“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!!

“Meat Grinder” (2009) – Thai Horror/ Gore

Our opening review for “Neko’s Halloween Review-athon” is another of those unsubtitled Thai goodies that your Favorite Catgirl sometimes manages to find some fansubs for, this time out we have Thailand’s extreme horror piece, “Meat Grinder” for me to watch.

Our synopsis reads as follows: “Meat Grinder” takes you to taste the bizarre horror of traditional noodle recipe cooked by Boot, a woman who owns a noodle stall, a unique noodle stall.

Boot has been living with tension and stress for all of her life, she works hard for her family as a noodle cook. Sometimes, she is controlled by a mysterious voice that suggests her to do or not to do things. One day, she encounters a chaos in town and is rescued by a guy named Uttapol who later becomes her companion. That evening after the chaos, Boot discovers a guy lying dead inside her pushcart, she discreetly looks at him and comes up with her new recipe. Boot begins to slice his flesh, mix it together with spices, and throw it into her noodle pot.

After her secret recipe is introduced, Boot gains so many customers and reputation of her delicious noodle. Meanwhile, the haunting voice still keeps talking to her, and tell her what to do. Boot tactfully starts to lure and murder people. The more she kills, the more of her dark side reveals. And when Uttapol begins to suspect Boot’s behavior, he stumbles on the evil of her and becomes the hunted.”

Ooooohh!! Cannibalism and murder…. now that’s just gonna make me squirm and give me all sorts of bad dreams….. but is it gonna be really, REALLY scary? Lets all “Read On” and find out shall we?

“Deep In The Jungle” (2008) – Thai Fantasy/ Romance

Just in with my latest Malaysian DVD shipment, we have the new Thai Fantasy Romance, “Deep In The Jungle” aka “Naak” from Thailand’s Phranakorn Films.

Our synopsis reads:“Nawin, an army secret service agent decided to withdraw from a scientific investigation because of unlawful procedures that involved International forces. Although he had tried desperately to avoid the illegal acts of the armed forces, it seems the harder he tried the more involved he became. He was constantly under surveillance no matter where he went or what he did which made him realize there was more to the situation that meets the eye.

Jin, a young woman who Nawin once saved from a brutal attack is undergoing a strange transformation within her body as her blood circulates through mutation. This transformation on Jin, is what Nawin believes the International forces are after. The half breed mix between animal and human.

Nawin decides to help Jin by taking her back to her birth place. As he leads her home, her illness seems to subside. They will soon grow close and fall in love. When it comes time for Nawin to choose between her and his life, he awakes to find that it has all been an image of his imagination…or was it?”

Hmmmm? Certainly sounds like this lil Catgirl’s kind of movie…. so naturally I wasted no time in watching it as soon as it arrived. Was it up to my expectations? Let’s all find out then, shall we?

“Coming Soon” (2008) – Thai Ghost/ Horror

It’s time for another of those creepy Thai horror films that your Favorite Catgirl Princess loves to watch. This time it’s “Coming Soon”, from the big stack of unsubtitled Thai DVD’s that found it’s way to me last month. Luckily for me, some nice Fansubs fixed me up quite nicely, and a good evening’s movie watchin’ later means I’m ready to tell you all about this one.

Our synopsis reads: “What kind of scenes in a horror film scares you the most? When a ghost appears totally unexpectedly? When the main character does not see the ghost sneaking up behind him? When at the very end you find out that the main character was actually a ghost all along? But none of this compares to the feeling of arriving home alone and suddenly being stuck by a feeling of déjà vu that you are reenacting the very same scenes in the horror movie you just saw! This movie will scare you from the second you step inside the movie theater. It will get you thinking if Something or Someone might be waiting for you to let your guard down. The horror movie that you just saw is about to happen to you in real life!”

Hmmmmm? Not much on details, but then maybe that’s a good thing. Let’s all “Read On” and find out what “Coming Soon” is really all about, shall we?

“Queens of Langkasuka” (2008) – Thai Fantasy

Oooohh!! Another nifty Thai fantasy film…… just what the doctor ordered for this lil’ Catgirl. I’ve been going into withdrawals without getting to see any new Thai stuff for the last month or so. This one has actually been out for quite a while now…. but without subtitles naturally….. (Boooo!! Hisss!!) A proper Fansub for this one finally became available, and as I’ve been wanting to see it sooo, sooo badly, I ordered it up direct from Thailand just last week….

The synopsis for it reads as follows: “In the 1600’s. Queen Raja Heejau of Langkasuka must defend her country against numerous foes when a rogue prince conspires with a coalition of vicious pirates to incite a rebellion and plunder the kingdom. A famous Dutch Cannon maker tries to aid the kingdom by constructing the “Mother of All Cannons” to be used to defend the kingdom against it’s enemies. Unfortunately the pirates learn of the cannon and try to seize the ship delivering it.

The raid fails, and the ship, along with its crew and weapons sink into a deep ocean abyss after an titanic explosion. This fateful incident occurs on the very same day as the birth of “Panee”, born with the amazing gift that enables him to communicate with all the creatures of the sea.

In the years to come and after much training Panee’s uncanny ability would be used to help the Queen and her sisters defeat the merciless pirates that threaten their shores. Panee will call upon whales, giant rays, and dolphins to aide him in the historic sea battle for the fate of the kingdom of Langkasuka.”

Sounds good!! Neko-chan just loves the whole sweeping epic romance angle and the promise of some crazy kickboxing… and if you do too, then I just know you are gonna want to “Read On” for more about “Queens of Langkasuka”!

“The Mercury Man” aka “Ma Noot Lhek Lai” (2006) – Thai Superhero/ Action/ Fantasy

Zap… Bang…. Ka-powie!! Yep, seems another Thai film has finally made it’s way to Region 1 DVD, and this time it’s the superhero fantasy “The Mercury Man”, just out from Magnolia on their Magnet DVD label. Superheroes aren’t usually my thing, but almost any fantasy film with some martial arts is always welcome…. and as people have told me… “Come on… you’ll watch any crazy Asian film if it’s got subtitles, Miyuki!!” (They’re probably right of course…. but I’ll never admit it… Hehehehehe!!)

The quick synopsis reads: “An ancient Thai legend tells of two holy amulets – Lunar Mercury and Solar Mercury – that will create an indestructible power when combined together. Usama, an international terrorist had studied the secrets of this legend and wants the power of both amulets for his own evil plot. During a prison escape, one of those holy amulets, Solar Mercury becomes accidentally embedded into the body of Chan, an unsuspecting fireman, giving him superhuman strength and powers. As Usama and his terrorists plot to destroy the world, Chan becomes Mercury Man and learns to control and use his new powers to save the world. And so the ultimate battle between Good and Evil begins…”

So… do the Thai’s grasp the whole Superhero thing? Let’s all find out shall we?