Bangkok Haunted (2001)

Best movie of this year hands down!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Because I'd just recently seen an actual autopsy (How do you spend YOUR spare time...?), I picked up on the fact that the autopsy in the second segment of BANGKOK HAUNTED wasn't "anatomically correct" piles of latex foam rubber or cgi. A look at the extras on the DVD confirmed my suspicions. If you're one of those sick puppies who actually likes to see "the real thing," here it is. In the flesh. Despite that, BANGKOK HAUNTED is a beautifully crafted film that (in my own, ever humble opinion) never bores the viewer- and, if the superb film-making doesn't do it for you, just ogle the jaw-droppingly beautiful women. Storywise, I didn't have a problem with any of the three segments (and the third, with storytelling twist after twist, is guaranteed to satisfy even the most jaded mystery fan). The performances are likewise solid all around, but, again, it's the outstanding craftsmanship that makes BANGKOK HAUNTED worth seeing.

I had watched "The Eye" before I watched this one. I really liked "The eye", it was one of the best movies of the recent Asian horror-cinema. So, I picked this "Bangkok haunted" because it was the same director, and it was kind of popular round here. But man, what a disappointment... "Bangkok haunted" are three stories about love, revenge, ghosts, etc. that are no scary at all, not even disturbing (as "The eye" was)... no nothing. I can't even fill the 10 lines required for the comment... 100% boring.*My rate: 2/10

I just received a screener of the Panik House DVD for this film, and the packaging is very impressive! I'm happy to report that the movie and the extras are every bit as impressive as well. This is an omnibus film co-directed by Oxide Pang, who along with brother Danny, directed THE EYE and BANGKOK DANGEROUS. There are three stories (told by three young women in a Bangkok Cafe) of horror and the supernatural shot in three distinctly different styles, while each fitting together quite nicely in the end. All of the stories have shocking moments of violence, but are never presented in an exploitive way, as thought the violence on screen is never superfluous and always serves to push the story forward. The first story, "Legend of the Drum" is a tale of murder a nd possession, and according to the "Making Of" featurette, the filming of this segment involved actual unexplainable circumstances, reminiscent of recently disclosed events on the sets of the original Exorcist and Wes Craven's Serpent And The Rainbow. The costume design is incredibly creepy. The second tale, "Black Magic Woman" involves an aphrodisiac, zombified prostitutes, and crazed axe-wielding killer, and may have involved actual cadavers. The third entry, directed by Oxide Pang, "Revenge" is the real payoff, and has a very original story structure and the best multi-level police procedural drama this side of CSI. Pete Thong-jeur gives a realistic and believable performance as a young detective convinced that a possible suicide is a case of murder, and the victim's spirit visits him throughout the investigation with ghastly consequence. The wrap-up is among the most original I've ever seen, and I'm going to run out and buy anything else with Oxide's name on it after this. The disc has a ton of extras. In addition to the documentary, there are trailers, a Pang Brothers bio written by Psychotronic Video Guide's Art Black (who also wrote the Thai Cinema Essay) and a lengthy still gallery. Oh yeah, it comes with a sticker, too. Great film, great disc.

Three women are telling three unrelated ghost stories in Bangkok Haunted.First `Legend of the Drum ` about a modern girl receiving by mistake an old drum and spirits showing her what happened to a beautiful dancer and a deformed guy whose not corresponded love for the girl ends up with tragic consequences. Second `Black Magic Woman' about a women so desperate for love that he resources to some magic lotion, not knowing it is made with dead people fluids, and kill those to whom it was applied.Last and not least `Revenge' about a cop investigating the dead of a beautiful woman was nothing is what it seems. This one is the most complex and twisted of the group; also the one with less chills.The first two parts were directed by Pisut Praesangeam and the last one by Oxide Pang Chun (creator of The Eye); it is easy to notice different styles, but there are some common elements on all of them, keeping an unity, atmosphere and an average quality on the whole movie. The camera work and character development are very interesting. The acting is acceptable.Ghost appear everywhere, every time; but most of the time as part of the background, not relating with the characters. This creates some gratuitous but welcome chills in the spectator, compensating the overall slowness of the movie. Yes; pace is quite slow, and is not an horror movie in the standard sense; so those looking for gore or violent images will be somewhat disappointed, however this is not a psychological thriller either; blood and some violent killings or rotten bodies sporadically happen but never in a `Friday 13th' excess.Conclusion: This is not gore, terror intensive Evil Dead nor a quiet 6TH Sense or The Others; it will not give you the creeps but will intrigue you enough to keep you in your seat for two hours and ten minutes.