shutter

saw the thai movie shutter tonight at major cineplex central world plaza (aka world trade). the story revolves around a photographer and his girlfriend who hit a pedestrian late one night as they're driving. they flee the scene and later strange faces and shapes begin to appear on the photographer's snapshots. the story follows their investigation into the photos and the identity of the girl they hit.

as with any horror movie there are the usual 'don't open that door!' and 'why don't you run away??' frustrations, and being a thai ghost movie there are the requisite sudden ghost appearances, extra-long limbs, and vomiting. overall, the movie does a good job of building suspense but often resorts to cheap shots to get a scare, like suddenly flashing a picture of something nasty along with a loud noise. the number of dream sequences gets confusing as it gets difficult to know if the characters are awake and there are one or two scenes (like in the men's room) that aren't in synch with the rest of the movie.

i'm not a fan of horror as a genre but i found shutter to be at least tolerable, a good date flic. i recall liking nang nak a lot more- though it might have been the novelty of seeing my first thai ghost movie.

overall rating: 2/5 durians.