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Chon is
suffering from some extremely vivid nightmares
in which he sees a woman who's been dismembered and
then put back together. He is sent to Dr. Usa who
tries to convince him that his visions are only
nightmares and nothing to be concerned about. What
she doesn't know is that they're not only nightmares,
there's a dark and terrifying secret hidden in the
messages that Chon has been receiving, and it doesn't
take long before people around start turning up dead.
The first impression that I got from Body was that
this was going to be a beautiful and visually stunning
film, and in many ways it was. This new Thai horror
flick which failed to attract a very big audience in
its native country is somewhat refreshing since it
doesn't try to scare its audience every chance that
it gets. It takes its time to build up its story and
characters and it was nice to see a Thai horror flick
with a slower pace than usual. But perhaps Body's pace
was a bit TOO slow as I occasionally find myself doing
a "Paula Abdul" (sleeping with one eye while struggling
to keep the other one open).
We all know the story that's been told several times
before. But since Body is from the same company that
brought us "Shutter" and "Alone", it's got a little
more class than what we're used to. The movie revolves
around Chon, a poor engineering student who lives
together with his sister, Aye. As of recently he's
been suffering from horrible nightmares and when he
accidentally cuts himself with a knife after having
had a vision of some prawns bleeding (don't even get
me started), Aye forces him to go to a psychologist.
The doctor who believes that Chon is on drugs sends
him to Dr. Usa (again, don't get me started) who
seem to share a connection of some sort. As his visions
become increasingly realistic, the mystery unveils
before him and it seems as if the key to the answer
may lie in the local morgue.
Body has several good qualities and just as many bad
ones. Like I said before, the pace is just too slow
and the movie keeps going for forever. The twists are
extremely predictable since they're clichéd and have
been done to death. The scares fail to actually scare
you and may even provide you with a laugh or two. But
other than that, Body is an above-average Thai horror
flick. What do I mean when I say other than that? Well,
the movie is visually stunning, just like I got the
impression that it would be. The acting is terrific,
the ghost is somewhat original and there are a few
suspenseful scenes to be found in here even if they
never end up being very scary or make you jump.
Recent Thai horror movies have relied a lot on cheap
CGI-effects and that's also the case with Body. It's
basically built upon CGI effects and for once they're
not half bad. Sure, the tiny foetus was corny and some
death scenes didn't look very real but for a Thai
production the CGI effects were surprisingly convincing.
In the end, Body is not exactly what I had expected it
to be considering the original tagline and poster for
the movie which made it look like a serial killer flick.
It's a bit too generic for my taste but at least they
tried to make something different and they did so with
class which I commend them for. It's not a movie that
you have got to check out but I'll probably take it for
another spin or two before it ends up in my DVD shelf.
One of the stronger Thai horror flicks of the year.
Buckets of blood along with some melting skin and an
impalement. Not too shabby for a ghost flick.
Oh I just loved the opening song. The rest of the
soundtrack was so-so but overall a decent effort.
Body is just barely a cut above the rest of this years
Thai horror flicks due to its stunning cinematography
and great cast. In terms of horror it probably won't
scare many people but it does have some genuinely
suspenseful scenes in it that should not be overlooked.
A decent horror movie, definitely worth checking out
but don't go in with the highest of expectations.
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