Thailand's horror movies are known for their violence, blood, large scale and sharpness.
In the early 21st century, films such as "Ghost Shadow", "Cross of Death", " Ghost General Reflection ", " Demon Art ", " Ghost Dormitory ", and " Baby Corpse " were once popular all over the world and were also referenced by Hollywood and Korean movies.
However, with the routine and modeling, there have been few excellent works in recent years. Instead, Korean horror films have risen, and they are very likely to come from behind.
Faced with this situation, it is definitely not possible for Thai filmmakers to not work hard. Fortunately, Thai movies are loose in scale and can be shot in any subject. As long as you learn from the successful techniques of world horror movies, you can also play with local characteristics.
In July this year, there was a Thai horror film on Netflix, directed by the new director Li Tongkang . The title is "Ghost Maid" , telling a story of a wealthy family.
The first half of the movie takes the supernatural shock route, and the second half turns to bloody and violent. The mixture of two different styles is extremely creative.
03 minutes of the movie is divided into three acts, first talking about the haunted family, then revealing the truth of the ghost, and finally showing the maid's revenge. As the story unfolds step by step, the audience suddenly realizes that the darkness of human nature, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the crisis of society are the realistic thinking brought to the audience by the movie behind the thriller story.
1,
The story of the movie takes place in a magnificent villa in the suburbs. Nila and Uma are a successful couple with a handsome man and beautiful woman. Uma's father is an important government member. Nila relies on the power of her father-in-law to have a smooth business.
They also have a lovely daughter Nid , this couple is a model couple envied by the world.
Nila's family has three servants, the driver , Chai Uncle , the chef , Abang , and the housekeeper ,000 jie . The only drawback is that they also lack a maid who can handle housework, take action and take care of Miss Nied.
Nila couples are not looking for it, but every new maid approaches Miss Nide, a supernatural phenomenon will occur. Miss Need would speak to the air, and her two favorite monkey toys often ran around the house.
Therefore, every new maid who comes will be scared away after working for a while, and this position remains empty until the maid Joey arrives.
Joey was warned by Sister Wan to not be curious at this home, not to ask about what you don’t want to do with your work, and not to run around at home.
But Joey didn't seem to take Sister Wan's words to heart. She began to secretly look for clues about the female ghost in the villa and soon discovered clues.
It turns out that this female ghost is related to a maid named Baoyi who disappeared in the villa. Baoyi was the personal maid responsible for taking care of the lives of the Nila couple, but she disappeared after Miss Nid was born.
Joy asked the servants in the villa about Baoyi and found that Sister Wan was tight-lipped about it. Abang was also hesitant, only Uncle Chai was willing to say a few more words.
From Uncle Chai’s mouth, Joey learned that the relationship between Nila and Uma and his wife was not as harmonious as they seemed. Nira is often away from home and has a cold relationship with Uma.
Uma is a bisexual. When Nira was not at home, in order to relieve the loneliness of staying alone in the empty bedroom, she gradually got together with the maid Baoyi, and the relationship between the two became as close as a mirror, and they were all together in and out, just like two sisters.
After Baoyi disappeared, Uma was also very sad and still thinking about her.
Joy wants to continue asking about Baoyi’s whereabouts, but Uncle Chai wants to speak but stops. Obviously, there is something important to hide.
And Joey was interested in Baoyi's affairs and the hostess Uma soon found out that the mistress Uma was not too angry, but just said coldly that Baoyi was no longer here.
2.
movies quickly revealed the relationship between Joey and Baoyi . It turns out that they are two sisters and have grown up together since childhood.
Boyi and Joey were once inseparable, but due to their poor family, Baoyi had to leave home to work and went to Nira's house. In order to change his destiny of poverty, Baoyi gradually lost herself and was with Uma.
Uma actually cannot have children, but Nira wants children very much, but she just needs to rely on the power of the Uma family and dare not have an affair. When Baoyi learned about it, she went to seduce Nira and soon gave birth to a daughter Nira with Nira.
This incident is undoubtedly a betrayal for Uma, but after all, this family has children, and the three of them are still in peace for the time being.
Doom suddenly came to Baoyi. Once when she was putting bath water for Nide, she accidentally slipped in the toilet and broke into serious injury. Uma and Nira saw her one after another, but did not rescue her. Instead, they ordered the servants at home to carry Baoyi into the garden and buried him alive.
