The Victim

Horror gem
Having sat through--and mostly enjoyed--a wide variety of Asian horror films recently, this one stands out: it's a horror film that happens to come out of Thailand, but it would be scary in any language.

The first 40 minutes are typical Asian horror fare; Ting is a goofy ingenue, an actress wannabe with a bad Bai Ling haircut who's hired by the local police department to help them reenact crimes. She quickly gains a modicum of fame, and a following...including the ghosts of every dead woman she portrays. Her big chance comes when the police find evidence of the death of international beauty queen Meen. Let me reenact your death, prays Ting, and I'll help find out what happened to you. Meen hears her, and her prayers are answered as the ghost starts haunting Ting.

To this point, the movie has every Asian horror cliche known to man--unintentional levity, ridiculous plot, stringy-haired ghosts in obvious greyish makeup, and hideously bad overacting by the girl...

Great twist awfully handled.
The Victim (Monthon Arayangkoon, 2006)

Thai director Monthon Arayangkoon is probably better known on this side of the pacific as a producer (for the wonderful, underrated thriller Pizza and the biopic Indiana Joai: Elephant Cemetery), but he's directed three movies; Garuda is notable for being the first Thai film completely shot on digital, but is otherwise unremarkable, and The House is well-received, though shallow. The Victim, which came in the middle, shares a number of the weaknesses of the other two movies, but is nonetheless watchable, as long as you're willing to overlook one major problem. (Unfortunately, because of the film's structure, I can't go too far into that problem, but I'll do my best to address it without major spoilers.)

The film centers on Ting (Black Night's Pitchanart Sakakorn), who as the film opens has recently finished an acting class (with one of the most terrifying acting instructors you'll ever see on a screen). While she's...

Great atmosphere and music makes for a unsettling experience
This film is easily one of my favorite "j-horror" films (it's thai). It's best to do a bit of research though before watching, otherwise it can be a bit confusing. My advice, google "katoy." As with most Asian horror the movie requires a bit of acceptance when it comes to the story, I've found that it's best to just accept the twist/ending/motive in most Asian horror because once you start to look deep into the plot the story itself can fall apart in a matter of seconds. Definitely not a bad film though and for someone who rarely gets scared during horror films this one actually scared me quite a bit. Enjoy!

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