direction clearly means choreography here. The Thai version of JEEJA DEU SUAY DOO is talkative and feels clearly too long. As usual a shorter cut should be enough for the release in most foreign countries. Somewhat more speed would be good, especially since the substance of many dialogues and funny scenes tends to be zero.

Despite the flaws the film is charming nevertheless. And like always two or three scenes are filmed beautifully, taking us by surprise, making us wonder why these are exceptions and not the rule (maybe because of 4 DOPs?). The fights are solid, although until the showdown not necessarily spectacular (with the showdown unfortunately shot in the studio against green screen, later pasting a 3D background into the footage shot on different film stock or digitally; an awkward combination, I can tell you). And whoever wonders why they are drinking from multicolored bottles: that’s probably a result of the strict local laws and censorship requirements when it comes to depicting all sorts of “drug consumption“ in movies.

JEEJA is very daring nevertheless: alcohol is a highly controversial issue in Buddhist Thailand and the conservatives will certainly slam the film for showing extensive scenes of drinking for the sheer purpose of getting drunk. Any which way: Yanin compensates for many of the film’s shortcomings. Just watch the scene when she’s crawling through an ally in slow motion, surrounded by people running away, with a storm whirling newspapers and garbage all over the place. That’s awesome, and we feel like sixteen again.

With JEEJA DEU SUAY DOO Yanin confirms her position as possibly the world’s only commercial martial arts film heroine. For fans this one’s must. But otherwise it feels more like a stopover on the journey to something greater. Hopefully that’s true. Hopefully it comes true soon.

J.