Chanthaly (2013)

Fresh and Exciting

Expected more

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

For Do's first film, there is a stunning style to it. While marketed as a horror film, I see it as more of a cultural drama that plays into the superstitions of the Lao people. For the given budget, and that this was Do's first film as an amateur director (I believe she never received formal training), she centers a lot of imagery around Phommapunya and the ghost. To me, the scene stealer was her father, played by Soliphanh. You can really see how a family can operate differently behind closed doors, as well as a coming of age type feeling between a mother and daughter. I am looking forward to the future of Do's very nuanced projects. If you are looking for a thoughtful, experiential film, with some suspense this is for you.

This film is not horror, it seems more a drama with touches of suspense and also plays the religion. A movie very badly done, jumps in the strong time, parts senseless, sometimes say they are going to tell you something and in the end they forget to tell, do not give explanations of many events, it is very neutral and once completed is like that you have absolutely not said anything ... like a movie half done. The positive thing about the movie is the general idea, the second part I liked since few movies teach the same, but rebuilds more questions than solutions, and more failures every minute. The performances are well achieved and appearance of the footage also, the greatest failure is the story and the script.

A good slow-burn horror movie, though "horror" might be a stretch. Considering this was "marketed" to me as the director having fun with her friends, the end result is actually very professional. I think what's most impressive is how good this movie looks considering the budget of I believe $5000, and I don't usually like the look of things shot on digital. That's not to say the technical limitations aren't noticeable and it does lack "impact", I guess, as a result but there's some really cool ideas and it was nice to see a horror movie where the last act wasn't just bullshit jump scares over and over again. Since the horror isn't in your face, the storytelling is leaned on and it works through out. The film always feels natural in its development and the characters are believable, especially on horror standards. A breath of fresh air in the current horror market for sure. Definitely look forward to Mattie's next film "Dearest Sister".