“The Unborn Child” aka “ศพเด็ก 2002″ (2011) – Thai Ghost/ Horror

Time for some creepy ghost action, Thai style, with a look at director Poj Arnon’s 2011 effort, “The Unborn Child”. Been a while since I’ve gotten to watch any Thai films, but thanks to a recent Taiwanese release with those ever so nifty English subtitles on board, it was finally time to give it a try.

Our synopsis goes sorta like this: “Crime-scene photographer Tri, his wife Pim, and lovable little 5 year old daughter Yaimai become haunted by the spirit of an angry child after Tri is assigned to film the body of a woman discovered after an illegal abortion gone wrong.

As he investigates the mysterious events surrounding the case, the danger deepens for his family and secrets he thought long past return to seek vengeance in the name of the spirits of a horde of helpless infants trapped in a grisly existence beyond death where only anger and hatred remain.”

I’ve heard that this one is a bit overly preachy and exploitative… and it’s based on a true Thai news scandal from a year or so back, with a lot of “moral instruction” intended for a Thai audience at large rather than entertaining a foreign one…. but darn it…. it’s just been soooo long since any Thai horror has made it’s way to this wee Catgirl that I’m willing to take a chance and give this one a try. I mean…. it’s got oodles and oodles of ghost babies….. how can that not be super creepy?

So… without further delay, let’s get right down to it and see for ourselves just what sort of creepy hijinx those baby ghosts can get up to, shall we?

“Ladda Land” aka “ลัดดาแลนด์” (2011) – Thai Ghost/ Horror

Christmas has come and gone and yours truly has already Decked the Halls and jingled my bells to celebrate, so now it’s time to let you in on what’s new in your Favorite Catgirl’s DVD player this Holiday season. This time.. a look at the 2011 Thai horror film “Ladda Land” just out on Region 3 HK DVD with those ever so handy English subtitles on board for my viewing (and comprehending) pleasure.

Our synopsis? Well… that goes sorta like this:  “Jumping at the chance for a higher-paying job, Thee (Saharat “Kong” Sangkapreecha) moves to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand with his wife (Piyathida “Pock” Woramuksik) and two kids, and finally gets that dream home he’s been striving to attain after 14 long years of trying in vain to afford. The happy family of four move into a new housing estate called Ladda Land, and all is well until a neighbor’s young Burmese maid is found brutally murdered and her body stuffed in a refrigerator. But all is not harmonious with the family and then even more eerie and strange things begin to happen at Ladda Land… “

As with most Thai films the last couple of years or so, this one was somewhat of a vexing lil’ effort to track down. Others have beaten me to it, review wise…. one good example being our friend elpeevio at his own film Blog, “Things Fall Apart”. (You can check out his review HERE…) But I’m nothing if not tenacious in my efforts to find my cinema goodies…. so it wasn’t long before I got on it’s trail too. Released sans subtitles in Thailand itself, the very first legitimate English subbed DVD to surface, in Malaysia was… errr… disappointing… to say the least. With subtitles that were obviously auto-translated by computer and never checked by anyone fluent in English it was one of my rare purchase mistakes. I figured I’d be searching for some accurate fansubs to use, when the good folks in Hong Kong came to my rescue and released their own version…. with good accurate subs. Yay!!

Think maybe it’ll be something you’ll want to see? Then you’d probably better “Read On” and see what it’s all about then….

"The Intruder" aka "Kheaw Aa-Kaard" (เขี้ยว อาฆาต) (2010) – Thai Horror

Finally…. another trip to Thailand for your Favorite Catgirl to get her latest horror movie fix. Despite the appalling lack of English subtitles to be found these days on actual Thai DVD’s, I still keep plugging away as I continue to search high and low for the ones that do get released somewhere… anywhere… with decent English subtitling. My latest bit of luck involved bumping into the recent Malay release for the 2010 Thai “Snakes In An Apartment” horror film, “The Intruder”…. released in Malaysia as “Revenge of the King Cobra”. At least I thought it was lucky….. As it turned out, the Malay DVD by Innoform was as bereft of subtitles as the original Thai release itself. However… another search turned up the necessary fan-subs that needed only a wee bit of tweaking time wise, to sync them to my disc.

