Here's a Thai horror super-duper double feature film review, pitting
Haeman Chatmee's
Body Jumper (2001) against
Nasorn Panungkasiri's
Six (2004). No, just kidding. I just recently re-watched both films, and while I still enjoyed one and still disliked the other, both films gave me the opportunity to talk about some trends in recent horror in cinema everywhere, not necessarily just in Thailand. While I'm at it, I'll give my two cents on these two Thai flicks.
Body Jumper is a comedy with horrific overtones or a horror movie with comedic overtones. Either way it's a terrific, jumbled mess of a film. The film opens with the deaths of local men in a small village. An exorcism is held and the ghost who perpetrated the murders is contained. Later, a group of volunteer students arrive at the village, and while providing aid, one young female student becomes possessed by the evil spirit: succubus-like Pob, who has an appetite for sex and eating the livers of her male lovers. Her friends attempt to help her by seeking the services of a "ghostbuster" and taking on the spirit at a school dance.
Body Jumper's plot is a thin framework for an absurd group of set pieces. The film's humor goes for the gross-out jokes, seemingly inspired by teen-comedies such as Bob Clark's
Porky's (1981) and Jeff Kanew's
Revenge of the Nerds (1984) and Troma efforts, like Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz's
The Toxic Avenger (1984). In one scene, possessed Gir with her fist attempts to score a liver from the back entrance of a victim, and the camera accompanies her fist to his innards, as she grabs organs and gives each a squeeze. In another, Gir is treated to a literal liver dinner at a posh restaurant. The wonderfully awful visual effects show her tongue swing to lick her plate clean, while her date keeps dropping his fork to look under the table at her underwear. There's even an in-joke from famous and excellent,
Bangkok Dangerous (1999), that is also ridiculous and outlandish. However, all of the jokes work, even when the transvestite member of the group tells a story about a student and a snail.
Superficially, nothing is done very well in
Body Jumper. The acting, the visual effects, the script, etc. are all poor. However, the film plays like a symphony of bad notes in perfect harmony. The film doesn't take itself seriously, so neither does the viewer. It's perfect B-cinema, and I cannot imagine my cinematic life without it. I have a fondness for cinematic cheese and usually give it a lot of critical slack, quite possibly because there are so many recent horror and comedy films that shoot for mediocre as its goal and fall short of the mark. I love it when directors like Haeman Chatemee make a film as if it is going to be his last and just let it all hang out with gusto.
So what about the films that shoot for a serious horrific tone and completely miss the mark? Nasorn Panungkasiri's
Six is one of that caliber. Six friends meet for two of its members' birthday. One is pretty Fah (
Intira Jaroenpura) whose been feeling really down lately. A friend breaks out a tarot deck and reveals that Fah is suffering misfortune because of a past life, but another friend, Khan (
Ray MacDonald) thinks that's a lot of crap. Khan makes a challenge: prove the existence of ghosts or shut up about it forever. The six make the trip to an old mansion, with six coffins in its basement, and engage in seances and oujia games.
At around a hundred minutes,
Six doesn't simmer but stalls. No climax will be satisfactory after this build-up. Panungkasiri goes for subtle and atmospheric, which is admirable, instead of in-your-face and visceral. To meticulously craft and attempt to manipulate the viewer (in an interesting way) is a more difficult task for a filmmaker, because he/she is relying upon the fewest of tools to make an impact. For example. Hideo Nakata executed subtle and atmospheric in
The Ring (1998) nearly perfectly, topped himself in
Chaos (1999), and ended up burying himself in
Dark Water (2002). To be fair, looking at
Dark Water as a drama instead of horror will produce a different result. More than likely, the difficulty of this type of filmmaking is one of the reasons few atmospheric films are being made today.
Six would have benefitted from its participants loosening up and having a little fun. Creating a balance in tone in film is also a difficult task but it is one which I would like to see a lot more in cinema. I think a lot of viewers would agree with me.
As such and as I always do, the majority of the plot should remain hidden and also the choices the characters make in the film, which will undoubtedly divide viewers. F. Javier Gutierrez's Before the Fall's (2008) rendering of the character Ale composes the majority of the film's interest beyond the fantastic story of impending doom. Following Ale's spiritual journey lays the heart of Before the Fall. Ale feels like a victim his whole life (a feeling both merited and exaggerated), stemming from the shadow of the cement factory. Over the course of the final days, Ale finds value in life. Whether its a definite three days or an indeterminate amount of time, the actions which humans make reflect their essential values. Before the Fall shows the negative side of life: what's the point of anything, if it's all just going to be over soon. Ale quickly abandons his friend, in one scene, shouted from a window. His friend needs protection from a group of thugs, but any protection would mean nothing. Protection from what? Ale walks away from his window and lays in his bed in his shadowed room. Ale over the course of Before the Fall abandons this position and eventually learns what he values in life. Before the Fall also speaks to the notions of one's past, present, and future. Ale's past is what makes up his character, and when he learns that the future is limited, the present and the ones that he loves become important.
