Ghost Lab

I must admit that I was expecting a tad more from the 2021 Thai horror movie "Ghost Lab" than what director Paween Purijitpanya managed to deliver.

For a ghost movie then "Ghost Lab" was sort of a mixed experience. On one hand then it was actually nice to see a Thai ghost movie that deviated from the usual archetypical, and often stereotypical, formula that many ghost movies from Asia follow. But on the other hand, then the movie's storyline just didn't really feel wholehearted, and the movie was definitely lacking in the scares department.

The storyline told in "Ghost Lab" was interesting enough on certain aspects, and I do like the aspect of men of science delving into the realm of the supernatural in order to prove something. And that worked out well enough in "Ghost Lab", at least up to a certain point, then the movie just became stale and lost its drive.

It should be said that the acting performances in "Ghost Lab" were definitely good, and the actors and actresses were putting on good performances to bring their characters to life - pardon the pun - on the screen.

Visually then "Ghost Lab" was adequate, I suppose. There weren't much of ghosts to be seen, so if you are expecting that, you'll be sorely disappointed. It should be said, though, that the special effects and CGI department did good enough jobs with bringing the supernatural elements to life on the screen. Luckily, then "Ghost Lab" was not a movie that was overly reliant on special effects in order to be watchable.

"Ghost Lab", as a horror movie, just failed to bring much of anything overly new to the genre. So writers Vasudhorn Piyaromna, Paween Purijitpanya and Tossaphon Riantong weren't exactly revolutionizing the Thai horror/ghost genre with "Ghost Lab".

But ultimately, "Ghost Lab" is adequate for a single viewing, if you have nothing better to watch. This wasn't a groundbreaking moment in Thai horror cinema, nor was it a particularly memorable or outstanding experience. I am rating "Ghost Lab" a mediocre five out of ten stars.

Overall good plot but if you are watching from a scientist point of view, you can't help but feeling a bit disappointed. Gla made such sacrifices, why not finish the experiment. What's the lesson here to learn? To give up? There were a few touching moments, but still they don't balanced out the feeling of incompleteness that was left at the end of the movie. The more I think about how Gla was the one that started the project, the more I felt anger by the fact that he was also the one that wanted to end the experiment. Can you imagine the wave that would create in the research world? The Lancet probably begging you to have the article published. So much cooler if it ends the other way!

With high+interesting concept about exploring ghost+afterlife by science, however, as they almost reach the top of mountain, they take different turn and instead run to the cliff. (and fall really hard)

All good things go to the first 50 minutes, as Wee and Gla help each other to investigate and find the explanation of their experiment. Nice storytelling, scare tricks and good vibe enough to follow them and find out what happens next.

BUT after a turning point at the middle, seem like screenwriters might reach their dead-end (as they thought), instead continue to cross the line like what character says in the movie and go full fantasy sci-fi like TENET, they instead cross back to normal standard dumb psychological drama horror movie like 'The Promise (2017)' and 'The Swimmers (2014)'. Of course, GDH is a feel good movie studio, so happy ending, good moral always come first. The result? All good stuffs from first 50 minutes become wasted like it's 'nothing'.

So, for short. Not worth your time, but you really want to watch good part, watch until minute 56 and you can stop the movie right then.

The first 50 minutes is good & interesting storytelling, however, right after turning point (you know what scene), seem like writers forgot what happened in first half and turn it to normal standard horror movie even they could continue expand and explore their own world. Lead to totally disappoint conclusion. Not worth watching to be honest.

GDH 559's first film to premiere on Netflix, Paween Purijitpanya's 'Ghost Lab,' wastes intriguing ideas for cheap scares. Not without its moments of horror and suspense - and, surprisingly, heartpounding melodrama, but the movie fails to effectively convey promise of its story. The premise is captivating, but the execution and overall story leave much to be desired.