Chen (Chantavit Danasevi) is working as a projectionist in a large cinema in a Thai city. It's not the most harmonious of work environments anymore since Som (Vorakarn Rojjanavatchra) - also working at the cinema - has broken up with him. It was his own fault really - stealing your girlfriend's stuff to finance your drug (well, the subtitles call it medicine) habit and hitting her when she catches you doing it is usually not the best way to keep up a relationship.
Chen's honestly in love with Som, though. Her leaving has motivated him to clean up his act. When the film starts, he is working with Som's brother Peoll to earn enough money to get a wristwatch that belonged to Som back from a pawnbroker. It just so happens that the best way the two geniuses can think of to get enough money is taking part in a film piracy ring. This incredibly evil endeavor ends up badly when Chen screens a soon to be released horror movie for Peoll's camming pleasure. Chen falls asleep in the projection room, and when he wakes up Peoll is gone, leaving only his camera behind. The footage on it is rather disturbing and suggests that Peoll was attacked by a ghost stepping down from the screen.
Chen's not too keen on having anything to do with the whole thing anymore, but the nice man for whom he and Peoll were supposed to film the movie uses the power of soft threats of violence to convince him to give the pirating another try.
Poor Chen starts losing it when Peoll appears on screen during the film, obviously a victim of the film's evil spirit, a creature that has started to take an interest in the young man.
Together with Som, who still cares quite a bit about him and is disturbed by his strange behaviour, Chen starts to investigate the background of the film. It is supposedly based on a true story.
Coming Soon is the directorial debut of Sopon Sukdapisit, probably best known as the co-writer of two of Thailand's best horror movies, Shutter and Alone. If you are looking for something of the same quality, you could get as disappointed as many of the online reviewers whose incessant moaning and whining about totally solid films like this is probably an early sign of the coming zombiefication of mankind. Personally, I don't expect every film to be a masterpiece and am perfectly able to cope with a straightforward, simple little horror film that tells a straightforward and simple little tale, in a straightforward and simple way.
It's a solid film all around. Sukdapisit's direction isn't especially flashy or moody, but he mostly avoids the shaky cam/jump cut approach to filmmaking that has already softened more than one brain. I'd use the words straightforward and simple to describe his style if I hadn't just read about the evils of repetition in reviews. I found the integration of Som's and Chen's relationship troubles quite adequate, even a little touching, at least enough to make me root for them and not their ghostly enemy, not at least thanks to the solid (there's that word again) acting.
Even the inevitable twist isn't too annoying. Sukdapisit (who also wrote the script) is good at creating twists that make enough sense not to let the whole film crash down around them.
The creepiness factor is relatively low, though there were two or three scenes I found thoroughly uncomfortable, just enough to keep the film on my good side.
All in all, I'd recommend Coming Soon, it may not be the second coming of the ghost horror film, but it is a well-made and entertaining little flick.
Posts
2 comments:
I know when it's out, but what's THE NAME of the film?
Just be thankful it's not called "Evil Spirits" like the film in the film. ;)
Post a Comment