F. Javier Gutiérrez directed two previous films before Before the Fall, with this being the first of his that I've seen. Like the majority of cinema made today, the film really makes use of modern technology: the cameras used and the techniques employed capture some of the most beautiful imagery. The Spanish countryside, wide and expansive and somewhat desolate, juxtaposed with the crowded Spanish town, with its beautiful architecture and streets full of people, provide the most luscious scenery. Nothing's left to soft focus: the detail in the cobblestones in the streets from watching wind flow through the strands in the fields. In one of my favorite sequences, the camera pans from the characters to the cement factory to the wide open spaces, a powerful scene within the film. I love also the pacing of the film: even with the short time that the characters have to live, the film doesn't move frenetically. Before the Fall takes its time to develop its characters, their character arcs, and the story. 
Víctor Clavijo deserves praise for his performance. This character truly makes a journey, and Clavijo delivers the subtlety and the emotions of Ale. In fact, all of the performances moved me, especially the child actors. A huge warning: some truly scary scenes of violence towards children happen in the film. Before the Fall is full of interesting ideas and images and will, undoubtedly affect everyone on some level. Stumbling upon films like Before the Fall is one of my favorite things about cinema, and I hope some others discover this one.
Set in 1974 with a somewhat foreshadowing song on the radio, four friends have got their van on the road for a trip to the country. Pretty and sweet Camilla (Henriette Bruusgaard) rides shotgun, while her dominating and possessive boyfriend, Roger (Lasse Valdal) drives. Mia (Nini Bull Robsahm, also co-writer) sits in the back and doesn't like the way Roger treats Camilla as shy Jorgen (Jorn-Bjorn Fuller-Gee) sits quietly. Stopping for gas and getting a bite to eat becomes a bad idea: an old bum in a toilet stall gives Camilla a nasty scratch, while the locals in the cafe bark at the city kids. Roger doesn't ignore them and gets in their face. Mia has had it: she cannot stand Roger's treatment of Camilla and his domineering attitude. A young woman, Renate (Janne Beate Bones), squirms in a nearby booth, scared of someone coming or someone already there. Roger offers her a ride, while Mia opposes, but the remaining three reluctantly agree. A short time later on the road, the five try to make a quick stop which becomes a permanent one.
With imagery evocative of Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Manhunt's visuals are quite nasty and quite compelling. The film moves frenetically and flies under eighty minutes. Sick still shots punctuate the drama, while quick cuts show some brutal gore. While the gore appears quite disturbing, Syversen can disturb without it. One scene which I wish I wouldn't have seen involves Camilla, her captor, and a shotgun. When the film moves beyond its exposition and into the action, the substantive dialogue ceases: just the characters and their actions. The central location of a forest and its composition of fall colors, such as brown, gold, and light yellow, are soothing alone; but with the images of blood, Camilla running through the forest, and the tense confrontations, the forest imagery gives away. The viewer wants to be lulled peacefully, but Syversen doesn't allow it. Manhunt is a great-looking film. 
The actresses really standout in this one: Henriette Bruusgaard, as Camilla, is terrific. She creates the sweetest and most lovable character, which Syversen has no problem dragging through hell and back. Janne Beate Bones's role is also quite good, which relies primarily upon her fearful facial expressions and her body language. She conveys everything that her character embodies with her physical actions. Nini Bull Robsahm's Mia is a strong character and well-portrayed. Finally, the director, Patrik Syversen creates quite the creative flick. Manhunt is full of subversive material and ironic twists. Some of his compositions are haunting and his pacing is flawless.
However, Manhunt, overall, overwhelmed me: far too brutal to be enjoyable and not one for a revisit anytime soon. I, however, do quite admire it, as I do Martyrs. However, I think that I learned the essence of the whole torture/kidnapping genre with the first film that I saw. All subsequent ones, some admirable and some terrible, usually leave me cold. I guess that this genre is not supposed to be entertaining, but to be experienced. But yeah, thanks, I'll experience something else.
Roar Uthaug's Fritt Vilt (Cold Prey) (2006) is an excellent horror film. The story of five young snowboarders, stranded in a hotel during a blizzard with a stalking madman, didn't change the face of horror cinema but certainly re-energized it. Its classic and traditional plot was evocative of earlier slashers, specifically John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Sean Cunningham's Friday the 13th (1980). While still violent, Cold Prey was a hidden treasure for horror fans sifting through the recent kidnapping/torture craze. All of its characters were likable, its script didn't sound utterly daft and ridiculous, and its execution was exciting, scary, and tension-filled.