Synopsis? Yep… I’ve got that covered too and it goes like this: “In 1983 before the giant Suvarnabhumi international airport was built, the neglected and unoccupied area was called “King Cobra Swamp” by the locals. As building commenced, a huge old Banyan tree blocked the constructions path. A work crew call in a mechanical digger to remove the tree. As the roots are torn from the ground 1000s of cobra bones explode from the earth tearing them to pieces. After the passing of the grim massacre, witnesses who survived tell strange stories about and evil Cobra spirit. Years later when a new apartment block was built on the ground, Nin, the buildings owner has to face the horrifying matter when hundreds of Cobras hell bent on killing every living person in the apartment appear. People believe that again it is the vengeance of the Spirit. How will they survive, when being hunted by vengeance without mercy?”

OK, ok…. you’ve sold Neko on this one…. But did it live up to my expectations? Guess you’ll have to “Read On” and find out now wont you?

"Vanquisher" (2009) aka "Suay Samurai" (สวย…ซามูไร) – Thai Action

Time for some serious kickboxing, sword slicing “tough girl’ action this time out as I give a look at 2010′s Thai action flick “Vanquisher”. Recently released on Region 1 DVD with little fanfare by Magnet, your Favorite Catgirl somehow missed hearing about it…. d’ohh!! Thankfully, Carolyn’s sharp eye caught a peek at it when shopping for us a day or so ago, and knowing what a little action movie goof her girlfriend is promptly snatched a copy for lil’ ol’ me.

Our synopsis goes along like this: “A Thai Special Ops agent, codenamed “Gunja”, narrowly avoids death and betrayal during a dangerous mission, only to resurface two years later to battle a bloodthirsty terrorist plot in Bangkok.

Two years ago, Gunja teamed with American CIA Agent Claire to track an Al-Qaeda member on a mission code named “Vanquisher”. Little did Gunja realize that Claire was instructed to leave no witnesses once their mission was accomplished. Narrowly escaping that assassination attempt by Claire, Gunja quietly goes back to Bangkok, where she is quickly promoted to lieutenant in the Thai Police. Flash forward two years, and a dangerous extremist is planning a devastating bomb attack on Bangkok. Gunja is the only hope for heading off the attack and saving thousands of innocent lives. However, once Gunja finds the situation is not as it first seems and crosses paths with Claire once again, she realizes that this particular mission could very well be her last.”

Now I do like action movies with strong female heroines and Thailand usually knows how to do the action genre pretty well, but your Favorite Catgirl has heard some rather discouraging things about this particular film. Never one to be put off by bad rumor and elated by my sweetheart’s most thoughtful (and unusually successful) efforts to finally score a movie I didn’t already have and somehow managed to miss the release of, I’m gonna hunker down and see what’s what.

Wanna know all about it too? Why then, by all means “Read On”, o’ Gentle Visitor!!

"6:66 Death Happens" aka "6:66 ตายไม่ได้ตาย" (2010) – Thai Horror

This time out, it’s a quick look at the recent Thai horror offering “6:66 Death Happens”. It’s another of those Thai goodies released to their domestic DVD market sans English subtitle, but your Favorite Catgirl has never… ever… let that stand in her way of getting her Thai horror fix before, now has she? Nope…

Our synopsis goes like this: “Bangkok based Crime reporter Dao (Susie-Susira Angelina Nanna) has to uncover strange and unexplainable incidents in the next 24 hours. She received news from the hospital that her father (Yodchai Meksuwan) has been miraculously resurrected from the death after being dead for more than 15 consecutive years since the departure of her mother.

She experiences few incidents that are related to death such as feeling wanting to die and is determined to find out the truth about it. Joining her is an old-time police friend, Wut (Jason Young) who is interested to discover the truth about her father’s resurrection story. Both are battling the power of death and she may as well become the next victim…”

Yep…. this one most certainly sounds like one of those films your Favorite Catgirl can’t get enough of…. Weird supernatural hauntings… the dead refusing to stay dead…. babies refusing to be born…. old family secrets that lurk in the closet like skeletons….. Naturally I’m all for snugglin’ in to make a night of movie watchin’ bliss. Not to worry though, I’ll tell ya all about it.