Baoyi died with resentment and became a resentful spirit in the family.
When she grew up, Joey also came to the city to work like her sister. In order to find Baoyi's whereabouts, she also chose to be a maid and went to Nila's villa.
The difference between Baoyi is that Joey has a psychological illness and has been seeing a psychiatrist for two years. Moreover, she was brutal by nature and had killed two foreign employers.
Joey learned the truth about Baoyi's death through contact with Baoyi's grudge. She knew that everyone in the villa could not escape, and she wanted to catch all these people in one place.
On Uma's birthday, Nira held a birthday party for her, and relatives and friends were invited to the villa to celebrate, and at this time Joey also launched her own revenge plan.
Joey drugged the wine at the banquet, causing everyone present to lose their ability to resist that night. Then she put on a raincoat and rushed into the crowd with her prepared knife. All the guests at the banquet became dead souls under the knife, and the three servants Chai Uncle Wan Jie and Abang were also killed by her.
When they killed Nira and Uma, they had the ability to resist, but at this time Baoyi's resentful soul came out, which shocked both of them and finally died under Joey's knife.
After killing everyone, Joey lit the villa's garden with a fire, and took her sister's daughter Ned away from the sad place.
3,
actress born in 2001, Ploy Sonalin is only 19 years old, but has 5 years of acting experience. In 2018, she won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Thai Film Golden Swan Award for her performance in "Siam Square" .
The maid Joy she played is a bit like the witch Carrie , and they all belong to the split personality that lurked until the end.
And Joey's revenge process is a bit like the Wu Song when "Blood splashes on the Yuanyang Tower", which looks crazy and inhumane, and is also killed with innocent people. In fact, the purpose of the movie is to distinguish the Nira and the sisters Baoyi and Joey into two opposing classes based on the gap between the rich and the poor.
Boyi and Joey are both poor people living at the bottom of society. After Baoyi came to Nira's villa and became a maid, in order to change his destiny, he tried every means to get close to the Nira couple. She first became Uma's lover, and then gave birth to a daughter for Nira, fantasizing about becoming a member of the family.
But in the eyes of the Nila couple, Baoyi is always their maid. Even though Uma had feelings for Baoyi, when her status at home was threatened, she chose to eliminate Baoyi without hesitation; and Nila only regarded Baoyi as a tool for childbirth and had no feelings for her, so Baoyi was buried alive by them.
Joey's revenge is a bit like the plot of Kim Ki-saw, played by Uncle Bing, killing his employer, President Park in the Korean movie "Parasite". In addition to the purpose of avenging her sister, she also brought hatred from one class against another, so she was so determined.
Director intends to let all the guests at the banquet wear white dresses, while the hostess Nira and Uma wear solemn black suits and bright red long skirts; Joey, as a maid, wore a blue short skirt representing the maid. Joey once said she also envied people who could wear white dresses, which was her motivation for killing everyone.
This concrete class opposition is hidden under the shell of horror movies, the social thinking that the director wants to express. The works such as "Invisible Man", "Hunger Platform" and "Hunting" launched this year also involve such topics, which may also be a signal.
4.
Director Li Tongkang is still a newcomer. Before that, he only directed a horror film called "Monster Lake" in 2019. "Ghost Maid" is his second work.
The most popular movie fans are the new attempt to combine supernatural and thriller styles. The transition in the plot is very natural and does not appear abrupt.
The character is also qualified in the creation of the character. Although the sister Baoyi only appears in flashback clips, the character's scheming is still accurately expressed; the younger sister Joey is a split personality, and on the surface is a cute little girl, but in fact she hides the genes of madness and violence. The character's creation is like peeling off layer by layer, and the process is very delicate.
The image of Nira and Uma couple was not portrayed as villains and stereotyped. Their motive for burying Baoyi alive is actually well interpreted. Although it is cruel, it makes some viewers feel that "explainable". After all, Baoyi is also a "green tea" that betrays his feelings.
Therefore, although the movie currently has low rating on Douban, it still has many advantages.
Generally speaking, Brother Jia believes that "Ghost Maid" is a horror movie that has been well-made in Thailand in recent years, and is very suitable for viewing at night when netizens pass the time.
(Movie Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Department: Hot Blood and Loving Heart)
