“Gancore Gud” (“ก้านคอกัด”) aka “Dead Bite” (2011) – Thai Mermaid/ Zombie Horror Comedy

So for our first entry to this month’s “Frolicking Under The Sea: Mermaid Fantasy Film Festival – August 2016”, I have for you a review of a 2011 Thai horror comedy that has been just about impossible for this wee kitten to pin down over the years since it first came out, “Gancore Gud” aka “Dead Bite”. Impossible to track down? Ha!! Not for a reeeeaallly determined Catgirl if she’s patient and sets herself to the task…

Our synopsis goes like this: “A Thai Hip-hop group, Gancore Club, traveling to a promotional photo-shoot by ship becomes stranded on reputedly haunted Mermaid Island, run afoul of strange aquatic zombies and the vicious locals who try to hunt them down as sacrifices to their mysterious and sexy island mermaid goddess.”

Ummmm? Crazy Thai Hip-hop guys? Oodles of pretty Thai girls in Bikinis? Killer islanders with butt loads of pointy weapons and a thirst for blood? Mermaids and zombies? All in the same movie? Heck yes!!! Neko is sooooo there! 😉

So. Wanna hear the crazy plot and find out if it’s maybe gonna jump to the top of your “Don’t Miss” list too? Then by now, Gentle Visitor, you know the drill…. 😉

“Project Hashima” aka “ฮาชิมะ โปรเจกต์” (2013) – Thai Ghost/ Horror

With the snow blowing fiercely around my windows here at the apartment, this time out I’m back to sunny Thailand for some ghostly scares with a look at “Project Hashima” aka “ฮาชิมะ โปรเจกต์”, director Piyapan Choopetch’s 2013 “shaky-cam” horror hybrid. “Shaky Cam” horror? But… but… “Miyuki”, you say… “You really hate those, don’t you?” Ummm… well… OK… perhaps “hate” is too strong a word. It is fair to say I do think these kinds of movies have been pretty much done to death of late, but since I don’t get many Thai horror films these days, I was willing to take a chance on this one. Who knows? Maybe it would have some new novel idea to make that genre of horror a little easier to take… or at least easier on my poor eyes. I live in hope…  😉

Our synopsis? “Hashima Island in Nagasaki of Japan is well-known as one of the scariest haunted places in the world, after coal mining on the island was closed down and the inhabitants abandoned the it. Now a group of Thai teenagers, fresh from film school, who have become popular for their YouTube ghost video clip are asked by another paranormal investigating film group to scout out this creepy ghost island for a new video. Once on the island, it seems there is nothing much left, but horrible things are still waiting for people who dare to come.”

Yep. Sounds like a pretty standard plot. Jaded disrespectful 20-somethings who will mess about somewhere they shouldn’t, disturbing things best left alone, leading to horrible hauntings and death. Got it? Good. So without further adieu, lets give this one a look then, shall we?

“Pee Mak Phra Khanong” aka “พี่มาก..พระโขนง” (2013) – Thai Ghost/ Horror/ Comedy

It’s off to Thailand this time out for a look at 2013’s version of the classic Thai ghost story of Mae Nak, the horror comedy “Pee Mak”. Reaching a bit, perhaps for inclusion in our “Haunted House” theme for this month, but a classic ghost story almost always has some sort of haunted location…. and this wee Catgirl certainly loves classic Thai horror. 😉

The quick synopsis reads:“Once upon a time during the King Mongkut Era during which Siam was still plagued with wars with neighboring kingdoms, Mak was drafted to serve in a war against foreign invasion, forcing him to leave behind his pregnant wife Nak alone at home in the village of Phra Khanong in Bangkok. In the life-or-death front line he met four soldier comrades who later became his best friends. Meanwhile, in Bangkok his wife Nak painfully struggled to give birth to their baby alone. After that rumors started circulating around that Nak had already died in labor and was now a ghost haunting the house and waiting for her husband’s return. At night, villagers in the neighborhood would hear her sing a lullaby to help her son to go to sleep, causing hair-raising chills up and down the spine to the villagers who lived nearby. When the war was over, Mak invited his friends to stay over at his house and meet his beautiful wife Nak. After a series of uncanny events, his four friends and some villagers worried for Mak’s safety so they tried to tell Mak that his wife was already dead.”

