Drawing strength from its cultural perspectives, the film draws on real crimes, and was shot on the actual locations where victims met their violent denouement. Building on this unpleasant reality, the film's artificial reality has an earnest sense of its supernatural underpinnings. The carefully accentuated coloration of these locations, Ting's flashbacks, and the ghostly phenomena that befall unsuspecting victims, create stark contrasts against each other, especially the later scenes, using a carefully wrought palette that is artfully above the over-used, blanched fluorescent lighting simplicity seen in Saw, Dark Corners, and other American hard horror endeavors.
With the revelation of the second story, entering on the heels of a revealed lesbian relationship, the film becomes a who's next? more than a whodunit?, and characters are powerless against a malevolent spirit that neither a traditional Thai spirit house or magic-bestowing tattoo inked with a bamboo needle will appease or avert. In one notable scene, framed through a narrow doorway, a pair of ghostly hands, at the ends of stretching ... stretching ... stretching arms, reach out to grab one unsuspecting victim.
Watch this film late at night, when all is quiet and the world is right, and you just may find yourself checking to see if the front door is locked. Again, and again. Just remember that doors don't stop ghosts, especially when you're alone and in the dark.
Article comments
1 - Lisa McKay
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to the Advance family of websites and to Boston.com, which will allow even more readers to enjoy it.
2 - Azael
I saw this movie yesterday In Mexico.
It was rather interesting. I'm glad to know me and my cousin weren't the only ones who thought the same about the movie. The whole, story within a story, change of pace, change of plot kind of thing. I couldn't decide if it was a good movie or not. I certainly didn't get bored with it, but i didn't get obsessed with it like I do with movies i like. In the end i decided to just say it was an interesting weird movie. Did anyone else get the feeling like YOU were being involved in the movie after the "Movie Editing" scenes where they see the faces ? For a couple of minutes, I felt like them because I saw the shots but never noticed them. This is definitely A movie to watch at night. The Credits are awesome too... its one of those "Oh Sh-- really ? O.o" moments.