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Tatler Asia
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
Thai movies starter pack: a genre-bending journey through T-Wave's most compelling stories
2. 'Shutter' (2004) Photographer Tun (Ananda Everingham) and girlfriend Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) start seeing ghostly figures in their photos after a fatal accident. What unfolds is a slow-burn horror that turns every shadow into a threat. Directors Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom explore Thailand's deep-rooted ghost beliefs, especially the karmic weight of past sins. Shutter was a global hit, not just for its scares, but for how it layers terror with cultural insight, proving horror doesn't need gore to be terrifying. 3. 'Pee Mak' (2013) War veteran Mak (Mario Maurer) returns home to his loving wife Nak (Davika Hoorne) and newborn. There's just one catch—she's dead, and everyone knows it but him. Based on the famous Mae Nak legend, Pee Mak reimagines folklore through a blend of horror, slapstick and romance. Director Banjong Pisanthanakun makes the ghost story unexpectedly heartwarming without diluting the scares. Its billion-baht box office haul speaks to how Thai audiences—and Southeast Asia—embrace stories that laugh, scream and cry all at once. 4. 'Bad Genius' (2017) Lynn (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) is a math prodigy who weaponises her brain to run an international test-cheating scheme. What starts as classroom help turns into a globe-trotting operation. The film is slick, fast-paced, and deeply political—underneath the thrills is a scathing critique of class privilege and academic pressure. Director Nattawut Poonpiriya turns a high school drama into a heist film with brains and bite. It's smart, tense and speaks to anyone who's ever felt the system was rigged. 5. 'My Girl' ('Fan Chan') (2003) When Jeab (Charlie Trairat) gets an invite to his childhood friend Noi-Naa's (Focus Jirakul) wedding, memories of their 1980s friendship come flooding back. Directed by six young filmmakers, My Girl paints a warm, humorous portrait of Thai childhood—its games, feuds and heartbreaks. It's not just nostalgic; it's emotionally honest. This film captures something universal about growing up: how fleeting moments become defining memories, and how innocence and regret live side by side. 6. 'Chocolate' (2008) Zen (Yanin 'Jeeja' Vismitananda), a young autistic woman, learns martial arts by watching TV and mimicking fighters. When her mother falls ill, Zen fights her way through debt collectors to save her family. Directed by Prachya Pinkaew, this film is pure adrenaline, with every fight scene a kinetic marvel. But Chocolate also challenges action tropes by centring a neurodivergent, blending vulnerability with rage, and making the personal feel epic. 7. 'How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies' (2024) M (Putthipong Assaratanakul) becomes the caregiver for his dying grandmother Mengju (Usha Seamkhum)—not out of love, but for inheritance. What unfolds is a painfully funny, emotionally raw look at Thai Chinese family dynamics. The film is unafraid to show how affection can be transactional, and how guilt creeps in. A breakout hit in 2024, it sparked conversations about ageing, duty and modern Thai values. Beneath the dark humour lies a devastating truth: sometimes love is real, even when the motives initially aren't. Don't miss: Exclusive interview: Putthipong 'Billkin' Assaratanakul talks about his first film role in 'How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies' 8. 'Hunger' (2023) Street food cook Aoy (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) is invited into the elite kitchen of chef Paul (Nopachai Chaiyanam), a tyrant obsessed with culinary perfection. Hunger peels back the glamour of fine dining to expose power plays, exploitation and class warfare. Director Sitisiri Mongkolsiri crafts a stylish, simmering drama where food becomes a metaphor—what we crave, what we sacrifice. It's Whiplash meets The Menu but with a uniquely Thai sensibility rooted in Bangkok's real-life food culture. 9. 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives' (2010) As he nears death, Uncle Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar) retreats to the countryside and communes with the spirits of his past. Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul won the Palme d'Or for this meditative exploration of reincarnation, memory and impermanence. It moves slowly, dreamily—less plot, more presence. The film draws on Buddhist and animist beliefs to blur life, death and time. If you want to understand the soul of Thai arthouse cinema, start here. 10. 'Home for Rent' (2023) Ning (Nittha Jirayungyurn) rents out her home and slowly realises something sinister has moved in. Inspired by true events, Home for Rent explores the horror of being invaded from the inside. Cult manipulation, motherhood and psychological decay spiral into genuine terror. Director Sophon Sakdaphisit uses shifting perspectives to show how evil can hide behind smiles, and how trust, once broken, is nearly impossible to repair. Credits This article was created with the assistance of AI tools
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
One To Watch: Why Davika Hoorne Left Her 'Comfort Zone' To Play A Haunted Hoover In ‘A Useful Ghost'
'I've never been a vacuum cleaner before… it's very out of my comfort zone,' says Thai model and actress Davika Hoorne on her role in Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's Cannes Critics' Week title A Useful Ghost. She plays a woman who dies of dust pollution and then returns as a ghost in the form of a vacuum cleaner, determined to save her family from a similar fate. 'I had to get to know the vacuum cleaner, my partner,' says Hoorne, adding she put herself in the hands of the director to pull off the performance. 'His picture was very clear. There was a bit of improv but mostly it was what he wanted.' More from Deadline Scarlett Johansson On Why The Script For Her Directorial Debut 'Eleanor The Great' Made Her Cry: 'It's About Forgiveness' – Cannes Cover Story 'Bono: Stories Of Surrender': On Irish Fathers & Sons, Processing Family Tragedy & How A Need To Be Heard Propelled A Dublin Kid To Become One Of The World's Biggest Rock Stars Kering & Cannes Film Festival To Honor Brazilian Filmmaker Marianna Brennand With Prestigious Women In Motion Prize Alongside Nicole Kidman At Glitzy Sunday Night Soiree RELATED: It is not the first time Hoorne—who is one of Thailand's best-known actresses and influencers with strong followings on Instagram and TikTok—has played a ghost. Having forged a successful career as a model, she broke through as an actress in 2013 Thai folklore-inspired horror comedy Pee Mak, playing a woman called Nak, who dies while her husband is away at war but remains in their village to welcome him back. Pee Mak remains Thailand's all-time second highest grossing feature. RELATED: Hoorne's performance won her the epithet of 'Thailand's most beautiful ghost' and she has since starred in a string of mainstream shows and movies, including My Ambulance, Heart Attack, Astrophile and The Empress of Ayodhaya. Lead produced by Cattleya Paosrijareon and Soros Sukhum at Bangkok-based 185 Films, the credits of which also include Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria and Kristen Tan's Pop Aye, A Useful Ghost marks quite a departure for Hoorne. 'I'm incredibly thankful for this opportunity, but I admit it's crazy that I accepted it. It's not something you usually see in Thailand,' she says. 'I normally do stories that are predictable, that make money, but this one is fulfilling my actress energy. The team working on it is incredible and so many people were rooting for it to get made. The first time I read the script, I said yes right away. I felt the movie had the potential to go far, and even if it doesn't, I'm still very proud of this project.' As well as introducing Hoorne to audiences outside of Asia, traveling to Cannes with A Useful Ghost also fulfils a long-held ambition for the actress, who says she has turned down offers to walk the festival's red carpet as a model in the past. 'A lot of people go there for the fame, for the fashion, but I told myself that I'm not going to walk the red carpet without a movie. I've been waiting for 10 years, and now this is like a dream come true.' Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Everything We Know About Ari Aster's 'Eddington' So Far