A little creepy stuff… a little funny stuff… and some sweet romantic stuff… I’m thinking we might just have a winner here. But… as always… the truth is in the watching, so let’s not waste any more time and get right to it, shall we?

“3 A.M. – 3D” aka “ตีสาม 3D” (2012) – Thai Ghost/ Horror

Ooohh!! I’ve finally an afternoon off to my lil’ self and.. thanks to the recent Taiwanese DVD release of the 2012 Thai horror anthology “3 A.M. – 3D”, your Favorite Catgirl has gotten the much needed fix of creepy ghost stories I’ve been needing of late. Kung fu and swordplay are nice… but there’s no denying it… this wee lady just loves her ghost stories…. 😉

Our synopsis? “Thailand’s latest horror is made up of three chilling and stomach-churning stories… ghosts, demons and vengeful spirits are all out to haunt at 3AM, the scariest hour of the night.

In a wig shop crammed with lifeless heads of dolls, something turns out to be not really lifeless… Mint and May are sisters from a wig-making family, the two can’t get along but were made to man the shop while their parents went out of town. Their nightmare came alive when May unknowingly acquired hair of a dead person….

In a stranger’s house with a dark history, two corpses lie peacefully, side by side… Tos is assigned to take care of Mike and Cherry – a couple killed in an accident just before their wedding. Their parents decide to keep their corpses, as the couple loved each other so much – and their parents still treating them as if they were still alive. With Tos spending all his time with the corpses, he soon falls in love with the dead, but beautiful Cherry… what will this twisted love leads too?

In the middle of the night, the office is as deserted as a graveyard, strange things happen… Karan and Tee are owners of a company whose office is in building rumored to be haunted. The two aren’t scared, and actually enjoyed playing pranks on their staff who work late at night. But soon, the pranksters are no longer certain if the strange things that happened in the office are their game – or someone else’s…”

So… sounds like these stories ought to be right up my alley. But.. to know if they might be the sort of thing you’ll want a look at o’ Gentle Visitor, then you’ll wanna “Read On” and find out all about the creepy goings on…

“This Girl Is Bad-Ass!!” aka “Jakkalan” (จั๊กกะแหล๋น) (2011) – Thai Martial Art Action/ Comedy

Remember Jeeja Yanin, the amazing Thai kickboxing girl from “Chocolate” and “Raging Phoenix”? Well she’s back… or at least she was back…. waaaaay back in 2011 that is…. with the release of “Jakkalan” aka “This Girl Is Bad-Ass!!”, a film your Favorite Catgirl has been impatiently waiting to see… for like…. well…. forever!! The Thai DVD release was, as with most other Thai DVD’s these days, totally English subtitle free…. Auuuugghhh! No fair!! I expected it to quickly pop up in Hong Kong or Malaysia, but no such luck… 😦 So what’s a wannabee Wuxia Princess to do to get herself some bone-crunchin’ kickboxing action with an honest-to-goodness cute girl dealing out the hurt to all the nasty villains? Why keep her lil’ eyes peeled…. and breathe deeply while practicing the Zen-like patience needed to wait out such a release to surface. ‘Cause eventually… as with all good things… it always will. 😉

Our synopsis? How’s this for the short and sweet plot basics: “Jakkalan is a young girl who earns her living as a bicycle delivery courier using a fixed gear bike as her vehicle. When a very important package goes missing, the gangster who gave her the assignment thinks she has stolen it and tries to hunt her down. Then it’s time for her “tough but loving” uncle Sawang and her awesome “bike-as-weapon’ fighting skills to combine to bail her and her friends out of the dangerous situation.”

Ooooh! Ooooh!! Like this wee “Warrior Princess” is soooo there!! Where’s the popcorn? It’s time for me to snuggle with my sweetie, pop in my new Taiwanese English friendly DVD and get a big helpin’ of that sweet crazy action fun. Naturally, I’ll tell you all about it, so whatcha waitin’ for? It’s time to “Read On!!”

“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!!