Watched: Forget Me Not

Genre: Horror

Year: 2009

Director: Tyler Oliver

I watched Forget Me Not because someone said it was one of the best 2009 horror flicks.

It really wasn't.

Horror movies that rouse genuine fear connect to the audience in some way. It can be visually shocking (Juon) or contain enough reality to be convincing (The Eye). Even if the plot follows twisted logic and crazy premises, as long as it actually adheres to its own propositions, I am OK. This movie, however, sorely lacks that kind of "credibility."

The main character Sandy Channing and her friends are just some typical high school seniors in a small town. The place is mundane. The people are mundane. Save for the ghost, everything is very normal. Then this spirit comes on the scene, and voila, she not only physically attacks Sandy and clique but also alters the entire reality, i.e. the house where a party was held few nights prior now looks totally run down or parents who forget they have another child. Suddenly I feel like I am watching Butterfly Effect except Forget Me Not is much worse because it made no make provisions for god-like power. Never thought I would say this for a horror movie, but, yes, the director was really stretching his story.

The ghosts' appearance did not improve matters either. Obvious influence from Asian horror films aside, she and her entourage looked rather like teenagers dressing up goth and dancing at some Halloween party.

The movie also progressively got worse. In particular, Cody Linley as Sandy's brother Eli was unconvincing. The eagerness with which he latched onto Sandy's story was incredible. She told it in such a terse nonsensical way that I had a hard time believing her even after watching the film from the very beginning! At this point, I really started to wonder if the director madly wants to wrap his film up, and this was the first idea (bad one at that) to cross his mind.

I briefly entertained the idea that Sandy's other friends are fabricated, but if this were the case, why would the director show extended sequences about their deaths or their bed activities? Sandy apparently didn't have the pleasure to "witness" these developments, so the fictional sex and gore were just put in for the audience's sake? Somehow this sounds more lame to me than a ghost creating alternate realities.

I had high hopes for Forget Me Not and even like its seed idea. But the execution totally flopped.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Watched: Guisi

Also known as Silk or 诡丝.

Silk is one of the more heavily invested horror movies to come out of Taiwan lately. One brief look at the illustrious cast--Yōsuke Eguchi, Chang Chen, Karena Lam, Barbie Hsu (better known in Asia as Big S), Bo-Lin Chen--convinced me that Director ChaoBin Su had grand plans. Yōsuke Eguchi, Chang Chen, Karena Lam, are praised for their acting, while the remaining came to fame via idol dramas that require mostly pretty faces and good packaging. Thus, whether by intention or design, B0-Lin Chen left out no potential audience. The first category would attract viewers who value nuances and depth, while the second draws worshiping, screaming fans to the theaters.

In the movie, crippled Japanese scientist Hashimoto (played by Yōsuke Eguchi) heads a research team whose nominal work is in anti-gravity ""Menger Sponge." In reality, the research direction derailed once Hashimoto realized that the sponge can confine ghosts as well as allow the living to see the dead. To uncover secrets of life after death, the team captures the spirit of a young boy and drafts special agent Ye Qidong (Chen Chang) to find out his identity and cause of death.

The film is often times fraught with tension and suspense. The boy's mysterious past and even more mysterious death greatly complicate Ye's investigation. The special agent found himself at odds not only with the forces that made the ghost child but also with others on the research team, as differing motives cause members to fight one another for the possession of the young ghost. Together, the supernatural conflict and the more secular disunity give Silk depth uncommon in normal horror movies. Rather than non-stop exploitation of gore or cheap scares, the movie offers pensive reflections on life and death.

Obviously, Gui Si's premise is more involved than the typical horror movies on the market. In addition to an original plot line, Sci-fi elements combined with traditional spirit lore puts a new spin on the familiar ghost story. Although this mix-and-mesh is refreshing, jumps in logic are present. For example, the failure to convincingly explain how living transforms into ghost made an otherwise touching ending appear like a deliberate move to manipulate tears from the viewers. Some of the lackluster ghost scenes also detracted from the latter half of the movie, looking rather like washed-down parts from The Ring.

In all, Silk is a solid production that, because of some details, failed to become great. As a side-note, I also found the casting interesting. The amount of the time that each actor spent in the movie and his/her relative importance to the entire story is totally commensurate with the public perception of their acting skills.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Thai Horror "Coming Soon" โปรแกรมหน้า วิญญาณอาฆาต

Director: Sopon Sukdapisit
Genre: Horror
Year: 2008

The Thai horror movie industry appears to be flourishing these days, Shutter, Alone, Coffin,4bia...It has spawned a respectable number of productions, though not all are created equally scary.

Coming soon, which was released in 2008, starts off with an advanced screening of a horror flick having the same name ("Coming Soon"). As a marketing gimmick to entice the audience, the movie comes with the claim that it is based on a true story. However, much to the dismay of those who saw said film the creepy effect lingers long after the viewing, because everyone who watched it mysteriously dies, and bodies somehow are transported into the movie itself.

Former boyfriend and girlfriend Chen (played by Ter-Chantavit Dhanasevi) and Peoll (played by Punch-Vorakarn Rojjanavatchra), also protagonists in this movie, inevitably become entangled and are persistently haunted by a vengeful ghost. To avoid looming death, the two set out to find the true story behind the making of Coming Soon. From there the tension continuously builds, climaxing when the truth is finally revealed.

The ghost's makeup is designed to have an all-around repelling effect, compounding the baleful venomous stare with an thoroughly dirty look. If one is not scared, then one is nauseated by the suspicious yellow chemical that coats the ghost's body. The turn off is effective either way. And I am very serious about the atmosphere being spooky. The manner in which the ghost stalks the victims is reminiscent of classics such as Ju-0n. It will make your heart pound.

At this point, I would almost say Coming Soon is a fine movie. Alas no, it was good until the last 30 seconds. Then it crashed. Since I don't want to ruin the fun for those who stumble upon this review, I shall conclude with this advice for the director: More is not always better; stalking is much more creepier than a direct confrontation.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

P.S. Anyone has recs for good horror movies?