Psssst!! That means it’s time to “Read On”, you silly lil’ doofus!!

“Haunted Universities” aka “มหา’ลัยสยองขวัญ” (2009) – Thai Ghost /Horror

My ever vigilant quest for subtitles has finally rewarded this lil’ Catgirl with some nice fansubs for the recent Thai Horror omnibus “Haunted Universities” after what seemed like… well… forever. One quick order to Thailand later, and the official Thai release is mine for my viewing pleasure…. Yay!!

It’s synopsis reads like follows: “Remember your university days, when you traded scary urban legends with your friends? Prepare to see some of those legends brought to life in the Thai horror anthology Haunted Universities. In the tradition of the hit “Phobia” franchise, young directing team Bunjong Sinthanamongkolkul and Suthiporn Tubtim frame four loosely connected school-related horror stories around a young volunteer paramedic with a special gift.

In “The Toilet”, a group of bad guys goes to a school to retrieve drugs from a young student’s locker. However, they didn’t expect the terror waiting for them in the school’s haunted fifth-floor bathroom.

A bad case of hazing sends a young girl into “The Elevator”, where she attracts the attention of wronged spirits. Worst yet, the young girl’s grandfather was the one who wronged them in the first place.

The darkly comedic segment “The Morgue” tells the story of a cowardly medical student assigned to look over the corpse in a hospital. The wilder his overactive imagination runs, the more paranoid he grows.

The directors save the best for last with “The Stairway”, about two girls who participate in a web-cam chat that ends with a creepy man vowing to kill them both. What they don’t know is how far the man will go to keep his promise.”

Neko certainly liked “Phobia”…. and I’m thinking it’s a pretty good bet I’ll be enjoying this one just as much. Ghosts…. creepy haunted Asian schoolkids…. and knowing Thailand, some particularly nasty, gory horror the way only they seem to do it these days. It’s popcorn crunching time this evening for me…. and a new review for all of you, so hang in there, Gentle Visitors and “Read On”!!

“My Ex” aka “Fan Kao” (แฟนเก่า) (2009) – Thai Ghost/ Horror

After yesterday’s terrible Indonesian horror film your Favorite Catgirl needed something to clean and soothe her lil’ brain and what better than a nice Thai ghost story, eh? Mmmmm… romance, ghosts… and bloody mayhem, now that’s entertainment!!

The synopsis goes as follows: “Three ex-girlfriends, three dates with death

Has she really left you?

Ken (Chakhrit Yamnan from Bangkok Dangerous) is a ravishing young superstar and the dream date of every girl. While he can attract any woman he wants, every detail of his life ends up in gossip columns and tabloid magazines.

Two of his previous girlfriends — high-society girl Meen (Navadee Mokkhavesa) and innocent college student Bow (Atthama Chiwanitchaphan) — have already been exposed by the media. After dumping the pregnant Meen, he is now dating gorgeous young actress Ploy (Wanida Termthanaporn) and their every move makes the headline.

When news leak that Ken will marry Ploy, the media goes into a frenzy and the couple’s dream life turns into a nightmare. It seems that someone is stalking them, day and night. Is it an ex-girlfriend, an obsessed fan or vengeful paparazzi? Ken’s agent, Nimit (Bordin Duke), encourages him to take a break at his beachfront house but the problem only escalates as Ken starts to have visions of a woman and mysterious scratches begin to appear on his body. One by one, the people around Ken start to disappear…”

I just know this one is gonna be good! Wanna find out for sure? Then you’re just gonna need to “Read On” and find out…. silly!!

“Raging Phoenix” aka “Du Suay Doo” aka ดื้อ สวย ดุ (2009) – Thai Martial Art/Action

Part two of my “Tough Girls Movie Marathon” brings us to Thailand for Jeeja Yanin’s second movie for Sahamongkol film, following her success in last year’s “butt-kickingly” nice “Chocolate”…. it’s “Raging Phoenix”.

Your favorite Catgirl really lucked out this last month, scoring nice Fansubs for both this one and “Coweb”, allowing me to finally enjoy these two in one single glorious evening of popcorn fueled martial arts movie mayhem for my wee inner Kickboxing Princess….

