Heaven And Hell (2012) @ วงจรปิด

"Damn. I forgot the safe word."

At a glance:

If it ain't found footage or mobile phone recordings, it's CCTV. In the hands of the Thai, they'll make it an omnibus horror, as usual. Yuthlert Sippapak's Heaven And Hell (2012) a.k.a. วงจรปิด is a disjointed effort of three vignettes, the last two sittin better together than with the first (directed by his longtime cinematographer Tiwa Moeithaisong). It opens with Tiwa's black-and-white story - Ghost Legacy, about a pair of twins who inherit a haunted mansion from their dead grandfather. Next, we have Heaven 11, a slightly confusin episode about creepy teen love that culminates in a 24-hour convenience store, at the expense of two frightened CCTV technicians. The last, Hell No. 8, brings back this duo and puts them in a haunted apartment's lift where they try to fix the CCTV while chattin up two chicks.

Bad news on the doorstep:

These are the requisite tattoos to become a CCTV technician.

The middle bit, easily the strongest, could've been expanded to make an entire movie, instead of this dissonant mess. The decision to open with the weakest bit must be criticised, as I suspect many won't last the humourless silent movie treatment, with title cards to boot. It's also unfortunate that the last third descends into a full-on horror-comedy without much tension. Cheap-lookin ghosts are part and parcel of Thai movies within this range but it could really have done so much better with just a little structural tweak.

"Please. I need this stool to hang myself."

Perenial wonderment:
Does anyone know where I can get Thai box office results in English? Do drop me a line.  Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Prolific Thai movie critic Wise Kwai sees positives: "As scattershot Heaven and Hell is in terms of style and genre, there's an overarching theme of feminism, with strong female roles in Yuthlert's segments – the girl ghosts get their revenge." I'm less enthusiastic. This ain't 4bia (2008) or Phobia 2 (2009). Jog on.★★
Bonus material:

Alone (2007) @ แฝด

Marion Ursula Marsha Vadhanapanich (มาช่า วัฒนพานิช)

At a glance:
Reunitin the directin duo behind the phenomenal horror hit Shutter, I remember this 2007 picture best by my mother's screamin across GSC Mid Valley Hall 10 throughout the whole show. It premiered here in Kuala Lumpur with the directors and the lead actress in attendance. Well to be honest, they hung about for 10 minutes, gave some prizes away and left for Genting. The story? We follow Pim, a successful socialite in Korea who receives news about her ailin mum back in home country Thailand. She makes a dreaded return there, together with lovin husband Vee and soon the couple find themselves stayin at Pim's childhood home. It's here that we learn about Pim bein a Siamese twin who had a sister, Ploy, now dead to the world after failin to survive the operation to separate them. Before long, the pangs of fear over the phantom twin emerge as Pim wrestles to understand the mystery behind frightful sightings of Ploy around the old house. Guilt complex and hallucinatory psychosis, or evil undead and paranormal hauntin?
Bad news on the doorstep:
The terror in Alone is built mostly on sound effects and sudden 'ghost-in-the-mirror' shots. I wouldn't deny that they are quite scary, if only because they was very, very loud.
Reminds me of:
When Marsha taught me that a man should say sawatikap instead of sawatika. Actually I'm still not sure if I got that right.
Watch out for:
Chiselled German-Thai lead actress Marion Ursula Marsha Wattanapanich. Heard some ooo's in the crowd when a bathtub scene was snipped. Contemporary scream queens in the mould of Angelica Lee and Christina Ricci have never actually been lookers or supermodels, talented as they are. Marsha is, although she has this masculine aura to her.

Conjoined twins. The start of a great porn career.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Scream factor is high and although execution may not rival Shutter (I also feel we could've had better subtitlin), Alone gets my ★★1/2 for 94 minutes of very decent horror, plotholes or not. Directors Parkpoom and Banjong said that the success or failure of the 2008 US remake for Shutter would only serve to draw attention to the original. Alone ought to have gotten the same treatment but I haven't heard news about it. All I know is that Phobia 2 has Marsha in it and she plays herself in Alone 2 for that last comedy vignette, mockin the imaginary sequel and also horror movie cliches. That was quite humourous.

Raging Phoenix (2009) @ จีจ้า ดื้อสวยดุ

At a glance:
Drunken Master (1978) meets Only The Strong (1993) in a female version of Ong Bak (2003) with a dollop of unnecessary Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer (2006) - that's what you get if you give martial arts wunderkind Jeeja Yanin another run at the cinemas after Chocolate a.k.a. Fury (2008). With a Siamese title that translates to "stubborn, beautiful and fierce" (or so I read), this joins the recent rich vein of Thai action movies that hold their own against the Hollywood stuff. Jeeja plays Deu, a pathetic, punk-rock drifter who joins a group of dancin drunken fighters on their vengeful mission of rescuin abducted women from a mysterious flesh trade gang. This vigilante trio (offensively named Pig Shit, Dog Shit and Bull Shit) is headed by another bitter bloke named Sanim (played by French-Vietnamese fighter Patrick "Kazu" Tang, pic, L). You can forget about Marc Dacascos and his capoeira once this lot starts kickin ass, especially in the flurry of fight scenes in the first quarter of the movie.
Bad news on the doorstep:
In spite of good lensin and breathtakin backdrop, all of the meticulously choreographed fight action is hampered by an uncomfortable packagin that tries to cover romance and some hocus-pocus mystical backstory as well, resultin in an overlong final product with an extended climax and an unnecessarily elaborate endin. This decision takes out a lot of energy out of the movie, leavin audiences with a martial arts flick that is enjoyable in patches only.
Perennial wonderment:
If Thai movies can ever stop it with the invasive background music. This one sounds slightly better. Plus it has a real score too I think.
Watch out for:
Star of the show Jeeja Yanin (pic, R). She's cute (though slightly annoyin) and she sure can put up a helluva fight. Utilisin a real-life Siamese discipline called meiraiyuth, her character convincingly embraces the art and gives us somethin awesome to marvel at in every frame. However the most interestin sequence is at an abandoned skate park where Kazu does some amazin work.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?Let's hope Jeeja Yanin's next project is much better and will bring her into Hollywood circles because this Thai talent is more marketable than Tony Jaa.★★1/2