Ghost of Mae Nak

The legend of the ghost of Nang Nak is a part of Thai folklore, the story of an 19th Century 'angry ghost' who lived in a bucolic palm-fringed village outside of Bangkok named Pra Khanong..

By 2005, Pra Khanong is part of the dirty old metropolis, the giant grey concrete slab of Bangkok. No longer a place for a rural ghost.

I have never even been there - there's no compelling reason to go. It is ten minutes from where I live, but it is just another part of inner city urban blight nowadays.

This movie works because it treats Bangkok not as a glitzy tourist venue, full of pachyderms, tuk tuks, ladyboys and long-tail boats, but a functioning, ordinary, third-world city in which regular Thai people live with limited budgets and modern fears.

Into this is transported a semi-Gothic, semi J-Horror story, that derives from the old mythology.

Thai movies are often unsophisticated, self-referential and burlesque. This one doesn't fall into that trap, perhaps because it is Directed by a Westerner and doesn't play to stereotype.

I liked it.

Ghost of Mae Nak is not the traditional horror film viewers of the genre may be accustomed to. Although the movie makers obviously attempt to frighten the audience, the film is based on Thai folklore, and in this sense works more as a story that could be told to children around a camp fire, than a grisly tale destined to provoke fear. For those after a film that provides an endless amount of terror, you may want to look elsewhere. If you are interested in a movie where the horror elements take a backseat, while the story consistently remains in the foreground, then this particular feature might be for you.

Unlike other films in the horror genre, where the audience is treated only to small glimpses of the apparition for the majority of the feature until the final quarter, in this particular film, viewers are immediately greeted by Mae Nak in the first few minutes. The image of a woman with jet black eyes and a gaping mouth is not something we haven't seen before, and the inclusion of a hole in the center of her forehead does little to heighten the level of terror.

On many an occasion, moments meant to scare the audience are not only predictable, but more than half the time the movie falls into the trap of enveloping many of its scenes under the shroud of darkness, and rather than reeling backwards in terror, we are leaning forwards, squinting at the screen. Due to the level of darkness, a vast number of shadows are present, and it seems that an opportunity to use these to advantageously increase the level of horror was unfortunately overlooked.

Again, in contrast with horror movies that frequently use stereotypical genre tropes, Ghost of Mae Nak becomes heavily reliant on music, to the point that sometimes it seemed the score reserved for moments of horror was being played unnecessarily to provoke a response. Due to this, the suspenseful moments of the film, although sometimes initially exciting, never truly keep the audience enthused.

Moreover, although a couple of the death scenes are very impressive in their execution, the level of overacting that occasionally accompanies these moments prevents the audience from taking the scene seriously. Before one particular individual is decapitated, the scene of his mouth wide open in fear, hands extended out before him, appears less like legitimate fear, and more like a poor imitation.

This aside, Pataratida Pacharawirapong as Nak deserves kudos for her acting capabilities, exhibiting reactions that are as entertaining as they are real. She, alongside fiancé Mak (Siwat Chotchaicharin) purchase a house in Phrakhanong for them to move into once they are wed, the place they will soon call their residence having a long history, been one of the oldest homes in the area. Mak is immediately plagued by ghostly images in his dreams, but after a horrific tragedy cripples the young couple, they are forced to turn towards otherworldly means of support. Though the ghost of Mae Nak appears eager to assist the couple, how can you trust a ghost, especially one with a vengeful past, for what ulterior motives could she possibly possess?

The familial bonds, alongside the connections of friendship and love are well articulated, and the character dramas that transpire are effectively incorporated into the plot. Furthermore, despite the aforementioned scenes of darkness, the environments viewers are presented with really bring the world the characters reside in to life, Thailand been shown for the country it is, rather than the mirage that outsiders may occasionally imbue it as, a tactic similarly used in the Singaporean horror film The Maid.

Although Ghost of Mae Nak could never be hailed as a terrific horror movie, the film captures the culture and feel of the region, and does justice to a traditional folk story that obviously has much significance.

Tired of Asian supernatural horror movies yet? No? Good, then Ghost of Mae Nak is one you should add to your "to see" list. 

It's a nice little ghost story from Thailand about a recently married young couple that's haunted by the ghost of a woman that died 100 years ago. After the husband is left in a coma that inexplicably won't end, the wife must investigate the origin of the supernatural presence in order to help him. There's a well-told back-story that explains why this particular couple earns the supernatural attention, so there (thankfully) aren't a lot of dangling story-lines. 

Ghost of Mae Nak includes a lot of Final Destination-type deaths that are pretty entertaining. I was actually surprised by how elaborate some of them were. There's a fair amount of jump scares and startling things in mirrors too, but Ghost of Mae Nak is more creepy than frightening. Still, I was very pleased with how good this movie turned out to be, and I definitely recommend it. IF, like I mentioned at the beginning of the review, you're not burned out on Asian horror after it's ubiquity in the west post-The Ring. 

The main actress, Pataratida Pacharawirapong, is incredibly pretty too, if that kind of thing interests you.

Siwat Chotchaicharin is a very good actor in this movie. It is custom that if spirits like this show up its because they are there to to protect you. Good scary movie and the English subtitles are good for learning English.

This movie essentially begins with a young man named "Mak" (Siwat Chotchaicharin) having recurring nightmares about a ghastly woman with black teeth and a black rectangular mark on her forehead coming toward him. These dreams cause him to wake up in a state of panic. So he tells his fiancé, "Nak" (Pataratida Pacharawirapong) about it and she does her best to reassure him that everything will be fine after their wedding in another week. Unfortunately, the dreams intensify immediately after they get married and buy a home. Yet, although the apparition is indeed frightening, it also takes a deadly vengeance on those who attempt to wrong either Mak or Nak. Such is the wraith's violent nature. But one day when Mak is involved in an accident, which causes him to go into a coma, things begin to take a terrible turn for the worse. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie, I will just say that this is not the original story of the ghost known as "Mae Nak" (played in this particular film by Porntip Papanai) but rather a continuation of the legend transplanted into a modern urban location. The acting was decent and the special effects were adequate enough as well. Likewise, having two attractive actresses like Karnchanit Summakul (as "Noi") along with the aforementioned Pataratida Pacharawirapong certainly didn't hurt matters either. Additionally, I liked the location of the film (Bangkok) and I thought the CD cover was quite artistic as well. However, having said all of that I must confess that there weren't very many scenes out of the ordinary which would have made this movie really stand out. In short, it was an interesting movie but nothing really special and I have rated it accordingly. Average.