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4Bia, actually title PHOBIA, is a pretty predictable Asian horror anthology, I was mildly entertained but there were no surprises here; those well-versed in Asian horror will see most of the "shocking twists" coming from a mile away. Now that doesn't necessarily mean the film is bad, it just means Thailand has the same problem we do…played-out predictability sells well in theaters. If this were to have been released in the U.S., it would have ended up going straight-to-DVD. This isn't a bad flick, I actually enjoyed "Tit for Tat" and it's stylish CG and the goofy horror comedy of "In The Middle" but nothing really jumped out at me as original or different. It's all pretty average, a "been there, done this" experience indeed.

So, I'm going to write a little mini review for each short as they show and as I see them and then do a review of the movie as a whole after..

story 1: Happiness effective little ghost story using texting as a medium where a recently deceased ghost talks to a home ridden young woman. I will say that this one is pretty creepy, some great shots are displayed and some cliché stuff is also used. I liked this one a lot for some reason, I usually don't get so into movies using cell phones as main plot devices, I.e. one missed call.

story 2: Tit For Tat Bad nu metal in Thai playing almost constantly, check. Attractive main cast bullies who picks on nerdy kid, check. Revenge story? Yes. This one plays out a little similar to another thai film, Art of the Devil 2 which I didn't enjoy too much. It's directed by the dude who did Shutter, which I also didn't like so much.. But despite the awful CG at the end, I enjoyed this one, it was fun and predictable. Predictable may be bad other places, but I enjoyed it here.

story 3: In the Middle I started out disliking this one.. Nu metal, kayaking, stereotypical teenage dudes.. But it's ripe with movie references, comedy that's actually funny, and a pretty decently creepy story. Based on other reviews I thought this might be a lot worse but I actually really enjoyed it.

story 4: Last Fright Probably my favorite of the 4 shorts just because it was built up so well. This one had the most 'classic' feel to it and was a lot of fun, I jumped on the inside a couple times and was into this one all the way through. Nice little Hitchcockian score also.

Anyway, Fun is the best way to describe this nice little anthology. I grew up on Tales From the Crypt and Creepshow and I'm recently in the past years getting more and more into Asian cinema so this is a film I've been looking forward to. Bottom line, it entertained me and that's all I need.

A great rental at least!

I must say that 4bia is one of the good Thai horror movie. Directors from Shutter, Body 19 and Iron ladies prove that they all can come up with suspenseful tales together. There are four stories and each of them is 30 minutes. The four stories are pretty engrossing, suspenseful and interesting.

The story: First, we get 'Happiness' directed by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon who did Iron ladies. A girl has a broken leg and stays in her apartment. She sends SMS to friends and soon she received a SMS from someone mysterious. She soon chats with him and asks for his picture. It turns out...things are not always what they seem. It is creepy and thrilling. 3/5

The second story is not very thrilling nor suspenseful but still good. 'Tit for Tat' directed by Paween Purijitpanya who did Body 19. A guy use black magic to take revenge on a group of students who bully him. You will know the outcome as nowadays, this kind of plot are common. The gore and violence take over suspense and the thrills. Though without the suspense, it is still engrossing. 3.5/5

Third story is 'In the middle' by Banjong Pisanthanakun who did Shutter and Alone.Four buddies camp in a forest. They make fun of horror movies and tell ghost stories before bedtime. One of them was drowned when they went water raft. They start to search for him and soon things start to get creepy. I think this story is the most suspenseful and the ending is not what I had expected. Though there is suspense, the story is a bit slow. The suspense starts later. 3/5

The final and fourth story is' Last Fright' by Parkpoom Wongpoom who also did Shutter and Alone. An air stewardess is to escort a corpse who is a princess alone. Things start to get creepy and thrilling. As the third story has the suspense, this one has the thrills. Although like the third one, this started off a bit slow but it still manage to thrill me. 3/5

Overall: Is it worth to watch it? Yes, it is. Suspense and thrills fans should watch this. I am not afraid to say but 4bia is actually one of the best horror and Thai movie I had seen. It is recommended to watch this. It is good although I am not a horror fan. Rated NC-16 in Singapore.

I had the pleasure of watching this Thai anthology tonight. 4 separate stories without a wraparound. I was pleasantly surprised.

The first story is about a woman and her cell phone and all of a sudden someone messages her out of the blue. She is kind of lonely so she gets right into it and the texting gets out of hand until she finds out that... well I won't spoil it for you but let's just say one part in particular gave me shivers big time. It's a little more original than your average cell phone horror fare.

The second story is about high school kid who is bullied and decides to get revenge. The best way I can describe it is that it's like a "Final Destination" inspired MTV music video but it gets better towards the end, where it gets gory and despite the bad CGI it's definitely worth a watch.

The third story is about 4 teens who go white water rafting in the jungle. It is chock full of movie references and it is HILARIOUS! I laughed out loud quite a few times. Very enjoyable, and of course in keeping with the theme of the anthology it has horror elements to it as well. It was fun watching some of the movie references tie in with the story.

The fourth is definitely the weakest of the bunch. It has a few jump scares and a lot of clichés and not much else. It reminded me of a bad episode of Tales From the Crypt or the new Twilight Zone.

All in all a good anthology that I believe stands up beside any of the V/H/S or similar titles coming out nowadays. 7/10

The 1st story fell right into my pool of likeliness. Delivering the story without a single dialogue was done well.

2nd story was all right but I really didn't like the editing such as lot of shaky camera, flashes all of a sudden and CGI was not so satisfying. Story and writing was okish.

3rd one felt like a drag to me from the beginning but felt a lot more in the middle, the actors acted wacky in times of fear but the ending was somewhat good or whatever.....

4th in my opinion didn't deliver as much, all could be predictable from the beginning.