Our synopsis for it goes something like this: “Deu, a girl with equally high degree of recklessness and beauty has never experienced “true love”. Her life changes completely when some gangsters try to kidnap her and she narrowly escapes with the help of Sanim, a sad looking stranger with a painful past. Waking up in an abandoned factory, she joins his friends who practice a form of drunken Thai break-dancing martial arts. Sanim and his friends, having had loved ones abducted, join forces to get back at the kidnappers.”

Drunken Kickboxing? OK…. now you really don’t get to see that everyday of the week…. (at least not in my neighborhood…) so this one promises to be something waaay different from my usual fare. But will I get all nutty for it as I did her last effort, “Chocolate”? You all know by now that I’m gonna have to watch it anyways… (just to be sure…). So let’s skip right to the juicy parts and “Read On!”, shall we?

“Opapatika” aka “Demon Warriors” (2007) – Thai Action/ Horror

A recent Region 1 release of this Thai Action/horror mash-up by Magnet finally slipped into this little Catgirl’s mailbox, waited patiently in my “to watch” pile, and since I’m just nutty for such goofy films I finally just had to give “Opapatika” aka “Demon Warriors” a try.

Our synopsis goes along these lines: “Detective Techit’s biggest case calls for the ultimate sacrifice – his life.  In order to investigate the existence of mysterious spirits called Opapatikas, he must follow them to their dwelling in eternal limbo.  When an otherworldly warrior promises Techit incredible powers of intuition upon entering the spirit world, he leaps at the chance to be a better detective, committing suicide and using death as a doorway into the supernatural world populated by ghouls, warriors and spirits.  Once there, Techit becomes involved in intense and violent battles with the immortal Opapatikas, and quickly discovers that each time he fights one, he loses one of his five mortal senses.  Surrounded by enemies and running out of power, Techit must conquer the afterlife or face an eternity of misery.“

Hmmm? So how come it’s taken me soooo long to get around to this one? I usually jump on most Thai films pretty quickly, once I can find them with some decent subtitles, but for some reason I passed on the earlier releases and didn’t snag a copy until I was grabbing some Region 1 DVD’s in my mail orders just the beginning of October…… and then it took some time for me to actually get the chance to watch it. (Bad, bad kitty!!!)

But watch it I now have, and it’s time to weigh in my my two cents on this one. So…. did your Favorite Catgirl Princess like it? Yeah…. you know what’s next, silly….. you just gotta “Read On” if you wanna know!!

“Burn” aka “คนไฟลุก” (2008) – Thai Conspiracy/ Thriller

Day 6 and we’re back to Thailand (by way of Singapore) for the Thai Conspiacy Thriller “Burn” aka “คนไฟลุก” (Khon Fai Look). This is another of those recent Thai films I’ve had to do a bit of searching to find…. and this time I scored a success in Singapore with their recent release… all English subtitled and ready for my viewing pleasure!!

Our synopsis is as follows: “A horrific incident takes place when a woman suddenly bursts into flames for no apparent reason. She becomes victim to the phenomenon known worldwide as Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC). Mona (played by Bongkot Kongmalai) is the victim’s daughter, who is forced to get involved with the case. She meets a nurse named Ploy (played by Archiraya Peeraphatkunchaya) whose mother also is killed by SHC. Don (played by Charad Na Songkhla) is a police investigator who gets suspicious of the cause of these incidents. With his investigator’s instinct and a devotion to justice, Don takes on the mysterious fire case to try to stop it from happening again. Will the truth behind the deadly fire be exposed as a suicide, murder, accident or the sacrifice to superstitious belief? The mystery must be solved before the dreadful fire burns another victim alive!”

This one isn’t actually a horror movie… more of a Scifi oriented Conspiracy Thriller…. but hey, it’s got people “Spontaneously Bursting into Fire”!! That sounds like it’s up this lil’ Catgirl’s alley… So will it be a nifty Police Procedural? A preachy warning about science and evil corporations run amok? Or just a really… really dumb excuse for a movie?

Hmmmm? Guess you’ll all just have to “Read On” and find out!!