GHOST OF MAE NAK. 2005. TARTAN ASIA EXTREME. WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY MARK DUFFIELD. STARRING PATARATIDA PACHARAWIRAPONG, SIWAT CHOTCHAICHARIN AND PORNTIP PAPANAI AS MAE NAK. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
This is an excellent Thai horror film based on an actual Thai legend. There really once was a Mae Nak, which is kind of a cool concept. Films have been made about her and there's even a shrine to her in Bangkok, a shrine to the woman who loved her man so much that even death itself couldn't stop her. You gotta admit that that's a terrific premise for a horror film.
Anyway, this film centres around a truly loved-up, good-looking young married couple called Mak and Nak. Cute names, huh? They move into a ramshackle fixer-upper of a house in Bangkok that their friendly old estate agent, Mr. Angel, has assured them is the perfect dwelling for a couple of newly-weds. Don't worry if you hear a noise. It's just the sound of alarm bells ringing long and loud, haha.
Yes, the fabulous rundown old house is haunted, but the thing is, Mak has been seeing visions of a strange woman since even before he moved into the marital home. She's beautiful with long black hair, just like his new missus, but her teeth and mouth are hideously blackened for some reason and she has a bit missing from her forehead, which doesn't improve her ghostly appearance any.
The kids have other stuff to worry about for the moment, however. They run into some exceptional bad luck in the early days of their marriage. Their home is burgled and their wedding gifts stolen by a couple of hilarious bunglers called Tick and... you guessed it, Tock. As if that wasn't bad enough, Mak is later run over by the burglars' van as he gives chase in the street and he ends up in a coma.
Nak is not unnaturally distraught. Her hubby's in a coma and her newly-married life is turning to s***e before her very eyes. When she realises that the spirit of Mae Nak is holding Mak's soul hostage in return for previous favours she's apparently done the young couple in the past, she's even more disturbed. What does this vengeful spirit want in return for relinquishing her hold over Mak?
Mae Nak's story is a tragic one. She died traumatically in childbirth while her beloved husband was away at war a hundred years ago. Her remains were then unjustly exorcised, along with those of her child, after her passing. A piece of bone was removed from her poor little forehead and made into a brooch by the High Priest, a brooch which was given to Nak as a wedding present from her young groom. It's not a very cheerful present to give a bride, is it? At least we know he did it unwittingly...
What's Nak supposed to do now? If she were to find the earthly remains of Mae Nak and replace the piece of bone taken from her forehead, would Mae Nak be at peace then? More importantly, would she release Mak from her vengeful grip? There are some great spooky scenes as Nak and two of her friends dig for Mae Nak's bones in some deserted waste ground.
They'd better hurry up and find their missing corpse, though, because Mak's parents have been talked into having their comatose son exorcised by local monks, a procedure which Nak has been warned by a psychic could be dangerous to poor out-of-it Mak. Even fatal...
There are some great characters in this film. Mr. Angel, the fat jovial estate agent who's planning to swindle the pair of newly-weds, is one. The kids' fatherly, more honest lawyer is another. Nak's Granny who tells her the story of the legend of Mae Nak is a kick-ass old dame. Ditto Granny's psychic friend, the blind lady who summons up the dead like a freakin' boss. The old people in this film are all terrifically watchable.
Tick and Tock, the incompetent housebreakers, are good for a few laughs and Master Tring, the fortune-teller hired by Nak's family before the wedding, is an interesting character. His involvement in the nuptials is treated as essentially as that of the cake-maker or dress-maker, which I think is fascinating in terms of what it tells us about Thai culture. His crooked assistant is a good evil character, if you get me. Will he get his come-uppance? We'll have to leave it to Mae Nak to see about that one...
There are some brilliant, nail-bitingly scary scenes at the end when Mak realises that it's the
wrong bride he's come home with. Eeeeek...! Overall, this is a terrific horror film with a nice twisty, creepy ending. I would definitely recommend it to all you Asian horror fans out there. This is one for the collection. You can take it from me. Have I ever steered you wrong? Maybe, folks, but not about horror films. Never about horror films...AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can contact her at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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