Mats Stenberg's Cold Prey 2 (2008) begins shortly after the events of the original. The film opens at a remote hospital, which is about to close, in the same vicinity of the hotel in the original. Camilla (Marthe Snorresdotter Rovik) is one of two doctors attending. She's kind-hearted and caring. Her boyfriend, Ole (Kim Wifladt), is the hospital's paramedic and gets called out to investigate a snowed-in automobile. It's abandoned, but while driving back to the hospital, Ole nearly hits a figure standing in the road holding a pick axe. The figure is revealed to be Jannicke (Ingrid Bolso Berdal), the sole survivor from the original film. Jannicke is taken back to the hospital and treated. The police hear her tale about the murders of her friends. The Sheriff and his crew investigate the hotel and its surroundings. The corpses of Jannicke's friends and their killer are brought to the hospital morgue, shortly after.
The relationship to Cold Prey and its sequel is comparable to Halloween and its sequel, Rick Rosenthal's Halloween 2 (1981). In fact, Cold Prey 2, beyond the similar hospital setting and the temporal closeness, owes a visual and atmospheric debt to Carpenter's classic and Rosenthal's excellent sequel. For some reason, hospitals always give me the willies, especially at night, when there is not much commotion. I've never been one to consider them "happy" places. The hospital location is used well in the film. The morgue scenes give the opportunity to introduce sweeter-than-candy, nurse Audhild (Johanna Morck) who reluctantly must bag and tag Jannicke's friends and their killer. One of the film's best scenes occurs in the morgue when Jannicke comes to investigate a commotion going on with the doctors. Like Halloween 2, Cold Prey 2 is shot wide with long looks down empty corridors filled with shadows. Light is minimal and its judicious use is nearly perfect. The killings are quick and relentless with no shortage of blood spilled. Cold Prey 2 tops the sequel in violence.
Ingrid Bolso Berdal, as Jannicke, outdoes her performance in the original, where she was kind, caring, intelligent, and resourceful. She brings those same qualities with her character here, but this time, Berdal also reflects the post-trauma fear and desperate nature of one who was nearly a victim but won't be put in that position again. Marthe Snorresdotter Rovik as Camilla accompanies Jannicke's character very well: she's the true main character of the film, who experiences the horror for the first time. Mats Stenberg's direction is assured and shows a tremendous amount of talent. I hope Stenberg and Uthaug become the next John Carpenters of their generation. 
Like the overwhelming majority of cinema, Cold Prey 2 can make no claim to originality; however, within the extremely small minority of excellent recent horror cinema, Cold Prey 2 fits perfectly.
The film's screenplay, penned by 
.jpg)
Chelsea (
As much of the focus of the characters' dialogue and the substance of their interactions revolve around the faltering economy and money, Soderbergh gives the viewer little reason to think that any of these characters are hurting financially. The majority of the scenes are shot in luxury apartments and high-class bars and restaurants. No one drives: every character is driven or like Chris is offered a chance to fly away for a weekend in Las Vegas on a private jet. No tattered clothes are worn here; only the finest threads are seen. Unlike the honesty in Sex, Lies, and Videotape, the honesty about intimacy is hidden in The Girflriend Experience. The majority of the truth of these characters, specifically Chelsea, is only given in brief, yet powerful, glimpses.
Chelsea and Chris's relationship never appears loving or intimate; it appears more like a business venture. In one scene, after Chelsea views one of her clients with another high-class call girl, Chelsea's confidence gets shaken. She opens up to Chris in a very loud bar. He tells her not to worry: Chelsea's the best at whatever she sets her mind to. In so many words, his girlfriend is still the top hooker, and Chris goes to the bar and blows her off. Chelsea is looking for love, and when she meets a sensitive john who she thinks will provide her that love, she's willing to leave Chris. That particular john was special in really only one way: he was the first to listen to her, instead of babbling on about his own problems. The background of the faltering economy is a canvas for a self-absorbed culture. .jpg)
Grey gives a very good performance in a quiet role. Chelsea is not going to open up to just anyone (as the journalist notes at their power lunch meeting). The few shots of Grey walking the streets of Manhattan alone, looking down behind her sunglasses, or holding her knees to her chest in the cold show the real Chelsea. Soderbergh is a master of the modern visual style: natural lighting, handheld camera and beautifully-framed still compositions, and minimal music. This is the Soderbergh that I remember from old, like Out of Sight (1998), Erin Brockovich (2000), and Traffic (2000). The Girlfriend Experience is a beautiful film. Honesty and intimacy are rare commodities in this culture, but when they are shown, they show how powerful they are. Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience is easily one of the best films of this young year.